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THE PLAYMAKERS: Alumni Edition powered by UTMB Health
The Houston area is loaded with talented athletes, who give it their all on their respective fields of play.
Welcome to the VYPE Playmakers, powered by UTMB Health, where we highlight five standouts who have advanced their playing careers to the collegiate level. Here are the UTMB Alumni Standouts.
Tramon Mark -- Dickinson HS Grad (Plays for UH Basketball)
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
Dickinson’s-own Tramon Mark enjoyed a stellar high school career, averaging nearly 30 points and leading the Gators to the State Tournmanet during his undefeated senior year -- before COVID-19 forced the rest of the season to be canceled. The 6-foot-5 point guard then moved on to play for the Houston Cougars, where he is currently a starter and is having his best collegiate season yet.
Brooke McCarty-Williams -- Clear Springs HS Grad (Played for UT & WNBA)
Clear Springs alum McCarty-Williams was a beast for the Chargers averaging over 25 points per game, and establishing her school as a major player in Texas girls basketball. Following her graduation in 2014, she would continue to make headlines at the University of Texas, helping the Longhorns reach the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament each year she played. From there, she advanced to the WNBA to play guard for the Los Angeles Sparks (2018) and the Dallas Wings (2019).
Chad Lindberg -- Clear Creek HS Grad (Plays for Georgia Football)
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
Lindberg was a four-star offensive tackle for the Wildcats before graduating in 2020, and was a monster in drive-blocking situations. So much so, that his excellence on and off the field, earned him the chance to play for the current National Champions -- the Georgia Bulldogs. While only a sophomore, he was able to play some snaps in Georgia’s 65-7 win over TCU. He will make even more of an impact in the coming years.
Dylan Maxcey -- Friendswood HS Grad (Plays for Texas Tech Baseball)
Friendswood alum Dylan Maxcey played a major role in the Mustangs’ five-round playoff run during his senior year (2021). With a .371 batting average and leading the team in home runs and RBIs, he was a lock for his recruitment to Texas Tech. He currently plays catcher for the Red Raiders and is seeking to establish himself as a potential professional.
Brooke Botkin--Pearland HS Grad (Played for USC Volleyball)
One of Pearland’s greatest outside hitters, Botkin was a significant part of the Lady Oilers’ consistent postseason appearances throughout her high school career (2014-2017). Her extraordinary talent led to her playing for USC, where she earned Pac-12 All-Conference Team honors each year she played. Currently, Botkin is embarking on her professional volleyball career in Switzerland’s A1 League, where she plays for Geneve Volley.
Varsity Chips creates the first NFT collection to celebrate high school athletes
HOUSTON, TX (January 20, 2022) – Varsity Chips, the first NFT (Non-Fungible Token) collection to celebrate high school athletes, launches to celebrate a shared love of high school teams, athletes, and communities, as well as the passion that makes high school athletics special to so many.
We believe that everyone, including high school athletes should be able to monetize their own name, image, and likeness. Varsity Chips owns the full rights to all footage and photos used for our NFT’s, but we still intend on compensating every athlete who is featured, because it is the right thing to do. While state rules prevent us from entering into agreements with high school student athletes in many states (including Texas), we are setting aside a portion of revenue and a collection of NFT’s for every athlete featured as soon as we are allowed to per their local state rules (usually after the completion of the season of the last sport they will be participating in at the high school level or graduation of high school).
In addition to the monetary value, we are here to educate these athletes on marketing and the potential from them to monetize their brand in the metaverse and through NFT’s. We will work with athletes and their families to provide resources to further educate them on NIL Marketing, NFT’s, Cryptocurrencies, and Personal Finance.
NFT’s have broken into the sports space in a big way, giving fans, collectors, athletes, artists and investors a new and innovative way to own or sell a piece of sports history. The blockchain has allowed Varsity Chips to create a one of a kind (non-fungible) digital asset to represent anything from an image to a 3-D video. This market is in its infancy, but already garnering transactions only before seen in the international art market. The sales volume for NFT’s hit $2.5 billion in the first six months of 2021, up from a total of $13.7 million in all of 2020.
“High school athletes represent everything that is good about competitive sports. If an athlete is currently playing in high school, the potential upside of what they might become is at its all time high. And for most current college or professional athletes, they will tell you that playing high school sports was the most fun they’ve every had, and now fans will have the opportunity to commemorate and own those special moments. We anticipate that the demand for high school athlete NFT’s will excite the current and future marketplace by bridging the gap between systemic NFT purchases and the avid sports fan.” says Shane Hildreth, CEO of Varsity Chips.
To buy Varsity Chips, pack drops will be available on VarsityChips.io. Individual NFT “Chips” can also be bought from other community members on the secondary market on VarsityChips.io. Community members also have a line for constant conversation in the hosted discord channel.
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About Varsity Chips
Varsity Chips is the first NFT collection to celebrate high school athletes. Each collectible NFT “Chip” includes a photo and highlight video clip of the featured athlete and a unique mint number and edition size to verify its rarity. Varsity Chips gives fans a way to show their support for their alma mater or local teams, as well as invest in sports’ futures stars and the future of sports collectibles.