TBIA: UMD football's charity & player retention!

Earlier this fall, the University of Maryland football program launched The Best is Ahead Foundation, an organization aimed at generating funds to provide NIL opportunities for Terps football athletes.

(Note: 100% of donations will go to The Best is Head Foundation!)

Already, the foundation has arranged charitable partnerships for a number of athletes. who have earned money while supporting efforts such as elemenatry school literacy programs, with players speaking with and reading local youth, as well as gun violence and mental health programs.

"It'll be life-changing for some of these athletes. It's former athletes donating, it's current Terps supporters, and I've met with people that aren't even Terps but want to support it because it's such a worthwhile cause," said Dan Crowley, Executive Vice President of The Best os Ahead Foundation.

The opportunities provided by the foundation also helps the program retain its players in the competitive marketplace of Name, Image and Likeness, in which programs often use the transfer portal and NIL opportunities to try and lure away top players. It helped Maryland keep some of its top players who were offered opportunities elsewhere.

"These deals will be community enhance lives of underserved youth in the DMV. When you talk about coach Locksley, he was an underserved youth in the community. He always says he best is ahead, we took that to heart," Crowley said.

TBIA is a 501c foundation, so all contributions are tax-deductible. Help IMS show its fan-power and its support of these charities, Maryland athletes and the Terps football program by donating here!

More from TBIA executive VIP Dan Crowley:

My connection to Maryland Football: I was a teammate with Coach Mike Locksley in 1991 at Towson State University. Coach Locksley and I have been friends ever since. I most recently had the position of Interim Director of Athletics at Towson University prior to opening TBIAF in August 2022. I was a local prospective student-athlete at DeMatha High School in 1990 and my Father attended the University of Maryland and was a member of the Baseball Team ’70.

The Best is Ahead Foundation (TBIAF) mission is to partner with the University of Maryland football players to work with the youth in our community to build a better tomorrow. As a registered 501c3, we are committed to raising funds that focus on community service initiatives for the University of Maryland football players.

The Best is Ahead Foundation (TBIAF) was founded to enhance the lives of the underserved youth in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas while focusing

on four key initiatives while using the Name, Image, and Likeness of the University of Maryland football players.

The Four Initiatives to our Purpose:

1. Gun violence education

2. Drug and alcohol prevention

3. Mental health awareness

4. Literacy programs

There is another key initiative that we do not list because it will be understood as a foundation for our day-to-day vision of preparing the Maryland Football Players for Life After Football. That initiative is Financial Literacy. These young men will have the opportunity to generate significant income during their collegiate playing time and we have a team of volunteers and Board of Directors that are high profile Wealth Management Advisors that have agreed to devote their time to educate our young men.

TBIAF will differentiate ourselves from most NIL Collectives across the country because of our focus on community service, education and making a difference in the lives of the underserved youth in the DMV.

It is crucial and imperative that we raise capital in order to compensate every player on our roster. There will be certain players with increased marketability that will be compensated on a different scale however, the goal is for every player to have that opportunity. #ONETEAM / #ONEMARYLAND

Every stakeholder to TBIAF can rest assure that the funds which they commit will go directly to the student-athlete.

The NCAA NIL program has opened the door for the student-athlete to be compensated by individuals or organizations outside of the institution. TBIAF will lead this program for the Maryland Football Team with a strategic mission & vision intact.