Thanks to the partnership of two popular southern Minnesota businesses, members of the Minnesota State Men’s Hockey team are able to prioritize their studies and game performance through the Line Change Collective.
The Line Change Collective was created to help student athletes monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL). Founder and Line Change Collective Board Chair Michelle Schooff said while the collective started in September, Minnesota State Men’s Hockey Head Coach Luke Strand brought up the idea in February.
“We were talking about the changing landscape of college hockey and what kind of tools we needed as a university to attract top talent and retain current athletes on the roster,” Schooff said. “We really tried to understand the landscape and how we compare to other universities across the country. We’re at the top quarter of universities who are trying to put a collective in place to ensure athletes have opportunities to make money.”
Strand said after seeing collectives pop up at other universities, mainly for football and basketball, the concept of the collective arose as a way to have MSU compete on a national scope, no matter the conference of opposing teams.
“The college game has changed towards name, image and likeness,” Strand said. “If we could be collaborative with not only helping individuals, but then as a program as well to expand their brand and teach them how to be young entrepreneurs, I think there’s a life lesson behind it all.”
While Strand said a common misnomer on NIL is “going to the $2 million quarterback that hasn’t taken a snap,” he doesn’t see it as the business he’s in.
“We want to stretch a dollar further for the athlete,” Strand said. “This is a direction for college athletics I’d rather be ahead of than behind.”
Schooff reached out to Mankato Brewery over the summer where they came up with the Mankato Line Change Lager. She reached out after partnering with Mankato Brewery for Hockey Day Minnesota in 2022.
“They created a ‘Crosscheck’ Pilsner and the money from the beer came back to the Hockey Day fund,” Schooff said.“They had been looking at creating a light beer and this was a great way to do it where they could give some money back to the student athletes.”
Schooff said the decision to reach out to Black Frost Distillery in New Ulm came from wanting to expand the Maverick fanbase beyond Mankato. The distillery came up with a vodka-based blackberry seltzer to sell. The beer launched during the hockey home-opener weekend while the seltzer launched family weekend. Schooff said both products have been best-sellers.
“The first two weekends the beer was the number one seller at the arena. When the seltzer was brought out, both drinks were in the top three sellers of alcohol products,” Schooff said.
Proceeds from the drinks go into collective funds to offer student athletes different opportunities such as sponsored social media posts, autograph appearances and the ability to participate in hockey camps in the player’s hometown. Other partnerships included UNRL and Lunch Bucket Hockey who put together jerseys and hoodies with athlete’s names and numbers for additional compensation.
Junior Goaltender Alex Tracy said the collective has been “beneficial” for him after worries earlier this semester about being able to pick up shifts at Maverick’s Sports Grill and balancing schoolwork.
“I think it was a great idea and resource for us to be able to put more emphasis to focus on our students and performance on the ice,” Tracy said. “It relieves some of the stresses of trying to find a job away from the rink, but still supports us so we can put more focus on why we’re here to play hockey.”
Senior Forward Brian Carrabes said he and his teammates have noticed “a huge difference” when it comes to balancing schedules and focusing on studies.
“I know a couple of guys were working two jobs at some points and staying really late at night when we had early workouts in the morning,” Carrabes said. “It’s been unbelievable for us and being able to be a part of the community more is something we want to happen.”
While Strand said the outreach from Mankato Brewery and Black Frost Distillery is an “awesome feeling,” the men’s hockey team still plans to give back to the community.
“We’re still going to be active in the community on things that will never put a nickel in some of our players’ pockets because we want to be those people in the community,” Strand said.
Having been under Strand’s coaching during their time with the Sioux City Musketeers, Tracy and Carrabes said community service has been a staple for his teams.
“Any opportunity that we can get out to the community, I know Coach Strand is for it and we are as well,” Tracy said. “The relationships that go along with these opportunities have been really special.”
For Carrabes, he said volunteering doesn’t feel like work.
“We love this community and at the end of the day, it’s something we want to leave a better place than we found it,” Carrabes said.
While the Line Change Collective is only applicable to the Men’s Hockey team, Schooff said she’d like to see the collective expand to other Maverick Athletic Teams.
“It made sense to start with a Division I sport where we have such a captive audience where there’s a lot of opportunity to reach fans and increase the engagement with the team’s connection with the community,” Schooff said.
Carrabes echoed Schooff’s statement by saying “it would be unbelievable” to see the standards set at MSU be raised.
There’s no monetary goal set, but Schooff said she’d like to see the collective grow as large as it can.
“If you put a dollar in the collective, a dollar is going to the student athlete with no fees, processing, anything,” Schooff said. “We’re trying to maximize our ability to supplement scholarships that have been extended to both current and future athletes.”
Strand said he sees the collective impacting his players “beyond the walls” of Minnesota State for their personal brands.
“It’s going to be in their pro career, it’s going to be in their business world someday,” Strand said. “As we get this going, people are going to want to be involved because they’re going to want to be attached to the athlete they helped.”
Tracy said seeing the support from local companies “doesn’t go unnoticed” and is “really special” to have their support.
“It’s a testament that this city has for Maverick Hockey and Maverick Athletics in general. Their passion only fuels us to get better every single day,” Tracy said.
Both the beer and seltzer are available for purchase at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center and at bars, liquor stores and restaurants throughout the Mankato area. For those looking to get involved with the Line Change Collective, head to linechangenil.com.
