Why the Lady Vol Boost (Her) Club returned and what it means for Tennessee fans

Name, image, and likeness deals are expanding for Tennessee Lady Vols and their fans, too.

East Tennessee native Terri Holder has brought back the Lady Vol Boost (Her) Club, which is possible because of the NIL legislation that has become a central piece of college athletics.

The original version of the club was dissolved in 2012 when the women’s athletic department was combined with the men’s and all donations fell under the Tennessee Fund. Holder aims to represent all 10 Tennessee women’s teams by the end of 2023.

“Almost every kid coming into college now, that’s one of the recruiting questions,” Holder said. “Hey, what are the NIL deals in Tennessee?”

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Holder has worked with UT compliance to get the new version of the Boost (Her) Club up and running, but the club is a separate entity from the University of Tennessee. The club is also separate from Holder’s Lady Vols store, Orange Mountain Designs, through which Holder has signed a number of athletes to NIL deals.

Holder said she felt like her passion waned on the retail side of things the last few years, but through starting the club, she found it again.

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“To be honest, and it may sound corny, but I always go back to if (basketball coach) Pat Summitt was still here, what would she be thinking about all this?” Holder said. “What would she want me or anybody else to step up and start doing? What is going to keep this legacy going and this tradition with the Lady Vols?

“I think just talking this out with some people and some different friends and consultants, I got a passion back that I felt like I had lost the last four or five years. It’s just the excitement of what I can do to help the Lady Vols.”

The Boost (Her) Club will involve athletes participating in community-focused events and bringing back more interaction between fans and players. Holder said her NIL athletes have brought up a number of ideas for special events, including a bowling competition, a Lady Vols Invitational golf tournament, a trip to Dollywood, events at the Top Golf set to open this summer and adult basketball camps.

The next event is a youth basketball camp that Lady Vols basketball players will help run on July 16 at Webb School. Part of the funds raised will be donated to Knox Youth Sports.

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Twitter | cora.hall@knoxnews.com
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One of the biggest events Holder hopes to organize is a gala called Hoops and Heels, which would be hosted at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. It would be similar to the former club’s Salute to Excellence gala, which Holder remembers raising $50,000 for Summitt to cook two dinners for donors.

Fans can choose different membership packages that range from as low as $30 a month to as much as $2,400 a year through the OMD website. Donors will get benefits of exclusive gear and opportunities to hang out with their favorite athletes, who are compensated for their time participating In activities.

“We want to do things that are gonna have an impact,” Holder said. “It’s always been the Pat Summitt legacy of being first. I think we’re going to be the first Boost Her Club at universities that has their own club that is dedicated just to the women athletes at that school. That’s really what the vision is … I know if Pat was here, that would be what she’d want, too, just to continue to see all the women’s sports flourish.”

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vol Boost (Her) Club returns, here's what it means for Tennessee fans