NIL Store Announces 2026 NIL Store Award Winners on NIL Day's 5th Anniversary
Five years ago today, the NCAA's landmark policy change allowed college athletes to start profiting from their name, image and likeness for the first time. To mark the anniversary, the NIL Store is unveiling its 2026 NIL Store Awards — a 24-category celebration of the athletes, schools and administrators who have shaped the NIL era over the past year.
And because nothing says "Happy NIL Day" like extra savings: every athlete storefront on the NIL Store is earning an additional 10% on all sales today, July 1.
Complete NIL Store Awards Winners!
Top Earners: Azzi Fudd and Braden Smith Lead the Marketplace
UConn women's basketball star Azzi Fudd was named the NIL Store's Top-Earning Female Athlete overall, capping a year that saw her merchandise resonate with fans nationwide.
On the men's side, Purdue guard Braden Smith took home Top-Earning Male Athlete honors, reflecting another record-setting year of sales across the NIL Store's network of 150-plus universities and 30,000-plus student-athletes.
Athletes of the Year: NIL With Purpose
Beyond the leaderboard, the NIL Store's Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards recognize athletes who paired on-field success with off-field impact.
Indiana football brothers Fernando and Alberto Mendoza earned the men's honor for channeling their NIL platform into multiple sclerosis awareness initiatives on behalf of their mother, who battles the disease. Their advocacy turned a personal family story into a national conversation about MS — and showed what NIL can look like when it's used in service of something bigger than merchandise sales.
Azzi Fudd doubled up on hardware, also taking home Female Athlete of the Year for her work hosting the annual Hooping for the Cure clinic and consistently creating opportunities for the next generation of young female basketball players.
2026 NIL Store Award Winners & Finalists
Winners are bolded; finalists are listed alphabetically. Stat-based categories reflect NIL Store merchandising results since July 1, 2025.
Voted Awards
School of the Year (Group I): UConn — Illinois, Purdue, LSU, UCLA
School of the Year (Group II): Boise State — Illinois State, South Florida, Tulane, Western Kentucky
Male Athlete of the Year: Fernando & Alberto Mendoza – Indiana Football — AJ Dybantsa (BYU MBB), Jonah Coleman (Washington Football), Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State MBB), Nick Boyd (Wisconsin MBB)
Female Athlete of the Year: Azzi Fudd – UConn WBB — Flau'jae Johnson (LSU WBB), Harper Murray (Nebraska Volleyball), Sarah Strong (UConn WBB)
School Activation of the Year: UCLA – WBB Dance Sensation — Michigan State (Madness Merch), Syracuse (Otto Orange's First Mascot NIL Deal), VMI (Football Alumni Rally Around Elijah Brooks)
NIL Admin of the Year (Group I): Teri Hanneke – UCLA — Brett Sible (DePaul), Carley Mooney (UConn), Eddie Taylor (Cincinnati), Jenna Johnson (Vanderbilt), Kara Cannizzaro (North Carolina), Terrell Smith (Duke), Toby Baldwin (Oklahoma)
NIL Admin of the Year (Group II): Lauren Cherry – North Texas — Brennan White (Illinois State), Justin Miller (Temple), Todd Anderson (Mercer)
Moment of the Year: UConn – Braylon Mullins, “Money Mullins” (game-winning shot vs. Duke in the Elite Eight) — Illinois (Luke Altmyer's Big Mullet Energy), Indiana (Omar Cooper Jr.'s Catch of the Year), Michigan (Yaxel Lendeborg's Triple Yaxel), Purdue (Braden Smith's #41 Blood Jersey), West Virginia (Greenbrier Five)
Licensing Director of the Year (Group I): Kyle Muncy – UConn — Jeri Thorpe (Arkansas), Marty Kaufmann (Illinois), Brian Hommel (LSU), Erika Austin (Michigan State), Lonna Henrichs (Nebraska), Heston Hybarger (Purdue), Rachel Duffy (Syracuse), Jenn Miller (West Virginia)
Licensing Director of the Year (Group II): Melissa Spain – East Carolina — Shelby Silflow (Idaho), Gabe Delatte (Tulane), Heidi Adams (Utah State)
Stat-Based Awards (No Voting)
Top-Selling School (Overall): UConn — Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Purdue
Top-Selling School (Group II): Western Kentucky — Boise State, Illinois State, Saint Louis, VMI
Top-Selling Women's Sports Program (Overall): UConn WBB — Iowa WBB, LSU WBB, Nebraska Volleyball, UCLA WBB
Top-Selling Men's Sports Program (Overall): Illinois MBB — Michigan State MBB, Nebraska MBB, Ohio State Football, Purdue MBB
Top-Selling Women's Sports Program (Group II): Saint Louis Softball — Duquesne WBB, Illinois State WBB, South Dakota WBB, WKU Volleyball
Top-Selling Men's Sports Program (Group II): VMI Football — Boise State Football, Hawaii Football, North Texas Football, Temple Football
Top-Earning Male Athlete (Overall): Braden Smith – Purdue MBB — Andrej Stojakovic (Illinois MBB), David Mirkovic (Illinois MBB), Fernando Mendoza (Indiana Football), Keaton Wagler (Illinois MBB)
Top-Earning Female Athlete (Overall): Azzi Fudd – UConn WBB — Flau'jae Johnson (LSU WBB), Lauren Betts (UCLA WBB), KK Arnold (UConn WBB), Sarah Strong (UConn WBB)
Top-Earning Male Athlete (Group II): Kansei Matsuzawa – Hawaii — Caleb Hawkins (North Texas), Drew Mestemaker (North Texas), Noah Knigga (Eastern Michigan), Rocky Beers (Colorado State)
Top-Earning Female Athlete (Group II): Tori Schlagel – South Dakota WBB — Alexis Bordas (Duquesne WBB), Lauren Flowers (Illinois State Softball), Naomi Panganiban (San Diego State WBB), Nora Hayd (Boise State Beach Volleyball)
Top-Earning Male Athlete (Olympic Sport): Gavin Kelly – West Virginia Baseball — Armani Guzman (West Virginia Baseball), Porter Martone (Michigan State Hockey), Roch Cholowsky (UCLA Baseball), Trey Augustine (Michigan State Hockey)
Top-Earning Female Athlete (Olympic Sport): Harper Murray – Nebraska Volleyball — Andi Jackson (Nebraska Volleyball), Chloe Humphrey (North Carolina Women's Lacrosse), Jordy Frahm (Nebraska Softball), Karlyn Pickens (Tennessee Softball)
Celebrate NIL Day With 10% More
Today only, every purchase from an athlete's NIL Store storefront comes with an extra 10% earned on their behalf — our way of marking five years of athletes building their own brands. Browse storefronts and shop now →
About the NIL Store
The NIL Store is the leading collegiate name, image and likeness merchandise marketplace, serving more than 150 universities and 30,000 student-athletes nationwide. The NIL Store is a brand of Campus Ink.
About Campus Ink
Campus Ink is a vertically integrated collegiate apparel and merchandise company headquartered in Urbana, Ill., operating its own production and fulfillment center. In addition to the NIL Store, Campus Ink's brands include a Greek Total Merch Management program serving national fraternity chapters and a collegiate student design program.
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