UK Athletics Announces Football Jersey Patch Partnership with UK Invests to Champion Students’ Financial Well-Being
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 4, 2026) – As Kentucky Football begins a new era under Head Coach Will Stein, UK Athletics is partnering with UK Invests to make the groundbreaking program the Official Jersey Patch Partner of Kentucky Football.
Beginning with tomorrow’s game against Youngstown State, the UK Invests logo will appear on Wildcat Football jerseys to elevate storytelling around one of UK’s fastest-growing student success programs.
Launched in 2022, UK Invests is a first-of-its-kind financial wellness program that combines financial education with real-world opportunities to help UK students build greater financial security and healthy saving and investing habits. The program empowers students to create personal investment accounts where they can practice saving and investing, while also offering financial education sessions and opportunities to earn university-funded rewards for participating in institution-identified healthy behaviors, such as exercising at Alumni Gym or attending the Hire Blue Career Fair. Soon, students can also earn rewards for attending select UK Athletics games.
“UK exists to advance this state and that begins by investing in our students and their success,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “Our students are the future. Their success is one of the most tangible and important ways that we advance Kentucky. UK Invests is an innovative way that we give students the tools they need, from Day 1, to prepare for their careers, a sustainable and strong financial future, and for lives of meaning and purpose.”
Since its launch less than four years ago, more than 18,000 students have opened investment accounts and earned nearly $3 million in university-funded rewards through UK Invests. Collectively, student investments are projected to exceed $9 million at the next quarterly update at the end of the month.
“A jersey patch is one of the most visible brand opportunities in college athletics, so fit matters,” UK Athletics Director/Champions Blue CEO J Batt said. “We want to find partnerships that work for Kentucky, and UK Invests represents that kind of alignment. This is a program that has invested real dollars in UK students while encouraging healthy habits that prepare them for lives of meaning and purpose. This patch gives us a significant way to tell that Kentucky story through one of the most watched sports in America.”
UK Invests was initially implemented in phases, beginning in Fall 2022 with UK student-athletes who deposited their NCAA Alston Awards earnings into UK Invests brokerage accounts after completing financial education programs. UK Invests then expanded to the full undergraduate, graduate, and professional student body population in Fall 2023 and has quickly become one of UK’s most successful student initiatives to-date.
“The college football audience is growing at record levels, and we expect that momentum to continue,” Batt said. “At Kentucky, strong new partnerships are coming across our multimedia platforms as we enter a new era under Coach Stein. A top-10 transfer class and projections for our highest regular-season viewership ever reflect the momentum surrounding the program. Lexington’s recognition as a top-15 college football market is further evidence that the Big Blue Nation is a difference-maker and will continue to be central to our success. Featuring UK Invests on our jerseys this season builds on that momentum while showcasing a distinctive university program available to every UK student, including student-athletes.”
Kentucky Football will showcase storytelling on UK Invests’ success and growth through integrated multimedia activations executed by JMI Sports – UK Athletics’ exclusive multimedia rights partner operating locally as UK Sports and Campus Marketing – including Kroger Field signage, videoboards, radio and TV inventory, coaches’ endorsements, and in-game features highlighting students who participate in the program.
“We know the powerful impact UK Invests already is having in the lives of thousands of students at UK,” Capilouto said. “We believe many more students and families will learn about this incredible initiative through the patch and the platform it helps us create to tell the story of how we advance this state by investing in the most precious of things — our students and their future.”
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ABOUT UK INVESTS
UK Invests is a first-of-its-kind initiative nationally that will help students and employees build a foundation of financial education, allowing them to achieve greater financial security and well-being.
Through this initiative, UK students and employees will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of financial wellness through iGrad — a leading financial education provider, practice financial investing and receive monetary rewards for institution-identified healthy behaviors.
UK Invests exists in collaboration with Fidelity Investments®, ensuring our students and employees will reap a lifetime of benefits for themselves, their families and their communities.
Fidelity Investments® is the official investment solution provider for UK Invests.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ATHLETICS
UK Athletics is a leader in college sports, sponsoring 23 varsity sports teams (12 women’s teams, 10 men’s teams, plus the coed rifle team) and hundreds of student-athletes, competing for championships, ensuring their education and well-being, and providing opportunities for the present and future. With the leadership of Athletics Director/CEO J Batt, UK Athletics operates as Champions Blue, LLC. The non-profit holding company is designed to provide the department with the flexibility to unlock new revenue streams through public-private partnerships and potentially other transactions, such as real estate.
ABOUT JMI SPORTS
JMI Sports is a leading media rights and venue development company that provides management of collegiate multimedia rights, sponsorship sales agency representation, and project management expertise for the development of collegiate and professional sports facilities. The company serves to maximize each client’s economic potential through customized initiatives, from marketing and branding solutions to facility design strategies.
JMI Sports’ signature collegiate multimedia rights partnerships include the University of Kentucky, UCLA, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University, Columbia University, San Diego State University, University of California at San Diego, University of San Diego, and joint-venture properties at the University of Georgia (with Learfield), University of Notre Dame (with Legends), and Northwestern University (with Legends). JMI Sports also represents multimedia rights for several conferences, including the Ivy League, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Patriot League, and the Atlantic 10, and serves as third-party sales representation for premier sports properties, venues, and events including Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center, the Rose Bowl, the Penn Relays, and USA Volleyball.
JMI Sports was founded in 2006 by CEO Erik Judson and technology entrepreneur John Moores, former owner of the San Diego Padres. To learn more, please visit www.jmisports.com.
