By Chris Chavez
December 30, 2023
Harvard’s Graham Blanks, the 2023 NCAA cross country champion and indoor 5000m collegiate record holder, has signed a Name, Image and Likeness deal with New Balance.
Here’s what you need to know:
– Graham Blanks has signed an NIL deal with New Balance just weeks after breaking the NCAA 5000m record in 13:03.78 at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston on Dec. 6. The record-setting run came just two weeks after he won the NCAA Cross Country Championships and became the first man from an Ivy League school to win the individual title. He finished the 2023 NCAA cross country season undefeated in all five races.
– The 21-year-old is one of three American runners with the Olympic standard of 13:05 in the men’s 5000m.
– Blanks is the third NCAA runner to sign an NIL deal with New Balance. In July, Roisin Willis became the New England-based sportswear brand’s first NCAA athlete before competing at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Georgetown’s Tinoda Matsatsa was among five rising stars announced as New Balance NIL athletes in September.
– Blanks’ ties to New Balance go back to 2019 when he competed and ran personal bests at New Balance Nationals Indoors in the 3000m and two-mile. He plans on attending this year’s meet in Boston after the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held, in part, at The TRACK at New Balance from March 8-9.
– Blanks plans to celebrate his NIL deal with a three-mile group run on December 31st from Fleet Feet Athens (1694 S. Lumpkin Street).
We chatted briefly with Graham before announcing his NIL deal with New Balance. The following has been edited lightly for clarity.
CITIUS MAG: What are you most excited about with this New Balance NIL deal?
Blanks: I’m most excited to have New Balance’s headquarters only a few minutes from my dorm so that I’ll be able to visit often and work with the people and at the events over there.
CITIUS MAG: You’re hosting this group run in Athens and having some NB shoes demoed there. What made you want to choose this as your first big thing with New Balance?
Blanks: I used to work at Fleet Feet and my old boss asked if we wanted to put on a group run when I was home for the holidays and New Balance graciously offered to support this event. It’s always great to get to run with people in the community.
CITIUS MAG: How’s training been going since your break following the BU 5K? What’s up next for you?
Blanks: I’m just starting training back up and I’m trying to move back into things slowly. I’m unsure of what races I’ll be competing in in the near future but my main priority is to be ready for the NCAA championships and the Olympic Trials later this summer.
CITIUS MAG: Part of the NIL deal is appearances at New Balance events, what would it be like for you to go back to something like New Balance Nationals and realize you’ve got these high school kids now who are fans of yours?
Blanks: I love the support from the younger runners. And it’s great to watch these races at high school nationals which always prove to be exciting.
CITIUS MAG: What would the HS you from 2019 at NB Nationals think if you told him that in just four years, he’d be an NCAA champion, NCAA record holder and have signed a deal with New Balance?
Blanks: I’d be a little nervous because I would know I'd have a lot of hard miles and training in my near future to get there – and that’s certainly been the case!
Here’s a running list of some of the top NCAA track and field stars and their respective NIL deals with major sportswear brands:
– NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy with Adidas
– Florida’s Parker Valby with Nike
– Notre Dame’s Olivia Markezich with On
– Stanford’s Roisin Willis with New Balance
– Stanford’s Ky Robinson with On
– Stanford’s Juliette Whittaker with On
– Stanford’s Cole Sprout with On
– Harvard’s Maia Ramsden with On
– NAU’s Drew Bosley with Adidas
– Arkansas’ Jaydon Hibbert with PUMA
– Arkansas’ Shawnti Jackson with Brooks
– Georgetown’s Tinoda Matsatsa with New Balance
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
