PeoplesBank, Storrs Central announce official UConn NIL partnership

Contributed Brian Canina is president of PeoplesBank.

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Read HBJ's series on how NIL is reshaping UConn and college sports.
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Massachusetts-based PeoplesBank and Storrs Central, a for-profit organization that raises money for athletes at the University of Connecticut, have announced a multiyear NIL partnership.

Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

According to PeoplesBank, the partnership designates the bank as the “official bank” of Storrs Central, and will include student-athlete appearances at several planned grand opening events scheduled for new bank locations in Avon, Glastonbury and Hartford.

The bank also agrees to sponsor a youth basketball clinic at the Hartford Boys & Girls Club supporting the Ryan Martin Foundation on Aug. 4; and sponsor the 2024 Men’s Basketball Repeat Championship Dinner via Bleeding Blue for Good, a nonprofit founded two years ago that raises NIL money for UConn student athletes.

NIL refers to the name, image and likeness of college athletes, who can use them to earn money.

The Ryan Martin Foundation is a nonprofit organization formed in 2011 by Martin, who was born with Spina Bifida and had both legs amputated at the age of 2. He plays professional wheelchair basketball and his foundation seeks to help athletes with disabilities participate in sports.

PeoplesBank President Brian Canina said the bank is expanding its presence in Connecticut and wants to support UConn’s student athletes.

Jared Thomas, executive director of Storrs Central, said his organization’s job is to keep UConn and its athletes “at the forefront of the NIL space,” and that the partnership with PeoplesBank helps accomplish that.

Read HBJ's series on how NIL is reshaping UConn and college sports.