Manhattan College Athletics Announces The 1 Train Collective NIL Collective, Backed by Jasper Alumni, Brendan O’Brien 97′.
WVUA ’23/COURTESY
By Isaiah Rosario, Sports Editor
Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) has taken over the collegiate sports world since its approval in 2021. Now, Manhattan College athletes will be able to have the full experience of NIL with the introduction of The 1 Train Collective.
The name of the collective comes from desiring to pay homage to the infamous 1 train. While there are a couple of public transportation buses near campus, the majority of students use the 1 train as it allows them to travel into Manhattan without having to deal with any transfers.
According to the NSCA, NIL allows student-athletes to make an, “Arrangement between a student-athlete and a third party, such as a brand, company or individual, where the student-athlete receives compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness.”
In this specific circumstance, it refers to a collective. NSCA defines NIL collectives as, “Support networks for college athletes where donors pool together money to compensate athletes for their name, image and likeness. These independent organizations generate NIL deals for athletes at specific schools while operating separately from the schools themselves.”
“The 1 Train Collective” was started by MC alum Brendan O’Brien ‘97. O’Brien was a basketball student-athlete at the college and averaged 5.7 points per game on 41% shooting, 2.8 rebounds per game, and 0.6 assists.
“We are proud to create Manhattan College’s first NIL collective to assist the college and its student-athletes,” O’Brien said in an article on GoJaspers. “Our first step will be to initially focus upon men’s basketball with the intent that this provides a successful model for all of our athletic teams.”
This collective looks to jump-start recruiting for Jasper head coach John Gallagher as a couple of key names from the Jaspers have entered the transfer portal. Those included in the portal are Seydou Traore, Daniel Rouzan, Briggs McClain, Rokas Jocys and Bryce Stokes.
This collective could change the way the basketball players completely look at NIL. Additionally, this collective can put MC basketball on the map and the athletics department at MC believe it can do big things for the program.
“I think obviously it’s a positive for the program,” guard Brett Rumpel said. “With all the schools using NIL, it’s a big part of recruiting. Us having it definitely helps us bring in better players and it’s just overall great for the program.”
Along with O’Brien being the head of this collective, he has an advisory board containing fellow MC alum. The list includes Bob Bynes ‘68, Chris Hughes ‘74, Tom Lindgren ‘78 and Kevin Monaghan ‘77. Byrnes was a member of Jaspers’ club football team, Lindgren was a member of the men’s soccer team and Monaghan served as a sports information officer for MC.
In a press release from GoJaspers, they stated that the mission of The 1 Train Collective was to enhance the Manhattan College student-body experience and empower student-athletes to, “maximize their potential,” by offering NIL opportunities to the college’s community.
The initiative from alum was something that garnered praise within the basketball program. Andrew Wisniewski, director of player development for the men’s basketball program, spoke highly of the collective and spoke about how the men’s program needs support from the alumni to be able to be successful.
“I think it’s great,” Wisniewski said. “It’s the way the game is moving. I think it’s exciting for us that we got alumni and people that want to get behind it and kind of see where it’s going and that we need support. Without that support right now, you’re kind of fighting from a different perspective than you were 10 years ago. When you’re recruiting against other schools that sometimes can offer something that you can’t, you start your battle a little more uphill than you really want to be battling up that hill … at the moment right now, I think what our alumni have done has been amazing. They’re trying to step up.”
The college’s president, Milo Riverso, was just as grateful for the initiative by alum. Riverso is an alumnus of the school who received his bachelor of engineering in 1981 from MC.
“Manhattan College has been blessed with passionate and generous alumni and this innovative ‘The 1 Train Collective’ is yet another proactive example of how they continue to support our mission and students,” Riverso said in an article posted on the GoJapers website. “My thanks to everyone involved in this initiative.”
Manhattan College’s director of athletics who joined the college in the fall, is also appreciative of the new collective for Jasper athletes. She also hopes that this new collective at MC will be a top destination for future student-athletes interested in playing in New York City.
“Manhattan College is appreciative of our alumni who have engineered this pivotal The 1 Train Collective,” Irma Garcia said in the article. “College sports have dramatically changed in recent years, and this collective provides support for our student-athletes and underscores Manhattan College’s position as a top destination for student-athletes interested in studying and competing in New York City.”