The New Wells Fargo Center Announces Expanded NCAA Name, Image, And Likeness (NIL) Student-Athlete Ambassador Program

Local collegiate student-athletes partner with Comcast Spectacor and receive access to tickets for Flyers games, Wings games, and events at Wells Fargo Center; merchandise; and more in exchange for social media content and event promotion

Partnership with local student-athletes already showing results with sales and engagement among college students, a difficult-to-reach demographic

 

PHILADELPHIA (December 6, 2022) – After a successful pilot year, Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Philadelphia Flyers, the Philadelphia Wings, and the New Wells Fargo Center, today announced an expanded Student-Athlete Ambassador program made possible by the NCAA’s policy that allows student-athletes to benefit from name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities.

In the fall of 2021, Comcast Spectacor began working with local college student-athletes to promote the Flyers, Wings, and New Wells Fargo Center concerts and events in exchange for tickets, merchandise, and other benefits. During the pilot year, the company partnered with local student-athletes across a variety of sports from each of Philadelphia’s “City 6” universities with Division I athletic programs (Villanova, Temple, St. Joseph’s, Penn, Drexel, and La Salle).

The pilot year of the ambassador program paid dividends for the organization -- the Flyers saw performance improvements in its Student Rush program, a last-minute discounted ticketing platform for local college students. The student-athletes were responsible for a 10x increase in Student-Rush registrations despite last season’s restrictions due to COVID-19. 

Due to the success of the initial year, the program is returning this year with an expanded roster of schools. In addition to the “City 6” schools included in last year’s roster, the student-athlete ambassador program now includes student-athletes from Cabrini University, Rowan University, and University of Delaware, with plans to expand to more institutions in the Philadelphia region.

“Philly is a big city, but it’s also a college town with so many universities within the city limits and close by. This innovative student-athlete ambassador program allows us to reach local college students in a hyper-targeted way with organic content from digital-savvy, influential, trusted, and engaging personalities they already know from campus,” said Valerie Camillo, President & CEO of Spectacor Sports & Entertainment. “It’s well established that that influencer marketing has a huge impact in the advertising space, particularly with young consumers, and we are seeing those results first-hand through our Student Rush program. In return for their help promoting events, these student-athletes are also able to build their personal brands, gain real-world marketing experience, and reap benefits from their name, image, and likeness, so we view this as a win-win for everyone involved. "It has been an incredible opportunity to work with and represent Wells Fargo Center in my position as a student-athlete,” said Danielle Stuart, sophomore soccer player at Saint Joseph’s University. “I’m honored to be a part of this class of ambassadors, and it has already taught me so much about the business side of the events industry. I look forward to learning even more and experiencing the best events in Philadelphia at a world-class venue like Wells Fargo Center.”

 

Student-athletes were selected by Comcast Spectacor based on their profiles within their campus communities, their social media followings, and their content creation skills and abilities. Students interested in participating in the program should inquire here.

 

Moving forward, the ambassadors will continue to grow the Student Rush ticket program, influence and expand the Flyers merchandise business, and support the organization’s broader community efforts.  

 

The current list of Wells Fargo Center Student-Athlete Ambassadors:

Danielle Stuart	Saint Joseph’s University	Sophomore	Women’s Soccer
Lizzie Gaebel	University of Delaware	Grad Student	Field Hockey
Anthony Paoletti	University of Delaware	Grad Student	Football
Kaitlyn Hoefling	La Salle University	Senior	Women’s Soccer
Robert Stashek	Rowan University	Junior	Football
Owen Mehok	Saint Joseph’s University	Sophomore	Men’s Lacrosse
Hunter Waldron	Cabrini University	Freshman	Men’s Lacrosse
Alex Kornafel	Drexel University	Sophomore	Women’s Soccer
Gage Panno	Temple University	Redshirt Junior	Football
Michela Favazza	Drexel University	Sophomore	Field Hockey
Marianna Papazoglou	University of Pennsylvania	Sophomore	Women’s Basketball
Robert Stashek	Rowan University	Junior	Football
Jason Fridge	Cabrini University	Freshman	Men’s Lacrosse
Emma Schwarz	Villanova University	Sophomore	Field Hockey
Zach Cole	Saint Joseph’s University	Grad Student	Men’s Lacrosse
Will Wheeler	Villanova University	Junior	Men’s Lacrosse
Ryan O’Connell	University of Pennsylvania	Freshman	Football

 

-WELLS FARGO CENTER-