Virginia Tech, Purdue Lead February Sales Across NIL Store Network
Ahead of March Madness, the top basketball programs in the country continued to dominate sales across the NIL Store powered by Campus Ink network in February.
The shortest month of the year certainly didn’t lack activity for us. We launched SEVEN new stores across the country - from UCLA to West Virginia - bringing us to 48 STORES nationwide. Continuing to innovate in the space, we hosted a limited-time NIL pop-up store in West Lafayette to support Purdue men’s and women’s basketball teams through the postseason.
As if college basketball fans needed more excitement heading into March Madness, we revealed the first wave of our Campus Edition Basketball Jersey collection paying tribute to the vibrant traditions of each school's community.
This month, we’re highlighting the Top 10 Best-Selling Schools in the NIL Store network from February, where every purchase is a direct contribution to the pockets of these talented student-athletes.
Top-10 Schools:
#10 Ohio State NIL Store
A pair of women's programs led Ohio State to another top-10 finish, with the Top-5 ranked women's basketball team leading the way and closely followed by the National Champion Dance Team.
Women's basketball's Cotie McMahon was the top individual seller, while the Dance Team's national championship drop was a hot commodity.
#9 Indiana NIL Store
Indiana's top-15 women's basketball program were the best-sellers for the month, led by their string of star players: Mackenzie Holmes, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Sara Scalia.
The Men's basketball team was close behind, as well!
#8 LSU NIL Store
With LSU looking to repeat as National Champions in women’s basketball, their sales continued to rise in February, led by superstar duo Angel Reese - the SEC Player of the Year - and Hailey Van Lith, who were both among the top-selling female athletes for the month via the LSU NIL Store.
Expect their apparel to continue to rise as the Tournament tips off.
#7 Illinois NIL Store
The No.12-ranked Illini men’s basketball team led the way for the Illinois NIL Store, with duo Coleman Hawkins and Marcus Domask being among the top-selling male athletes in February.
The team overall was the 5th best selling sport by school over the month and with the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments ahead of them, expect the Illini to continue to soar.
#6 Virginia Tech NIL Store
It was a huge month for the Virginia Tech NIL store, but especially for No. 11-ranked women’s basketball duo Georgia Amoore and Liz Kitley, who finished February as the top two selling female athletes and No. 3 and No. 4 overall across the entire NIL Store Network.
The three-time ACC Player of the Year Kitley and her sister Raven created custom NIL merchandise to give back to the Virginia Tech Autism Clinic, showing the power of NIL for good.
#5 Iowa NIL Store
Iowa basketball has been the talk of the college sports world in February and basketball duo Hannah Stuelke (women’s) and Owen Freeman (men’s) have been leading the way across the Iowa NIL Store.
Stuelke - who had a career-high 47 point performance in February - was a top-five selling female athlete for the month, while Freeman was a top-10 male.
Iowa women’s basketball was a top-10 selling team across the board and their dominance will no doubt continue as March Madness tips off.
#4 Marquette NIL Store
With a top-10 national ranking throughout February, Marquette men’s basketball squad and the Marquette NIL Store crushed the month from a sales perspective.
The Golden Eagles’ second-leading scorer Tyler Kolek led the way as a top-10 seller overall.
High expectations for Marquette in the NCAA Tournament mean more sales in the coming month. They’ll be atop of our March rankings yet again.
#3 UConn NIL Store
A perennial power in the college basketball rankings and our top-selling school lists, UConn and the UConn NIL Store again find themselves near the top of February sales.
Led by women’s basketball superstar Paige Bueckers - our third-best selling female athlete - and teammate Nika Muhl, the women’s team was the No. 2 best selling team across the entire network.
With a deep NCAA Tournament run surely in store for the Huskies, watch for them to climb our rankings during March.
#2 UNC NIL Store
From launching in January, to finishing No. 2 overall in February, the North Carolina NIL Store has certainly made its presence felt across our network in just a short window.
In a popular basketball season, The UNC men’s lacrosse and baseball teams both appear in our top-10 list of best-selling sports overall, highlighting the popularity of sports other than hoops.
With men’s basketball heading to the NCAA tournament with high expectations, their products should sell well over the next month.
#1 Purdue NIL Store
The Purdue NIL Store continues to land atop our monthly sales, a testament to their passionate fanbase and the success of their men’s basketball team, now ranked No. 3 in the country.
Likely repeat National Player of the Year Zach Edey again was the top-selling athlete overall, while teammates Lance Jones (#2), Braden Smith (#5), Mason Gillis (#9) all ranked in our top-10 of best-selling athletes.
Women’s basketball player Mary Ashley Stevenson finished the month in the top-10 of best selling-female athletes, putting Purdue over the top overall across our network.
With National Championship aspirations in March, watch out for yet another top-ranked finish for the Purdue NIL store.
###