FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas men's basketball team had enough widely successful season, going to the Sweet 16 for a third straight year. What the Hogs did off the court the last eight months might have been even more important.
Thanks to the help of their NIL deals with the AAC the Hogs raised nearly $175 thousand dollars for the Children's Safety Center, Jones Center and Samaritan Community Center.
Freshman Jordan Walsh volunteered at the Jones Center, senior Jalen Graham worked with the Samaritan Community Center and the whole team was a part of the Children's Safety Center.
5NEWS first introduced you to AAC back in January of 2022. The NIL created by Bryan and Mandy Hunt "assists in the development of student-athletes to achieve their maximum potential in all aspects of their college experience with a focus on their personal interactions in their community and civic responsibilities."
The AAC started small, bringing on JD Notae to work with the Samaritan Center. This year the NIL saw tremendous growth, taking on the entire Razorback team.
"We were able to go to the entire team and say look, how would you like to help children who need support," said Bryant Hunt? "Of course, they overwhelmingly said yes."
Bryan and Mandy Hunt say outside of helping raise money in Northwest Arkansas, the NIL deals are helping to create awareness for these athletes for what happens in their communities.
"These young men come to campus pretty focused on basketball and we want that," said Bryant Hunt. "But let me introduce you to our community and introduce you to the things going on in the community that we need your support on."
The AAC gives athletes a chance to make money through an NIL, but also serve the community they play in. It gives other athletes around the country the chance to see the difference they can make if they choose to come play at Arkansas.
"I just hope what we taught them, they take with them and share with those players coming in," said Mandy Hunt. "I truly believe what we have is something very different and unusual."
The Hunts say going further the goal is simply to continue to help the community with the growth and addition of more athletes.
"They've really learned how to give back to the community and I think they're really proud of themselves," said Mandy Hunt.