Tractor Tuesday Boosts Collegiate Athletes from Ag Backgrounds

HASTINGS, NEB., September 30, 2024 — The NCAA allows NILs or Name Image Likeness to financially benefit student athletes and there’s a program in Nebraska aimed specifically and seeking out and boosting those athletes who hail from a farm or ranch background.

Under the NIL rule, athletes can be essentially paid by companies wishing to use their name, image, and likeness. Zach Bosle at Farm Athletes is a former collegiate athlete and was a walk on, as many athletes who come from rural schools often are. The Farm Athletes program signs NCAA athletes to a simple contract that allows them to partner with Tractor Tuesday, Bosle’s new auction platform.

Bosle is a sixth-generation farmer and previously owned HastingsAg.com. His new platform, Tractor Tuesday is scheduled to host its first auction which opens on November 11.

Bosle said he had been planning the idea and pitched it to Jordan Carstens, who he calls the dream farm kid athlete story.

“Jordan Carstens was a farm kid, walked on at Iowa State, ultimately became a starter, then was a heck of a player,” Bosle said. “He was All Big 12 and then he was an undrafted free agent and just like everything else, he had to prove it. He became a starter in the NFL.”

Carstens is now a spokeperson and supporter of Farm Athletes.

The sponsorship agreement will see Tractor Tuesday providing financial support to Farm Athletes, which will be used to create and manage NIL deals for selected athletes. Farm Athletes is now accepting applications from eligible NCAA athletes, with a selection process that emphasizes athletic performance, academic achievement, and a demonstrated connection to agriculture.

Currently signed athletes include Allie Cummings, a Point Loma basketball player originally from Billings, Mont.; Jonah Smith, a Fort Hays State University football athlete originally from Plainville, Kansas; Marissa Porsch, a Fort Hays State University wrestler originally from Selden, Kansas; Wyatt Hamilton, a South Dakota School of Mines and Technology football player originally from Park City, Montana; Caleb Driskill, a University of Wyoming football player originally from Gillette, Wyoming; Micah Barnhardt, an Illinois State University football player from Canton, Ill.; Bailey Maupin, a basketball player from Gruver, Texas; Allison Weidner, a University of Nebraska basketball athlete from Humphrey, Neb.; Ty Horn, a University of Nebraska baseball player from Halstead, Kan.; Luke McEndoo, an Oklahoma State University football player from Stillwater, Oklahoma; Lauren Cummings, a basketball player at Long Beach State University originally from Billings, Mont.; Derek Johnson, a wrestler at St. Cloud State University who is originally from Hoxie, Kansas; and Derek Wacker, a football player at the University of Nebraska who is originally from Yutan, Nebraska.

By highlighting the stories and achievements of these athletes, Farm Athletes hopes to inspire others from similar backgrounds to pursue their dreams and succeed in both their academic and athletic endeavors.

Carstens said, “Agriculture and athletics share several positive qualities, and both contain stories that interest many Americans” and said stories of farm athletes are “compelling and rare due to the dwindling number of family farms and the amount of time required to invest to reach the collegiate level.” 

Source:  Rachel Gabel for The Fence Post Magazine and Western Ag Network