Rhody Excellence and Rhody Sports Properties, operating under Name, Image and Likeness initiatives to benefit University of Rhode Island athletes, have partnered to help create two URI Athletics-branded beers that will be sold throughout the state of Rhode Island.
Taking the steps to compete with larger schools throughout the country, the URI-themed drinks aim to reach large distributions in the coming months to make lasting impressions on the university’s representation.
The two drinks, launched in an event at Newport Craft Brewery and Distilling Company on Dec. 3, are the Rhody Ruckus Lager at 4.6 alcohol percentage by volume, and the Rhody Ram India Pale Ale at 7.0 APV.
Rhody Sports Properties, which is run by Learfield, manages the corporate sales and partnerships for URI Athletics. Under Coast to Coast Promotional Products, Rhody Excellence helps the URI community and alumni come together to support their student athletes.
The beers are one of two recent announcements from Rhody Excellence, the other being the launching of their store website that features player-specific, customizable men’s basketball jerseys. Both of these announcements come just ahead of the URI and Providence College men’s basketball rivalry matchup on Saturday afternoon, where the new beers will be sold for the first time at the Ryan Center.
Rhody Excellence’s first NIL initiative advancements will come from a portion of the sales from the beers, as the organization aims to become a top collective in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Rhody Excellence’s executive director Stone Freeman is a part-time broadcaster and URI alumnus. Freeman, who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 2019 and earned his Masters degree for Communication and Media Studies in 2021, had been brainstorming ideas for NIL opportunities before he stepped into the job in March 2024.
“Certain people were asking me if I would be interested in a job like this, and that’s when I really started to get ideas,” Freeman said. “Basically, how we can get student athletes to where their brands can grow and where it makes URI a destination for student athletes.”
General manager Matthew Swiss and manager in business development Christopher Black of Rhody Sports Properties were the ones to identify Freeman as the man for the position. They helped explain to Freeman what the NIL meant to Freeman when it was officially permitted by the National Collegiate Athletics Association in 2021, as Freeman had been under the employment of Rhody Sports Properties at the time.
“[Coast to Coast Promotions] knew that there was a need for somebody to go out and be the face of Rody Excellence, helping to handle those fundraising initiatives and events,” Swiss said. “A few of us got together and thought that Stone would be perfect for a job like this. So it was a tough loss for us because we were saying goodbye to one of our teammates. But in the same breath, that loss was kind of mitigated because I still work with him every day.”
Swiss and Freeman were in a meeting with Newport Craft in the late spring when the company proposed the idea of a Rhody-branded beer. In the months-long collaborative process, Swiss reached out to schools with similar co-branded beers.
“We kind of picked their brains, like, ‘hey, how’d you go about doing this?” Swiss said. “It was really gratifying when it all finally came together because it seems like it sort of came out of nowhere. But for me, for my team and for a lot of my colleagues within the athletic department, it’s been something that we’ve discussed for a handful of years.”
Similar to how the beers came about, Rhody Excellence recognized that player specific jerseys were something that both players and fans wanted at the school.
“A lot of people want it because it’s different, and then the student athletes want them because that grows their brand,” Freeman said. “It makes it feel almost professional sports-esque, and that’s something that I think is a really good collective showcase.”
As for the future of Rhody Excellence, Freeman said he is excited to continue getting fans and alumni excited about NIL opportunities for URI athletes.
“I think what my goal remains from now until whenever this job is in my rear view mirror is educating our fans and giving folks a place to find me,” Freeman said. “Just being open with people to say that this is something you can learn about [is important].”
To learn more on NIL and make contributions for URI athletes, visit Rhody Excellence’s website.