Last week, Marquette volleyball put out a press release announcing a notable change in how the Be The Difference collective will be operating in concert with the athletic department in the future. The volleyball team is now a part of BTD’s name, image, and likeness sponsorship program in part through cooperation with Milwaukee Sting, a local club volleyball program, and Milotso, a “non-profit organization that provides a bridge for student-athletes to make a difference in the lives of youth in their communities.”
Let’s get to some quotes from the press release.
Travis Diener, Marquette men’s basketball legend and BTD Executive Director:
“We are incredibly excited to announce this new wave of support for volleyball,” said Travis Diener, Executive Director of BTD NIL. “Thanks to the generous donations and strategic partnerships with Milotso and Sting, we can significantly enhance the NIL resources available to volleyball athletes.”
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Tom Foti, Co-Founder and President of Milotso:
“At Milotso, we believe in the power of sports to transform lives,” said Tom Foti, Co-founder and President of Milotso. “Partnering with BTD NIL allows us to contribute meaningfully to women’s volleyball and support athletes in building their team building, leadership and mentorship skills.”
Ted Schulte, Milwaukee Sting President:
“Our partnership with BTD NIL is a testament to our dedication to athlete development and empowerment,” said Schulte. “We are proud to support this initiative and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on the volleyball community.”
Ryan Theis, Marquette volleyball head coach:
“As a coach, I believe in empowering our athletes both on and off the court,” Theis said. ”The new opportunities provided by partnerships with Be the Difference will allow our players to make an impact in their community and prepare for life beyond sports. It’s a game-changer that aligns with our mission to develop well-rounded individuals who excel in every aspect of their lives.”
Did you catch the clue in there? Go check out the Milotso website for a minute. Yep, there’s already a bunch of Marquette volleyball pictures there, and more importantly, there’s Marquette setter/right side hitter Ella Foti listed as co-founder and mentor. This is not news to anyone who’s reading the Marquette Tribune regularly. Back in October, Jack Albright did a feature on Foti’s involvement in the creation and founding of Milotso.
“I was always growing up like ‘Oh, the tall girl,’” Ella said. “And then when you don’t have that, when that shifts away from you, it’s like, ‘Well, who am I?’ So, at 14, I had an identity crisis. I wanted to be known as a kind person, someone who’s willing to be selfless for others and will just work hard.”
This mindset fueled the Marquette junior right side’s drive to create Milotso, a non–profit organization with the mission of helping student-athletes engage with their communities through sports and volunteering.
The non-profit organization goes to different schools in Milwaukee and plays many sports and board games with the city’s youth. But it goes deeper than that, also providing mental health support for the kids they work with.
To be honest, the Milotso portion of this NIL development for Marquette volleyball is the only true new portion of this. About a month ago, Milwaukee Sting announced their partnership with both Marquette volleyball and BTD, including quotes from Ryan Theis, thanks to a notable anonymous donation. I suspect that the athletic department waited until the details with Milotso were finalized before putting out one press release to cover both angles here.
Short version to all of this: Marquette volleyball players are going to start getting paid for their work with both Milwaukee Sting and Milotso, the same way that the men’s and women’s basketball teams have been getting paid for their work with Milwaukee based ventures like SHARP Literacy and the MAAC Fund. This arrangement serves multiple purposes all at once: It keeps Marquette athletics competitive with other Division 1 programs in terms of name, image, and likeness operations, and it gets the Marquette athletes involved in the community around them. Both things serve Marquette University’s goals of not only providing the best possible student-athlete experience, but also developing well-rounded young people who enter the world with MU diplomas.
There’s another upside to this, and that’s the expansion of the Be The Difference operation to cover a sport that’s not basketball. As I discussed last August, Marquette volleyball is the Best Team On Campus, as their consistent success since 2010 makes that title untouchable. Expanding Marquette’s NIL cooperative efforts to reach the most consistently successful program in the athletic department is just smart business by both BTD and Marquette. It’s also a sign that BTD’s business is going well, as they obviously have the capital to be able to make this expansion. I don’t have any insight to their finances, but perhaps it won’t be that long before soccer, lacrosse, and MU’s other athletic endeavors find their way into the BTD portfolio.
If that’s something you’d like to see happen sooner rather than later, may I encourage you to make a donation to Be The Difference? They have to raise the money in order to be able to pay the money out, and the best way for you to help make that happen is to slide a few dollars their way.
