Donnie Nickey (OSU '98-'03) was a safety and captain on the 2002 national championship team that defeated the goliath Miami Hurricanes 31-24 in double OT. Donnie went on to have a very successful career in the NFL playing eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans. Donnie resides in Nashville, TN with his wife and children. Donnie joined BILT as the director of the legacy program in January, 2024. 

The ReBILT program is aiming to provide opportunities for student athlete alumni who were not able to benefit from the age of NIL to embrace their natural entrepreneurial instincts. BILT Connections works with university technology commercialization offices to license tech developed at the school and create a venture with the alumni at the helm. Billions of dollars are pumped into university R&D programs with very few of these world-changing technologies ever reaching the hands of the public. Professors want to teach and do their research. There is little time to run a business!

Student athlete alumni often spend their entire lives devoted to their craft and even the very few who experience long, successful careers still find themselves past their playing days and looking for that next opportunity. 

LOOK NO FURTHER.

BILT Connections is committed to providing a sound ecosystem to allow athlete alumni to own and operate their business with our acceleration efforts and resources. We will work to identify and petition for funding (both non-dilutive and dilutive), coordinate service vendors, provide free enrollment into the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, and organize classes and seminars that will educate them on the nitty gritty details of running their new venture.

The Department of Development's Third Frontier program offers a "Technology Validation Startup Fund (TVSF)" which is BILT Connections first stop on the journey with a perfect record in obtaining this $200,000 grant for start-up costs. Join us and reignite your legacy!

Our flagship venture illustrating this model is our very own LegacyAcres. Former All-American Cornerback Chimdi Chekwa spends his day working in the analyzing the agricultural industry. This made LegacyAcres a natural fit for a venture with him at the reigns. Chimdi is the CEO of LegacyAcres which was developed at his alma mater: The Ohio State University. 

Together with BILT Connections, Chimdi's new company was able to earn the $200,000 TVSF grant which is currently being used to contract Columbus' very own software development company BigKitty Labs.

Check out more on LegacyAcres on our BILT Businesses tab here!