Usually, sitting on the beach in Wrightsville, North Carolina during the July 4th weekend means one thing: relaxation. Surrounded by 20ish family members, the only thing I care about is laying on the beach, enjoying the water, and playing beach games with my younger cousins. While that summer vacation in 2021 didn’t differ much from that approach, there was one pivotal moment that has led to me co-founding a company going into my senior year of college.

While enjoying the North Carolina sunset on the house balcony with my family members, my uncle began asking me questions about NIL, which at the time was just being implemented and was brand new. While on the trip, I tweeted a sponsored post for GoPuff, a delivery service that drops off groceries and other essential items. Making twenty dollars for the post, my uncle was intrigued that a walk-on athlete could have NIL deals and benefit off the new legislation. Little did he know, that was just one small opportunity I capitalized on, and, in reality, I had no real NIL deals lined up.

Once I explained to him that this was a one-off deal that was available for all college athletes, and how walk-ons don’t get much representation in the NIL realm, he commented on how he thought walk-ons should get more NIL value as they are so much more than just football players, and that their character traits should make them extremely attractive to companies looking for partnerships.

My father seconded that opinion, and mentioned how influential walk-ons could be if they could somehow unify and have their influence aggregated. From that idea, the rough creation of Walk-On U sprung up. For the next hour, myself and a group of my family members talked through how smart it would be for a company to represent walk-ons and how that could unify these hardworking student-athletes nationally. 

With assistance from my mother, we landed on the name Walk-On U, a catchy, short company name that got unanimous approval from both parents and kids alike inside the beach house.

With just a few days left in my vacation, I spent the time pondering how I could make this a viable business entity and how it would operate. And man, was that difficult. Going into my sophomore year of college, I was ill-prepared and ill-equipped, and struggled with the creativity and persistence needed to start a company. After a mere few weeks, discouraged and not making any progress, I quit working on the project.

So, just as quickly as it was created, it faltered, and Walk-On U was just a past thought for me throughout my sophomore year and the first semester of my Junior year.

Enter Ford Buckner, a brilliant, hardworking classmate of mine who also has been my closest and best friend for the past seven years (we went to high school and attend college together). I mentioned my idea to Ford sometime last year, and how I thought it was a good idea but how I failed to give it any substance. He loved the idea and we talked about how it could become a prosperous business idea, but with school and athletics at Vanderbilt eating up my time, and with music consuming Ford’s time, the idea remained stagnant. 

In December of 2022, after this past football season ended, I walked away from the Vanderbilt football program. With three seasons under my belt, I was proud of what I put into the program and the success I had had on the field. I wanted to go study abroad and my application was accepted for me to study at Saint Louis University in Madrid, and, although it was difficult, that’s exactly what I did. I left football for good and now was focusing my efforts on school and business opportunities. 

Ford came to Madrid as well, and it has been here, all the way across the Atlantic, that we have revived Walk-On U. Without Ford, this collective would have never been founded, and I am proud and blessed to have him as the cofounder of Walk-On U. His ideas have transformed the basic idea I had for Walk-On U into something much more complex and sophisticated. He pushed me to work on it with him, and it was his hard work paired with mine that has made this company come into fruition.

As I am writing this, Ford and myself are still pouring the foundation for Walk-On, and much needs to be done so that we can fully service walk-on athletes. Our vision needs to be proven first at Vanderbilt before we can even think about expanding, and we are working around the clock to make sure that plan happens.

I can’t wait to see where this business takes Ford and I, and I am so excited to see what the upcoming 2023-2024 school year has in store for our young collective. While we are young and still figuring out how to run a business, we are passionate and driven, and are determined to make this work. 

Follow us on social media and check our website for updates on how Walk-On U is doing!

— Jack Barton, Co-Founder

As much as I'd like to take credit, Walk-On U was Jack's brainchild, through and through. He'd mentioned the idea to me a few times throughout college, an innovative idea capitalizing on the explosion of NIL activity in collegiate football, but with a twist.

Sure, one could chase the lucrative contracts of NCAA's most recognized scholarship athletes. These deals naturally dominate the NIL marketplace. Now, to organize a collective composed of an entire team's walk-on unit struck me as strategic and innovative. Jack was onto something.

Jack and Tommy Eckels, a walk-on LB in the '24 class, have been both my roommates and close friends throughout our years at Vanderbilt. I've witnessed first hand the extreme discipline, perseverance, and total effort applied to the program, often unrewarded. As Tommy often reminds me, "You couldn't handle the grind of an SEC schedule."

Not that they complain. These players know the challenges of the sport...hard work is never exerted in pursuit of praise or recognition, it's about placing the goals of the program above your own, and sacrificing for your teammates.

Still, the school's walk-ons play integral roles on the roster. Many players make a notable impact on special teams, others through the scout team unit, and some through play calling on gameday. In many ways, the walk-ons make up the heart and soul of an athletic program, bringing passion, humor, and energy to the locker room and the field. In rare cases, a walk-on will dominate the game and achieve success and stardom. Think J.J. Watt or Clay Matthews. So, while improbable that a singular walk-on football player attract the attention of a national brand, the question still remained:

What about a walk-on collective?

Beginning our spring semester abroad in Madrid, the idea had gone dormant. However, with a new setting and an abundance of free time, the conversation reemerged quickly. We had the idea, had the drive, and knew the players. Just like that, Walk-On U was born.

The rationale is simple: Where one scholarship athlete with, say, 50k Instagram followers can generate substantial revenue through corporate partnerships, there exists an opportunity for 20+ walk-ons, having equal or greater aggregate following, to capitalize on the same deals. As the conversation progressed, however, we began to recognize many additional advantages to contracting with walk-ons.

For starters, the group naturally exerts more personal influence than the individual, especially when it comes to in-person events and  representation of company merchandise. Whereas scholarship players often stick to the confines of the football program, walk-ons are deeply enmeshed in the student-body through classes, student organizations, and social clubs. Furthermore, the sphere of social media influence, while small relative to a program's star players, is extremely targeted, often local and composed of individuals that have a personal connection to the players. These followers, unlike disconnected fans,  are immensely more likely to respond to the player's endorsements and calls to action.

The walk-on in many ways reflects the underdog story, a motif that resonates with any entrepreneur or business owner that fights to achieve success in the competitive marketplace. We are confident that businesses, donors, and charitable organizations will recognize the integrity of our athletes and embrace the mission of the collective. I'm immensely proud to represent our walk-ons, and I can't wait to watch Walk-On U flourish and expand!

— Ford Buckner, Co-Founder