LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – UK Athletics is partnering with UK Invests to make the program the official jersey patch partner of Kentucky Football, according to a release from UK Athletics.
The UK Invests logo will appear on Wildcat Football jerseys beginning with Saturday’s game against Youngstown State, according to the release.
What is UK Invests
UK Invests launched in 2022 as a financial wellness program that combines financial education with real-world opportunities to help UK students build financial security and saving and investing habits, according to the release.
The program allows students to create personal investment accounts to practice saving and investing. It also offers financial education sessions and opportunities to earn university-funded rewards for participating in institution-identified healthy behaviors, such as exercising at Alumni Gym or attending the Hire Blue Career Fair. Students will soon be able to earn rewards for attending select UK Athletics games, according to the release.
UK Invests was initially implemented in phases, beginning in Fall 2022 with UK student-athletes who deposited their NCAA Alston Awards earnings into UK Invests brokerage accounts after completing financial education programs. The program expanded to the full undergraduate, graduate and professional student body in Fall 2023, according to the release.
Since its launch, more than 18,000 students have opened investment accounts and earned nearly $3 million in university-funded rewards through UK Invests, according to the release. Collectively, student investments are projected to exceed $9 million at the next quarterly update at the end of the month.
Comments from university leaders
“UK exists to advance this state and that begins by investing in our students and their success,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “Our students are the future. Their success is one of the most tangible and important ways that we advance Kentucky. UK Invests is an innovative way that we give students the tools they need, from day one, to prepare for their careers, a sustainable and strong financial future and for lives of meaning and purpose.”
“A jersey patch is one of the most visible brand opportunities in college athletics, so fit matters,” said UK Athletics Director/Champions Blue CEO J Batt. “We want to find partnerships that work for Kentucky, and UK Invests represents that kind of alignment. This is a program that has invested real dollars in UK students while encouraging healthy habits that prepare them for lives of meaning and purpose. This patch gives us a significant way to tell that Kentucky story through one of the most watched sports in America.”
Batt said the partnership comes as Kentucky Football enters a new era under Head Coach Will Stein.
“The college football audience is growing at record levels, and we expect that momentum to continue,” Batt said. “At Kentucky, strong new partnerships are coming across our multimedia platforms as we enter a new era under Coach Stein. A top-10 transfer class and projections for our highest regular-season viewership ever reflect the momentum surrounding the program. Lexington’s recognition as a top-15 college football market is further evidence that the Big Blue Nation is a difference-maker and will continue to be central to our success. Featuring UK Invests on our jerseys this season builds on that momentum while showcasing a distinctive university program available to every UK student, including student-athletes.”
Multimedia storytelling planned
Kentucky Football will showcase storytelling on UK Invests’ success and growth through integrated multimedia activations executed by JMI Sports, UK Athletics’ exclusive multimedia rights partner operating locally as UK Sports and Campus Marketing, according to the release. Activations will include Kroger Field signage, videoboards, radio and TV inventory, coaches’ endorsements and in-game features highlighting students who participate in the program.
“We know the powerful impact UK Invests already is having in the lives of thousands of students at UK,” Capilouto said. “We believe many more students and families will learn about this incredible initiative through the patch and the platform it helps us create to tell the story of how we advance this state by investing in the most precious of things — our students and their future.”
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