Brighter Futures

The Miner Collective assists UTEP Men's Basketball student-athletes to make a
positive impact in the community by use of their name, image, and/or likeness.

About The Miner Collective

The Miner Collective was started in 2022 in order to provide income for current and future UTEP Miner men’s basketball players. The intent of this initiative is to solicit funds into the collective, provide name, image, and likeness opportunities for UTEP’s men basketball players, and to disperse the funds to student-athletes who choose to participate.
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The overall objective of the Collective is to keep the UTEP men’s basketball program strong and competitive in the world of college sports by providing open, transparent, and legal income to players for use of their name, image, and/or likeness in promotional opportunities and charitable events in the community.

Who We Are

The Miner Collective is a non-profit, Texas corporation that includes UTEP fans, alumni, and businesses in the Borderplex who want to create support opportunities for student-athletes who represent UTEP on the basketball court. The Collective hopes to build marketing relationships between players and the El Paso community to assist these student-athletes in generating income through the use of their name, image, and/or likeness.
Members
The Law Office of
Steve Ortega, PLLC
High Desert Properties

The NIL Concept

NIL collectives for amateur athletes began in July 2021 after the Supreme Court ruled that college athletes can be paid for the use of their name, image, and likeness.  The NCAA has long argued that amateur athletes could not make money off things like jersey sales, autographs, and endorsements.  

Today that rule has changed and under guidelines of the NCAA, most states, and universities, college athletes can receive money for the use of their personal intellectual property.  That is the foundation of an NIL collective: to raise money for these athletes and to provide NIL opportunities for players who opt in and want to take advantage of the new NIL rules.

Becoming a Member

The Miner Collective is accepting donations starting at $1,000, with various giving levels above that amount. A representative from the Collective will be pleased to discuss donation opportunities with you.

By using the form below, you can opt-in to receive updates about the Collective, and to indicate what donation level ($1,000 or more) you or your company are considering. Depending on your level of interest, The Miner Collective will get in touch with you regarding tie-in opportunities, brand promotion, or civic and charitable engagement by Miner basketball players.
Even though the Miner Collective is a Texas nonprofit corporation, contributions to it are not deductible as charitable donations. You may, however, be able to deduct contributions to the Collective from your business as a business expense. The Miner Collective does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before deducting any contributions to the Collective.
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Please note: the Miner Collective is subject to all NCAA and UTEP rules and regulations pertaining to collegiate athletes and NIL collectives. The  Miner Collective is independent of UTEP but will act in coordination with the University and UTEP Athletics according to UTEP’s NIL policies and procedures.

By law, NIL collectives cannot offer “play for pay” money; rather, a collective is a way to provide support and income to college athletes for the use of their name, image, or likeness.

© The Miner Collective