EcoAthletes and Rutgers NIL Collective ‘Knights of the Raritan’ Partner on the First Ever Climate Change-Focused NIL Program

Five Rutgers Student-Athletes Receive NIL Funding to Help Lead the #ClimateComeback

Polls show that GenZ is clearly the most enthusiastic generation about the need to make a meaningful difference on climate change. And NCAA student-athletes are among the most influential people on university campuses.

Kaitlyn Bertola on the uneven bars during Rutgers’ February 2022 home meet against Michigan and the University of Alaska-Anchorage (Photo credit: Ben Solomon)

Five Rutgers University student-athletes — senior women’s gymnast Kaitlyn Bertola, sophomore Big Ten 3,000-meter indoor track champion Alex Carlson, sophomore women’s lacrosse player Kelsey Klein, as well as sophomore women’s swimmers Halé Oal and Natalie Schick — will do their part to accelerate the push for climate action, thanks to the first-ever climate change-focused name, image, and likeness (NIL) program that launches today.

The initiative is the result of a groundbreaking partnership between Knights of the Raritan, the official Rutgers NIL Collective, and EcoAthletes, the nonprofit that ‘inspires and coaches athletes to lead climate action’. Knights of the Raritan will activate NIL deals with the five Rutgers student-athletes to advocate for the much-needed #ClimateComeback through a combination of podcast interviews, social media posts and in-person speaking appearances on or near the New Brunswick, NJ campus. The podcast and social media posts will go live in April as part of EcoAthletes’ Earth Month programming. The speaking appearances will take place during the fall semester.

All five of the Rutgers student-athletes are among the growing global group of EcoAthletes Champions — now numbering 113 — which includes pros from MLB, NFL, NHL, and WNBA, as well as five gold medalists from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Currently, 28 NCAA student-athletes representing 14 universities are helping to lead climate action with the help of EcoAthletes.

“Our main goal at Knights of The Raritan is to support Rutgers student athletes who are using their platform to engage in their passions,” said Jon Newman, Knights of The Raritan executive director. “We’re honored to support “R” athletes and EcoAthletes in its mission to spur climate action globally.”

Kelsey Klein battles a Hofstra defender as she looks to set up a Rutgers teammate for a shot (Photo credit: Thomas Galski)

“EcoAthletes is thrilled to work with our five inspirational student-athletes Champions and Knights of the Raritan to promote positive climate action at Rutgers,” said Lew Blaustein, founder and CEO of EcoAthletes. “We believe that this partnership represents just the beginning of what can become a wave of climate-focused NIL deals. And we expect that executives who lead climate-active brands and nonprofits will look at the Rutgers program and see tremendous value in having authentic, climate-minded student-athletes endorse their climate-friendly products and/or programs.”

“I was excited to become the first EcoAthletes Champion at Rutgers and now I’m thrilled to be part of the first climate-themed NIL program,” shared Kaitlyn Bertola, who went from walk-on to captain of the gymnastics team. “While I’m graduating in May, I look forward to seeing what my fellow Rutgers Champions start doing this fall to build climate action on campus.”

Hale Oal (l) and Natalie Schick bring passion to the pool for Rutgers and the #ClimateComeback (Photo credit: Rutgers University Athletics)

“I’ve been passionate about making a positive difference on climate change since high school when I saw glaciers melting on an environmental leadership trip to Alaska,” Kelsey Klein, who plays defense for the Rutgers lacrosse team, offered. “Now, as an environmental policy, institutions, and behavior major, I know that the time is now for real climate action. And as a student-athlete, I know I have a platform to advocate for it. That’s why this NIL program is so exciting — it will help me amplify my climate impact!”

“I am very passionate about advocating for those who are suffering climate injustices, specifically underrepresented peoples like Native Americans, people of color, and the poor who are impacted most harshly by the impacts of human-caused climate change, as well as with biodiversity loss” said butterfly swimmer Halé Oal, a political science and environmental studies double major. “I want to take the opportunity provided me by the EcoAthletes-Knights of the Raritan NIL partnership to do what I can as a Rutgers student-athlete to help advocate for climate justice!”

“Many of my friends feel hopeless about climate change because they think the problems are so vast and there is nothing they can do about it,” acknowledged backstroker Natalie Schick. “That is why I am so excited to be an EcoAthletes Champion and part of the Knights of the Raritan NIL program. It allows me to use my platform to actually make a positive impact on climate change!”

Alex Carlson runs away from the field as she wins the 3,000 meter race at the December 2022 Rutgers Holiday Classic meet (Photo credit: Rutgers University Athletics)

“I am at the beginning of my climate advocacy journey,” said star middle-distance runner Alex Carlson. “What I do know is this: Humanity is behind in the climate game and needs to come back and fast. Being part of the Knights of the Raritan program and becoming an EcoAthletes Champion will allow me to quickly advance from ‘climate curious’ to ‘climate leader’. And that will help me help my fellow Rutgers students and friends accelerate the #Climate Comeback. That’s a race we have to win!”