when Adam Sanogo Starting with Championship Labs, a chapter within UConn’s Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation that helps student athletes navigate name, image, and likeness opportunities, he had to start building his personal brand.
“What do you care? What do you like?” David Noble, Director Wirth InstituteMatrouh.
For Sanogo, the answers were easy.
It wasn’t about making money for himself – he thought about his roots, what that was like when he was a kid Bamako, MaliMost of his friends never had the chance to go to school. How when he was growing up, he played college basketball at its highest level, got an American education, and got his name into the NBA draft – none of them could have dreamed of.
“When I’m a professional, I want to build a school in Africa so I can help them,” the eventual national champion and Final Four Most Outstanding Player told The Courant. Their families were unable to afford it. Coming to the United States, seeing this, thinking that – if they don’t have an education they don’t stand a chance. So I was like, “Okay, I want to be able to teach them.”
Andre Jackson helped come up with a name, and Sanogo had his trademark. Soon after, he created his website: AdamaNation.com.
while on his level F-1 visa For international students, Sanogo can only earn money working outside the United States. He held a children’s basketball camp in Mali last summer and has found ways to strike other deals, such as one with Sunoco after he led the Huskies to a national title.
According to their website, it takes $150 a month to cover one child’s education. The site says that Sanogo is currently financially supporting two children.
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It is rare for the UConn basketball program to invite faculty members to speak with the team.
So, when Noble was asked shortly after the 2021-22 season ended, he jumped at the opportunity without really knowing why. The six players, Sanogo and Samson Johnson in particular, didn’t know their reason either.
They sat toward the back and stared at the business professor they had been told would talk about the NIL, about how UConn was going to build a support system for them.
“Adama always says it’s like, ‘I didn’t even know why I was there.’ They were just staring at me,” Noble said.
Noble then begins to get to know Sanogo, the largest human he’s ever met (before Donovan Clingan came along), his 6-foot-9 body tumbling from his chair.
“When we first found out how sweet he was as a human being, my crew and I were blown away. We couldn’t stop talking about her for six weeks. We were like, ‘How is this a basketball player?’ Like, he cares about other people…he ruined so many pictures.” stereotypes that you have about basketball players,” Noble said.
Sanogo enrolled in Championship Labs, which was set up shortly after that initially awkward meeting, and though he couldn’t earn any money or accept any donations, the youngster began building his brand and website as part of his class workload.
“There’s no rule that says you can’t develop your brand, and there’s no rule that says you can’t have a presence on social media,” Noble said. “This site is true to Adama… the authenticity of his desire to help children in Mali – he actually would. There is nothing that can stop him from helping children in Mali because it is important to him. That is the same, and it is really exciting to work with him.”
“Adama wasn’t able to land NIL deals, but he was able to work on a website and get his website up and running. And when the visa rules allow him to start generating income—which would be if he was drafted or signed with the G League—he’d be able to start.” .
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There was an alumni dinner before hosting the then UConn women’s basketball team. 1 South Carolina back in Feb. One of the younger students who helped Sanogo social media was at dinner, he sat down with legendary Yukon alumnus Tina Charles and told Sanogo’s story, how it works for him and what his goals are.
Charles mentioned that she also helped build a school in Mali, southeast of Sanogo’s home city of Bamako, just a few years after she helped lead the UConn women to a second straight national title in 2010. Charles became interested in humanitarian work in Africa because he’s a freshman at Sophomore year at UConn, having researched an institution called OmniPeace. She went on to serve as an ambassador for them and an organization called Based on To help build schools.
“That was the link we did,” Noble said, “We found out and we’re going to talk to her and maybe work with her about it.”
On April 13, Sanogo declared for the NBA draft, announcing it with the fourth Instagram post on his new account, now with over 14,000 followers.
“The Werth Institute is for life. We don’t leave our students just because they graduate, their entrepreneurial journey usually continues. So we’ve talked about this with Adama, and that we’re going to be there to help build those schools,” Noble said. “We’ve got some inflow of some companies that are interested in Africa and people that are interested in helping Africa and refugees… He’s definitely going to work on this — right now, his hurdle to get the NBA is big so that’s really where he is — but with his extra time, with his ideas.” Ins, that’s where he’ll be.”
If Sanogo is drafted by an NBA team in June, or alternatively signs a G-League or international contract, he will be able to accept donations through the website and begin his second school-building dream.
On his website, under the Get to know me tab, Sanogo writes: “Everything I have is because of my money. I will become a person because of it. It allowed me to grow and inspire others. I want to continue to inspire the children in Mali by showing me everything they can.” His achievement. Sometimes people would go back and run camps in Mali. I looked at them, so being able to run camps myself in Mali is a complete moment.”