Cavinder twins jumping from Fresno State to already lucrative market for college athletes
Whether a basketball decision or a business decision, twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder have landed in an inspiring spot after leaving Fresno State in March and entering the NCAA transfer portal.
In transferring to Miami the twins will join a 20-win Power Five conference program that last season advanced to the NCAA Tournament, something the Bulldogs have not accomplished since 2014. And they will be playing in a major media market that could add considerably to their national Name, Image and Likeness portfolio that includes endorsement deals already valued near or above seven figures.
That is higher than their coach at Fresno State makes, higher than the university president.
“It’s a major media market and there are just a lot of eyeballs and a lot of attention on Miami sports,” said attorney Darren Heitner, who has guided the Cavinder twins through NIL stardom. “I think it will absolutely enhance their marketability, which is already at the very top of the game.
“It will be a very nice-sized market for them that should only allow them to continue or expand on what they’ve been able to accomplish in nine or 10 months of NIL rights being afforded to college athletes. While it didn’t necessarily play a major role in their decision, I do believe that will be only a net positive for them.”
Miami student-athletes, primarily football players, have cashed in on a number of lucrative NIL deals including defensive tackle Leonard Taylor, who through an endorsement deal reportedly will be driving a customized electric blue Dodge Charger for the length of his college career. There also are 20 Hurricanes football players who landed deals worth $30,000 to $50,000 with Life Wallet, a service that allows hospitals and emergency services personnel immediate access to a person’s medical history before treatment.
None likely hit South Beach with the social media presence and earning power of the Cavinder twins, who have a shared TikTok account with 4 million followers, a shared YouTube channel with more than 71,000 subscribers and individual Instagram and Twitter accounts with around 400,000 and 10,000 followers.
Across all platforms, they have a combined following of roughly 5 million.
They have deals with Boost Mobile, PSD Underwear and Orgain Protein, among others.
“I think it will absolutely enhance their marketability, which is already at the very top of the game,” Heitner said.
But basketball was the primary driver in the move. Fresno State played in the NCAA Tournament for seven years in a row from 2008 to 2014, but has not been back the past eight seasons.
A goal: the NCAA Tournament
“We wanted to have the best opportunity to get to the [NCAA] tournament,” Hanna Cavinder said, in a press release. “Miami stood out to us because of the vision Coach Katie (Meier) has with her staff. The leadership is everything we wanted and what the team accomplished this past year is something we were looking for and we can’t wait to be a part of that [next year].”
At Fresno State, Haley Cavinder was an All-Mountain West Conference selection in each of her three seasons, the freshman of the year in 2020, player of the year in 2021, and last season became only the third player in history to lead the conference in scoring and rebounding.
Hanna Cavinder was an all-conference selection in 2020 and ‘21.
They accounted for 48.9% of the Bulldogs’ shots and 49.5% of their scoring last season, but Fresno State finished just 11-18 and in eighth place in the Mountain West, and were bounced from the conference tournament with an opening-round loss to No. 9 Utah State.
“When I get to Miami, I want to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Haley Cavinder said. “I want to get to March Madness and be a part of something special. I’ll do whatever I can to help the team win.”