WWE (NYSE:WWE) today unveiled 15 college athletes who will join the company's NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) program – "Next In Line™" – that provides a clear pathway from collegiate athletics to WWE.

The second "Next In Line" class includes athletes from 14 universities, seven NCAA conferences and seven sports, including the program's first athletes from cheer & dance, gymnastics, volleyball, men's basketball and representation from an HBCU program.

The following 15 athletes will be unveiled later this evening at the inaugural NIL Summit at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta:

Name

School

Sport

Height/Weight

Hometown

Ali Mattox

Ole Miss

Cheer & Dance

5' 7"

Little Rock, Ark.

Case Hatch

Arizona State

Football

6' 1", 230 lbs.

Gilbert, Ariz.

Chandler Hayden

Tennessee

Track & Field

5' 11"

Pittsfield, Ill.

Cohlton Schultz

Arizona State

Wrestling

6' 2", 285 lbs.

Parker, Colo.

Derrian Gobourne

Auburn

Gymnastics

5' 4"

Sarasota, Fla.

Ericka Link

Elon

Volleyball

5' 6"

Hedgesville, W.Va.

Keshaun Moore

Hampton

Football

6' 3", 270 lbs.

Suffolk, Va.

Luke Ford

Illinois

Football

6' 6", 260 lbs.

Carterville, Ill.

Maliq Carr

Michigan State

Football/Basketball

6' 5", 245 lbs.

Inkster, Mich.

Mikala Hall

Central Michigan

Basketball

5' 5"

Danville, Ill.

Rachel Glenn

South Carolina

Track & Field

6' 0"

Long Beach, Calif.

Ruben Banks

Arkansas

Track & Field

6' 4", 270 lbs.

Binfield, England

Thunder Keck

Stanford

Football

6' 3", 245 lbs.

Northfield, N.H.

Tyanna Omazic

Miami

Volleyball

6' 2"

Kansas City, Mo.

Zachary Knighton-Ward

Hofstra

Wrestling

6' 2", 285 lbs.

Rosedale, N.Y.

WWE's comprehensive NIL program launched in December and serves to recruit and develop potential future Superstars, and further enhances WWE's talent development process through collaborative partnerships with college athletes from diverse athletic backgrounds. "Next In Line" has signed 31 full-time college athletes since its inception and currently has 25 active athletes following the graduation of six inaugural members from the program.

All athlete partnerships will feature access to the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., in addition to resources across the organization including brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations. Upon completion of the NIL program, select athletes may earn an exclusive opportunity to be offered a WWE contract. All six athletes who graduated from the first class have either signed or are in discussion to join WWE on a full-time basis.

Four of the 16 initial members of WWE's "Next In Line" program are nominated for awards at the NIL Summit including Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (University of Minnesota) for Male Athlete of the Year, Haley & Hanna Cavinder (University of Miami) for Female Athlete of the Year and Jon Seaton (Elon University) for the Hustle Award. Additionally, WWE is a finalist for Brand of the Year.

For more information about the inaugural NIL Summit, held June 13-15 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, visit nilsummit.com. Learn more about the "Next In Line" program at wwerecruit.com.

About WWE

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE:WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The Company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, premium live events, digital media, and publishing platforms. WWE's TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 30 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX Sports, BT Sport, Sony India, and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all premium live events, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library and is currently available in more than 180 countries. In the United States, NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network.

Additional information on WWE can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.

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WWE® Adds 15 College Athletes to NIL Program