Arkansas Edge is the University of Arkansas' newest official NIL Collective and it officially announced Sydney Lemmerhirt as its first Director of Operations on Monday.
The UA announced Nov. 28 that Arkansas Edge will be its newest NIL collective on support all 465-plus student-athletes on campus. With the new collective, Arkansas retired its old collective — OneArkansas — which Lemmerhirt served as assistant director for.
RELATED: What is Arkansas Edge?
"I am beyond excited to continue championing Razorback student-athletes and the NIL movement at Arkansas," Lemmerhirt said in a statement. "Here's to seizing opportunities and collectively enhancing the journey of our Razorbacks."
So far, the Arkansas Edge website features just Lemmerhirt as part of the staff. Despite launching on Nov. 28, the collective still seems to be just getting off the ground on social media and online.
Some collectives around the country are very active on social media — see The Grove Collective at Ole Miss — but the announcement tweet for Lemmerhirt was Arkansas Edge's first post on X (formerly Twitter) in five days. There's also no mention of a student-athlete on the official website and no events scheduled.
Hopefully with Lemmerhirt now officially in the fold, the collective can really get going and benefiting teams on campus.
"You just want to be able to compete for players on an equal basis," Arkansas head baseball coach Dave Van Horn said Nov. 30. "That would be huge for a program if we knew where we were at with the collective and knew what would these guys have an opportunity to come in and get some employment and know what they were going to get before they got here. It would be big. I’m excited about (Arkansas Edge) and them getting to work."
Sydney Lemmerhirt bio, via Arkansas Edge
Sydney is a graduate of the University of Arkansas, where she received a bachelor’s degree in public health. As an undergrad, Sydney competed for the University of Arkansas’ gymnastics team and was a four-year letter winner and Academic All-American. After her time as a Gymback, Sydney earned her master’s degree in Recreation and Sports Management at Arkansas while also serving as a Graduate Assistant for the Athletic Director’s office. Upon graduation, she was hired by the University of Arkansas as the first NIL Coordinator in the nation. As a passionate advocate for athlete’s rights, she is committed to reshaping the narrative surrounding collegiate athletics, helping student-athletes navigate brand development, and securing life-changing endorsement opportunities for talented young individuals. Most recently, Sydney was the Assistant Director of ONEArkansas NIL, where she handled all player relations and student-athlete engagements. Sydney also occasionally serves as a color analyst for the SEC Network during gymnastics season. Her journey from the gymnastics mat to the forefront of NIL reflects her dedication to empowering athletes and unlocking the full potential of their personal brands. Sydney married her husband Connor in June 2023, and they have two dogs – Charlie and Dak.
