Griz soccer program lands team-wide NIL deal

The Montana soccer program, through the Good Ol' Grizzlies Collective and SANIL, has reached a three-year Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal with the Missoula Surf Soccer Club.

In a first-of-its-kind deal for a team at Montana, every player on coach Chris Citowicki's Grizzlies will receive equal financial compensation in exchange for club activities and community appearances.

Tennessee and two-time national champion Santa Clara have previously made women's soccer team-wide NIL deals.

"When NIL came about, my initial thought, like everybody's, was that it was going to mostly benefit football, men's basketball and women's basketball," said Citowicki.

"To have a team collective deal that is going to run for multiple years is special and shows how much pride this community has in this program that there are people who want to support us in this way.

"It's win-win. The amount of community service and the number of touch points we'll have in Missoula because of this is what I'm most excited about. It puts us out there even more."

The Missoula Surf Soccer Club was founded in 2021.

"Missoula Surf Soccer greatly values the contribution of each member of the Griz soccer program in our community as players, mentors and role models," said Travis Goodkind, Club Director for Missoula Surf.

"We are beyond excited to work with players from the Griz soccer team to continue building opportunities for youth in the Missoula community.

"Stay tuned for more exciting programming involving these fantastic college players. Griz Nation and Missoula Surf are making waves together!"

Montana is off to a 5-1-1 start to the season, holds a No. 7 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches West Region poll and defeated Oklahoma on Sunday in Spokane.

University of Montana Athletics

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