A new collective helps Jewish college athletes earn from their fame — and express their pride

February 2, 2026

Originally Published for Jewish Telegraph Agency HERE

When Hofstra distance runner Noah Zeitzer runs, he’s chasing more than a finish line. He’s running to be seen. 

“I love representing Jewish people because we’re not exactly known for having a big presence in sports,” he said. “So I try to be as outspoken about it as I can, and I’m really proud of that.”

For Zeitzer, 18, that mix of athletic drive and Jewish pride now has a home in Tribe NIL, a new collective giving Jewish athletes a platform to compete and belong.

In 2021, the NCAA lifted long-standing restrictions that had prevented college athletes from profiting off their name, image, and likeness — known as NIL. The rule change unleashed a wave of endorsement deals, sponsorships, collectives and organizations that connect athletes to brands and audiences. But amid this flurry of commercial partnerships, one group saw an opening for something deeper.

Founded in 2024 by comedian and entrepreneur Eitan Levine and his business partner Jeremy Moses, Tribe NIL’s founders say that it aims “to amplify Jewish voices in college athletics on the field and beyond.” 

The collective pairs Jewish college athletes with sponsors and community organizations that share Jewish values. It also hosts mentorship events, recently featuring Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl, and highlights Jewish representation in sports through social media campaigns. 

For Zeitzer, that mission felt personal. Running, by nature, can be solitary. But Tribe NIL made it communal. 

“This year, there was a big cross-country meet at Lehigh scheduled the day after Yom Kippur,” he recalled. “I wasn’t going to be able to go, and in the moment that felt like a big problem.” 

He said situations like that used to make him feel uncertain about how to explain his religious observance to teammates, not because they were hostile, but because they didn’t always understand. Tribe NIL, he said, gave him the language and the confidence to represent himself openly.

In addition to building community, the program has already presented Zeitzer with opportunities to merge identity and athletics. 

“They’re still getting off the ground, but I’ve already done a small endorsement through them with a glove company called Flipnits,” he said. “They also host talks with Jewish figures in sports, like Bruce Pearl, and they’re starting to roll out more opportunities like that.”

Zeitzer hopes that visibility will also help advance leadership in Jewish athletics. 

“I hope some younger runner hears about me and feels motivated to push themselves,” he said.

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Zeitzer starred at Ida B. Wells High School, where he earned All-State honors, ran a 5K personal best of 15:28.1, and posted strong track times of 4:02.27 in the 1500 meters and 8:32.64 in the 3000m. Before making the big move to New York to race for Hofstra University, he’d already built a reputation as one of Oregon’s most consistent distance runners. Now he’s channeling that same drive into representing Jewish pride on a larger stage.

That same sense of purpose drives Barton College baseball player Josh Wolkin, another Tribe NIL ambassador. Barton College, a D2 private college in Wilson, North Carolina, competes in Conference Carolinas, where 14 of the 16 member schools have explicit Christian affiliations. It’s an environment shaped by faith-based traditions and school missions rooted in Christian values, the kind of setting where being openly Jewish can make an athlete feel both distinct and visible. 

For Wolkin, representing Tribe NIL is about finding belonging in a space where faith is often expressed differently and about showing that Jewish pride, too, has a place in college athletics.

Within that setting, Wolkin stands out. Online, he posts training clips and photos of himself wearing an Israeli flag headband, and he’s spoken on Jewish sports podcasts about faith and identity in baseball, images and conversations that quietly challenge assumptions about Jewish athletes in Christian athletic spaces. 

“Being the only Jewish athlete on my team has brought me closer to my faith and I have found a deeper connection to Judaism,” he said. Wolkin credits Tribe NIL for connecting him with other Jewish athletes and for sharing his faith and learning about other faiths from non-Jewish teammates. 

For UNC Asheville volleyball player Alisson Goldberg, Tribe NIL offered something she said had long been missing from her athletic experience: connection. Jewish identity had rarely intersected with her life in sports, largely because there were so few visible Jewish athletes around her in Orlando, Florida, where she grew up. When Tribe NIL reached out, the idea of bringing Jewish college athletes together across sports immediately resonated. 

“I really only knew two other people who are college athletes and Jewish,” Goldberg said. “I thought it was so cool that they [Tribe NIL] were going to get almost all of the Jewish athletes in the United States together”.

Goldberg said Tribe NIL has helped her feel more confident being openly Jewish on her team and on campus. She noted that many of her teammates had never had a Jewish friend before. “I love just educating people and sharing it with people because not everyone is accustomed to it,” she said. 

Beyond visibility, Goldberg emphasized the importance of community, describing Tribe NIL as a support system that connects Jewish athletes across schools and sports. “Now I know about 60-plus Jewish athletes,” she added. “Having people that get you as a college athlete and get you religiously, too — that’s super cool.”

But for many Jewish athletes, that visibility has taken on new weight amid rising tensions on college campuses. Since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, antisemitic incidents on U.S. campuses have spiked, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Jewish athletes have reported everything from verbal harassment at games to hateful comments online. In that environment, openly wearing a Jewish emblem can feel like both a risk and a declaration. 

Levine sees it as the latter. He describes Tribe NIL as part of a larger project: using sports to build bridges and strengthen identity. Through its partnerships with Jewish organizations, including community centers, small businesses, and sports nonprofits, the collective aims to make public Jewish pride feel normal, not niche.

Greg Fox, athletic director at Yeshiva University — the only Orthodox Jewish institution competing in the NCAA — said he sees firsthand how identity shapes the experience of Jewish athletes. 

“At a school like YU, we understand how important it is for athletes to feel supported both on and off the field,” Fox said. “Jewish athletes haven’t always had spaces where their identity was understood or supported. Initiatives like Tribe NIL show them they don’t have to choose between being serious athletes and being proudly Jewish.”

Tribe NIL’s social media presence has already drawn interest from high school athletes looking to join, and Levine says expansion is in the works. The collective hopes to add athletes from larger Division I programs and bring professional mentors, including former Maccabi and Olympic players, into the fold. Rather than focusing solely on endorsement payouts, the group prioritizes public-facing partnerships, mentorship events, and opportunities that place Jewish athletes in visible leadership roles.

As Zeitzer crosses the finish line, breathless and spent, he knows what drives him isn’t just competition; it’s connection. He runs for every Jewish kid who’s ever wondered if they belong on the field, the court, or the course. 

“You don’t have to hide who you are to run fast,” he said. “In fact, that’s what makes you stronger.”