Olympic hopeful and Texas Longhorns athlete Sam Hurley is making his mark as an athlete—and as an ... [+]
While most 20-year-old college students spent mid-March preparing for the fun of Spring Break, Sam Hurley was “doing business” and talking up the values of smart planning and investing.
It was at South By Southwest (SXSW), the Austin, Texas, music, arts, and industry festival that I first got a glimpse of Hurley, the Texas Longhorns track and field star. Hurley, a runner, decathlete, pole vaulter and specialty high jumper who hails from Fayetteville, Arkansas, was part of a March 16 panel put on by SXSW sponsors Sportico and C4 Energy.
The topic of the day was NIL—name, image, and likeness rights—and the promising opportunities for collegiate athletes who leverage them.
If you listened closely that Sunday at Austin’s Four Seasons Hotel, you could tell that Hurley was possibly the smartest person in the room.
“I came to college when I did, not knowing how NIL’s longevity would be, what would happen, or how long it would be hot. But I wanted to strike while the iron was hot.” Hurley told the SXSW audience. “Brands know the value of athletes and that (we) hold a lot of power.”
While adjusting to his new life in Austin, which included purchasing a car and other necessities, Hurley was driven by a clear goal to venture into real estate ownership.
“I grew up watching my dad invest in real estate. I remember as a kid going with him to his rental properties, enjoying the process.”
The high jumper and NCAA combined events star said that among his father’s many business ventures commercial real estate was the main game. Hurley explained that from an early age his dad “invested in and owned warehouses and storage facilities” in Arkansas and surrounding states.
So, when Sam first mentioned getting into real estate, he said his dad was “stoked” to say the least.
“I remember that when I told him that I wanted to get into real estate and had enough money (from NIL deals) to do it, he said to me. ‘I’ve been waiting for this moment!’” The comment prompted a laugh from the audience at the SXSW panel.
The younger Hurley acknowledges that not all athletes who come from high school to NCAA Division 1 athletics and into NIL opportunities get the guidance he got.
“Since the very beginning of my time at UT, my dad told me, ‘Don't waste your money.’”
During a follow-up interview in early April, Hurley told me about his current ventures—all while doubling as a top college athlete and a full-time student.
Along with his relationship with C4 Energy, as one of the beverage brand’s brand ambassadors, so far Hurley has also worked with nationally known mega brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren
But Hurley’s foray into real estate is perhaps his favorite entré into the gig economy, and the one that has most tested his own personal sense of entrepreneurship. He mentioned his first real estate “deal” which involved buying a rental condominium unit in central Austin.
“I was looking for properties, and the condo came just came up first on my doorstep,” Hurley said via Zoom Tuesday before last. “I said let’s do it. Let’s learn.”
After tapping a real estate agent friend in Austin and educating himself about the process, Hurley said he went through the closing on his own. Ever since, and perhaps to his surprise, everything went smoothly.
“My dad has said that I was very lucky to have a dream tenant,” Hurley jokes. Instead of any complaints or unconventional renter requests or demands from the condominium association, he said the investment in the condo was all good. “I never got random texts or anything (from the tenant), and the only times I heard from him were to say that he sent the rent and Merry Christmas.”
Since then, Hurley said that he has since sold that first property and has moved on to the prospects of commercial real estate, especially with all of the new construction, new demand, and new business moving to Austin.
Hurley, now a junior at UT Austin, said that both success in collegiate athletics and NIL came to him reasonably fast. It’s both a result of his athletic talents and his own previous branding and million Instagram followers going into college.
“I came to Austin with something to prove, maybe a chip on my shoulder,” Hurley said. “But I didn't want anyone, especially my teammates, to think I wanted it easy. I came to every practice all-in, 110%, to work hard and to win.”
Hurley’s freshman year, the 2021-2022 season, he finished first in the high jump at the Longhorn Invitational at 2.00m (6-6.75) and set a personal best in pole vault at 4.80m (15-9). That weekend Hurley also notched a second-place finish in the long jump competition, with a 6.95m (22-9.75) jump. Since his first year, Hurley has continued to set personal bests and compete at the NCAA’s top level, while sliding into UT’s all-time top ten among performers in the high jump.
Working it
The United States Supreme Court’s ruling in NCAA v. Alston, in the summer of 2021, solidified collegiate athletes’ right to own and monetize their NIL, subsequently allowing athletes to stake out their own personal brands as a business.
Hurley said that he knew, even as an 18-year-old at the time, that NIL was new territory, but he aimed to make the most of it.
Marquel Carter, Bijan Robinson, Sam Hurley, and Ayden Ames at SXSW Sports Track, Presented by ... [+]
When asked by panel host Marquel Carter how NIL changed his college experience, Hurley said it made him want to be responsible with the opportunity.
“It made it better for certain. But I learned a lot financially about money, about investing.”
Hurley, along with fellow Longhorns NCAA champion volleyball star Ayden Ames, and Hurley’s best friend Bijan Robinson, now an NFL running back with the Atlanta Falcons, told Carter and the SXSW audience about how the very beginnings of NIL felt like “the Wild, Wild West.”
“Everyone knew it was hectic and it was crazy,” Hurley said, noting that “brands were also trying to figure it all out.” But, he explained that brands wanted very much to tap the right personalities in their marketing efforts. “I enrolled at UT in January 2022, so I missed the start of the craziness, and came in at the right time.”
Ames is a dominant, 6-foot-4 middle blocker for the Texas Longhorns ladies’ volleyball team who have won back-to-back NCAA titles. During the panel discussion, Ames echoes Hurley in saying that it’s all about “balance.”
“There (were) definitely a lot of agents calling with different opportunities,” Ames said, “but I wanted to take it slow, figure out what’s good for me, what’s bad for me, and what will really help me in the future.”
Ames, a freshman who just turned 18 in 2024, added that NCAA athletes can consider options but should also beware of associations that potentially harm their brands.
“You definitely learn that with NIL deals there is good money and bad money,” and “certain deals (that) aren't worth it.”
Hurley said that for some athletes, the NIL thing can feel daunting. But for those who can handle the attention and opportunities, it eventually becomes normal.
“For me, I feel like a student-athlete but have a job too. Some athletes go to a job and clock in and work at a restaurant or a car dealership. For me, my NIL work is a job, but the work is just a different kind of work.”
Hurley says that he wouldn’t have it any other way: “I love it, though. I love being busy and having a lot to do. I would rather be too busy than ever be bored.”
Long days, Olympic goals
Hurley said that early on the transition from online schooling, during the Covid pandemic, back to “real life” was a big factor.
“When I started as a freshman and then moved to Austin—everything was different and just electric. I went from online schooling and getting up when I wanted to early workout at 6 A.M, going to class right after, and then practice.”
His life experience now is always, he said, a mix of school, sports, and straight-up business.
“Right now we are in-season,” Hurley said, “but even with business side, I put my athletics first. Sunday through Wednesday we’re in Austin, but we are gone every weekend for meets,” Hurley said, “My agents will tell me ‘good luck’ but they know not to text me too much about business. I’m in my meet mindset.”
VIDEO: Sam Hurley talks up how Austin is “cooler”—and so is his coach.
After a long weekend of competition against other Big XII and SEC schools, UT’s track team comes back to Austin every Sunday. “So I have a short week, basically late Sunday to Wednesday, for NIL business and school work.”
Hurley describes his day as follows: Weights early in the morning, class right after that, followed by going straight to practice, then often a track and field team meeting, additional workouts, and rehab or treatments.
“After all that I am getting home at 6 P.M. totally exhausted, knowing it’s time to get some work done.”
By “work,” Hurley meant that in the evenings, he balances schoolwork as a Human Dimensions of Organizations major with his NIL business tasks.
“It’s definitely hectic and busy,” Hurley said of being a collegiate and NIL athlete. “But you learn to adapt quickly and get it done.”
But along with all the good fortune that has come with being a sought-after collegiate athlete comes even bigger goals. Currently, Hurley is vying for a spot on the USA Olympic Team, destination Paris.
As of this spring, Hurley has already qualified for the high jump competition for Team USA’s preliminary events. Next, he is off to the Olympic trials in early summer.
“Qualifying means I go to Eugene (Oregon) for the trials and compete against the rest of the qualifiers for a top-three spot. If I get top-three, I go to Paris, for the Olympics.”
Hurley also said that his growth at UT Austin under track and field coach Edrick Floréal has been immeasurable. It makes him proud to compete for the Longhorns on the track.
I asked Hurley about going back home for visits in his native Fayetteville, Arkansas, which is home of the Arkansas Razorbacks. Does he flaunt the Texas Longhorns’ burnt orange?
“Oh yes, of course, I represent,” Hurley said. “You gotta.”
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