Jared Guy Thomas, who served as the first executive director of the University of Connecticut’s nonprofit name, image and likeness (NIL) collective, Bleeding Blue for Good, has resigned to accept a position in Indiana.
In a letter emailed Friday to subscribers of Storrs Central — a for-profit, website that also raises money for athletes while providing exclusive insider access — Thomas, who was transitioning from executive director of Bleed Blue to a similar post with Storrs Central, said, “I truly didn’t think I’d ever write this, but today is my last day with UConn.”
“I’ve accepted a new opportunity back home in Indiana that aligns with some personal and professional goals, and after a lot of tough conversations, I had to make the incredibly hard call to leave,” Thomas states in the email.
Bleeding Blue for Good is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was co-founded two years ago by UConn alums John Malfettone, a former private equity executive who also worked at GE Capital and KPMG, and John Greenblatt, who previously served as interim CEO of the UConn Foundation, the university’s charitable arm.
While fundraising information for 2024 is not yet available, according to 990 tax forms filed with the IRS for 2022 and 2023 Bleeding Blue raised a combined $3.48 million in contributions, grants and other income.
Thomas’ announcement follows one he made at the end of last year that said Bleeding Blue would shut down by the end of June.
In a Dec. 31 post on X (formerly Twitter), Thomas said the collective would stop accepting donations at midnight New Year’s Eve.
“We will enter a wind down phase that we expect to take us through the end of June as we meet all of our commitments,” Thomas stated in the X post. “At that point, we expect revenue sharing to begin. Money already collected will continue to be used to partner UConn student-athletes with deserving Connecticut charities.”
The decision to shutter the collective reflected the continually changing landscape in college sports. In November, a federal judge gave preliminary approval to a $2.6 billion settlement agreement the NCAA reached with former college athletes who had filed an antitrust class action lawsuit demanding compensation that had been denied to them.
Starting July 1, NCAA schools can share as much as $20.5 million in revenue with their athletes, and former athletes who played between 2016 and 2024 will be paid $2.8 billion in back payments if the settlement is approved, according to CBS Sports.
Thomas — who as executive director was Bleeding Blue’s only paid employee, earning $82,477 in 2023 — did not identify his new position in Indiana in his email to Storrs Central subscribers.
He accepted the role with UConn’s NIL collective in August 2023, after having spent 14 months as director of operations and engagement for the Boilermaker Alliance, the NIL collective for Purdue University in Indiana.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Thomas earned a doctor of law degree from Indiana University.
“Not many know this, but I’ve lived in Indiana throughout my time at UConn and have been commuting for the past two years,” Thomas states in his email.
The email continues, “With revenue sharing coming and the school assuming more NIL responsibilities, I expect a smooth transition.”
Thomas states that Jack Mathew, the director of operations for Storrs Central, “will be taking on many of my duties and will be your new go-to.” He adds that he has offered “to stay on in a free consultant capacity to support however I can.”
Thomas concludes the email by adding that he considers himself “a UConn fan for life, and I’ll be passionately rooting for these teams.”
