TXST has a new collective. Born through the forum Maroon and Golden created, the new collective is designed to be a grassroots effort run by fans of Texas State for fans of Texas State.
The idea is to provide a platform for TXST fans to be a part of the new NIL landscape in collegiate athletics. For a lot of TXST fans, they want to be part of NIL and support the student athletes at Texas State, but haven’t had a method to do that. Until now…
M&G Collective began taking subscribers in January of this year and has been growing quickly. Now, they have signed their first two #GoldenAthletes.
Tory Spears and Ben Bell will be the first athletes under the M&G umbrella kicking off the #GoldenEra of NIL in San Marcos.
#GoldenAthlete Tory Spears is a redshirt senior from Houston, TX. In 2023, he played 3 games for TXST before suffering a season ending injury. Spears was also selected by his teammates to be a team captain and represented the Bobcats at the Sun Belt Media Days. After being granted a medical redshirt, Spears will return for his final year of eligibility with the Bobcats for the 2024 season. Spears plays Safety for the Bobcats and in 2022 was an All-Sun Belt honorable mention player. He’s played in 30 games for the Bobcats and recorded 2 interceptions, 99 solo tackles, and 182 total tackles.
When asked what signing with M&G Collective means to him, Spears had this to say.
“Being a part of the NIL collective is a blessing. It’s taken away some financial stress that a student athlete shouldn’t have to endure. God has blessed me to be a father to a beautiful baby girl and being able to provide for her is all I can ask for. NIL is important now because everyone has a story, a family, or something that simply the scholarship check can’t cover.”
Tory Spears
#GoldenAthlete Ben Bell is a senior Defensive End from Cedar Park, TX. He is a transfer from Louisiana Tech and has played 25 games with the Bobcats dating back to 2022. After the 2023 season, Bell was named All-Sun Belt Second Team, All-Sun Belt Third Team by Phil Steele, and All-Texas First Team by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. Also in the 2023 season, Bell tied for 9th in the country in sacks with 10 and tied for 20th in the country in tackles for loss with 16. The 10 sacks Bell accounted for also set a TXST program record for most sacks in a season since the Bobcats joined the FBS.
When asked what it means to Ben to sign with M&G Collective, he had this to say.
“Signing with the M&G collective means the world to me. Belief is the fuel that ignites the fire within, making dreams seem more like reality with every ounce of support. I’m proud to be one of their first athletes.”
Ben Bell
To support Ben Bell and Tory Spears, plus help fund the M&G Collective allowing them to sign additional players, visit M&G Collective and become a member today.
