The Team

Last month, I concluded my participation in the inaugural class of The Team’s 2024 Civic Captain Initiative. As one of 27 Civic Captains from Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina, I served the Davidson community by hosting voter registration events, a watch party for The Team’s Virtual All-Star Meeting, and a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) event for All Vote No Play/Election Day. As a Civic Captain, I was able to leverage my platform as a student-athlete to improve institutional civic and voting practices within my athletic department and campus at large. The journey has been empowering and transformative, affirming the importance of using my voice and platform to drive positive change. I'm proud to have contributed to the culture of civic engagement on my campus and in my community. I am excited to carry these lessons forward as a student-athlete and as a leader. #AllVoteNoPlay

It was an honor and a pleasure to host Marlon Evans during our most recent Engaged Athlete Fellowship virtual session! Our fellows gained valuable insights into professional development and entrepreneurship from a seasoned expert. Thank you, Marlon, for your time!

2024 was a remarkable year for The Team! From directly engaging 189,216 individuals to reaching millions via social media, The Team not only surpassed our goals but redefined what’s possible. Through collaboration with athletic departments and student organizations, student-athletes in The Team’s network leveraged high-traffic campus spaces and digital platforms to amplify voter registration. ?? Here are some of the highlights: ???????? ???????????? ?????????? ???????????? ??The Virtual All-Star Meeting on October 8th brought 7,000 athletes, coaches, and supporters together, hosting 122 watch parties across 34 states, fueled by 1,200 pizzas from Pizza to the Polls. ??"Beyond the Game”, a collaboration with the Social Change Fund United and NAACP LDF, featured NBA legend Carmelo Anthony inspiring over 1,000 athletes from 19 HBCUs, with nearly 200 pizzas delivered to athletic departments. ??Clark Atlanta University and the University of South Florida welcomed civic engagement workshops for 1,250 student-athletes, in partnership with NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.. ??Through the Civic Responsibility Project, The Team helped energize voters at community dance parties in six cities during The Purple Tour, with appearances by The Team’s athletes as well as mascots from their athletic departments. Seeing success in 2024, The Team aims for an even greater athletic presence at future events. ???????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??Over 2M social media impressions from Team affiliated content ??Posts were shared from 500+ accounts ??Elite engagement rate of 5.95% (avg. engagement rate for a successful non-sports influencer is between 3-5%) ???????????????????? ???????????????? ??151,600 student-athletes received resources ??376 campuses reached ??31 athletic conferences mobilized ???????????? ?? ???? ???????? ???????? ???? ?????? ????????: ??? More than 80 live events ??? Almost 4000 voter actions ??? Almost 1000 new student voter registrations ??? A groundbreaking national sweepstakes with HeadCount Org ?????????????? ???????????? ?? Launched the Civic Captain Initiative in four states ?? Nearly doubled the size of the Engaged Athlete Fellowship Looking ahead, we are filled with anticipation for the exciting work to come in 2025. Building on the incredible momentum of 2024, we are eager to expand our impact, deepen our partnerships, and continue empowering student-athletes to drive civic engagement across the nation. Here's to another year of making a difference together! The Team’s work is grounded in a commitment to partnership. For a full list of our partnerships please visit our website at TheTeam.org.

??As the year wraps up, I’m reflecting on my incredible journey as a Civic Captain representing Elizabeth City State University. This year, I was honored to be one of 27 student-athletes selected for the 2024 Civic Captain Initiative with The Team . I’m also proud to have ranked #1 in voter actions within the program by integrating civic engagement into college athletics. Being part of this initiative allowed me to step beyond athletics and advocate for civic involvement. I led get-out-the-vote initiatives, organizied voter registration events and hosted watch parties, to encourage fellow athletes to recognize the power they have through voting and using their voices to create positive change in their communities. A highlight of this experience was serving as a panelist for the "Beyond the Game" virtual event, celebrating the role of HBCU athletics in shaping their communities, alongside leaders like Carmelo Anthony and organizations like Social Change Fund United I'm incredibly grateful to Joe Kennedy, Jess Deutsch and everyone at The Team and ECSU who supported me along the way. This experience has deepened my leadership skills and reinforced the importance of civic engagement within my campus and community. I’m excited to continue applying these lessons to make a lasting impact in my community and beyond.

I’m very proud of the civic work that my fellow Coogs and I accomplished at the University of Houston on Election Day. Civic engagement has been something I’ve championed all year on campus. After joining The Team Engaged Athlete Fellowship last August, I’ve been inspired to use my platform to motivate college students and other athletes to be better citizens. I’ve organized countless events from speaker panels, to voter registration drives, to community service events to achieve this goal, but November 5th was an amazing culmination of 14 months of hard work. On NCAA Civic Engagement Day (a mandatory day off from sports for all D1 athletes to exercise their right to vote), I organized a Parade to the Polls. My SAAC teammates and I were able to lead a group of 40 student-athletes and 20 Athletic Department staff members to march from the Athletic Center to the campus polls to cast our ballots and encourage the UH community to do the same. It was amazing to see the impact we had in one short hour. Football players, track stars, soccer players, swimmers, softball players, golfers, and many more came together to champion voting and get the student body excited about civics (many ended up making their way to the polls to cast their ballot after talking to us). While the election may be over, civic engagement continues to be critical to our democracy, and I’m looking forward to continuing my work with The Team during my final semester of college! Check out this article from the Daily Cougar highlighting the event! https://lnkd.in/eavtt-xe

?? Calling all college athletes and those that care about us. What: The Team ALL Star Meeting (Voting and Civic Engagement) When: Tuesday (Tomorrow), October 8th, 8 PM EST (5 PM PST) Where: Zoom https://lnkd.in/giDa_X3G S/O David Nevins for this write-up ???? ?? https://lnkd.in/gC2i_EsC #Grateful #Election2024 ??? #LinkedinSports

I'm so excited to announce I will be helping moderate The Team's All Star Meeting on October 8th to celebrate and amplify the impact that athletes are having beyond their sport! Find the link and info below to come join this amazing event! INVITE INFO: We are excited to invite you, your teams, your colleagues to The Team's 2024 Virtual All Star Meeting. This national nonpartisan event for athletes, coaches and administrators is designed to celebrate and expand the unique impact that athletes can have on our campuses, communities and our future. We have an epic line-up, featuring student athletes interviewing NCAA President Charlie Baker, UCLA quarterback Chase Griffin, Maryland's Governor Wes Moore, Olympic Rower Claire Collins, Seattle Storm’s Nneka Ogwumike, Cassidy Lichtman Athletes Unlimited and HEADLINER Phoenix Mercury All Star Natasha Cloud. We have surpassed our goal and are hosting a whopping 122 student athlete watch parties across the country! These watch parties will bring together an estimated 10,000 athletes, coaches, and supporters to gather, eat pizza, develop a voting plan, and watch the event on a big screen. In 2022, The Team's All Star meeting gathered over 2,000 athletes around the country to learn from sports greats Stephen Curry, Coach Tara VanDerveer, Cameron Brink, Dr.Condoleezza Rice, and others.? KEY INFO:? Date: Oct 8th, 2024 Time: 8pm EST/ 5pm PST Zoom Link sign up for Individuals: https://lnkd.in/gH_x_ZSi From the words of Lisa Kay Solomon, "In a time that feels divisive and hard, it’s inspiring to see how?student athletes are using their platform, their voice, their vote, their passion, and their grit?to help others 'get in the game' and shape the types of communities we want to be a part of."

Day 4 of #CivicImaginationWeek celebrates the power of ENGAGED ATHLETES who are using their voices and influence to shape better futures! ?? If you read my LinkedIn posts, you know I've long been passionate helping athletes& coaches have a positive impact beyond their sport. (See: NCAA is having a Ted Lasso Moment: https://lnkd.in/g7N4eJpi) It's been awesome to see the imaginative ways that athletes are flexing their "civic muscles" to fostering positive connections and collective impact that can transcend division and disengagement. Below are just a few of these truly inspiring initiatives that you can join, follow and amplify! ???? "Civic Tailgating" for the Win! Fall is not just a time for football tailgating. It’s also for Civic Tailgating! On Tuesday, Oct 8th, The Team will be hosting a virtual civic pep rally by bringing a together diverse group of civic “shot makers” on and off the court including former footballer Gov. Wes Moore,?WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) star Natasha Cloud, ?NCAA President Charlie Baker, 2x NIL Male Player of the year and UCLA QB Chase Griffin, among dozens of The Team's Civic Captains and Engaged Athlete Fellows across the country. To add to the fun, team tailgates will be furnished with free pizza from Pizza to the Polls (Yes, "In crust we trust."). We've got nearly 50 watch parties planned, and are excited to recruit more! Teams can register and sign up to host their own watch party on The Team's website: www.theteam.org (Deadline for pizza is Fri, 9/29). This civic pep rally follows the super successful 2022 event when 2000 athletes gathered in team watch parties (complete with mascots) to gain civic inspiration from sports icons like Stephen Curry, Stanford Athletics' most winning coach Tara VanDerveer, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Demario Davis,?and others.?(h/t to Coaches Eric Reveno and Joe Kennedy for starting the "All Vote No Play" movement, to the NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee for student leadership, and thousands of athletes and coaches who have brought it to their campuses). Check out 2022 highlights here: https://lnkd.in/g8mgnMEB ???? “Amplifying” More than a Vote! Nneka Ogwumike, WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) Seattle Storm All Star, President of the WOMENS NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION and former Stanford University WBB player, has taken over LeBron James's More Than A Vote, Inc., with a focus on women's reproductive rights this cycle. This effort, supported by amazing groups like Revolve Impact's Athletes for Impact is also collaborating with Amplifier to spearhead creative GOTV initiatives. WHOOT! ?? Elevating "The Power of My Voice" Campaign Athletes Unlimited's "The Power of My Voice" campaign is partnering with When We All Vote and will be hosting events during their 2024 Volleyball season in Arizona this fall. https://lnkd.in/gpEH2pKw Athletes know you've got to be in the game to win the game. Let's join them!

If you’re a student-athlete, coach, or administrator looking to lead on and off the field, this is the event to help you make your voice heard this election season and beyond ?? Get inspired and make an impact with The Team’s All-Star Meeting on Tuesday, October 8th! Our last event in 2022 featured?Stephen Curry, and this year’s lineup is just as epic—featuring powerhouse speaker Natasha Cloud of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury! Want in? Host a watch party with FREE pizza ?? from?Pizza to the Polls! You don't want to miss out! Direct message us today for the sign-up link.

I am thrilled to announce my acceptance into the 2024-2025 Engaged Athlete Fellowship cohort with The Team! This incredible program empowers student-athletes to enhance nonpartisan civic participation through a year-long community service project. My project will focus on a financial education series specifically designed for female student-athletes. While many details are still in the works, I’m excited to collaborate with my mentors and bring this initiative to life. A special thank you to Elizabeth Ford for this amazing opportunity! https://lnkd.in/geCA_7GQ