Tennessee brilliantly turned the infamous College World Series Jell-O shot challenge into an NIL scheme

The Men’s College World Series is upon us once again, and that means the return of everyone’s favorite annual tradition in Omaha: the Jell-O shot challenge at Rocco’s Pizza & Cantina.

Last year, LSU fans set quite the benchmark while watching their team win a national title, purchasing a record-setting 68,888 Jell-O shots. There’s a good chance that record is going to be unbeatable, but Tennessee fans sure are giving it a good go so far, and they’ve had a bit of encouragement.

Why not turn the shot challenge into an NIL fundraiser? According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, Vols fans are paying $10 — twice the $5 price of the Jell-O shots — with Tennessee’s “The Volunteer Club” NIL collective receiving half of the proceeds.

Don't test the liver of Tennessee fans or their passion.

Their NIL collective, The Volunteer Club, is running quite the special: Fans are paying double ($10) per shot as part of Rocco's Jello Shot Challenge with half of the money ($5) going to the Club's NIL efforts. https://t.co/0bsDoON913

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 14, 2024

Pretty clever, huh? And it seems to be working. The Volunteers lead the field at 2,358, as of the latest update to the board before publication.

It's starting to get a little weird over here! @Vol_Baseball fans aren't slowing down any time soon. Should be a fun night. Get down here! #roadtoroccos pic.twitter.com/lKizeTPwNo

— CWS Jello Shot Challenge (@CWSShotBoard) June 14, 2024

We’ll see if Tennessee fans can come close to the absurd mark Tigers fans set last year, but they’ll certainly have more motivation to do so than purely bragging rights.