The tipping point in the wrong direction for the Tulane football program could have come right after the Green Wave’s loss to SMU in the American Athletic Conference championship game in December at Yulman Stadium.
It could have, but it didn’t, thanks in large part to the quick work of the Fear The Wave Collective trio of Mike Arata, Jimmy Ordeneaux and Kelly Comarda.
Eighth-year coach Willie Fritz was in the process of his departure to Houston after winning 23 games in his last two years, creating doubt about continued success in the transfer portal era. A slew of departures would have left the Wave in total rebuild mode.
In that moment of potential crisis, Arata, Ordeneaux and Comarda — Tulane alums and former Wave athletes responsible for the name, image and likeness program associated with the university — made their presence felt.
“The three of us were in the locker room just kind of greeting everybody and making sure they understood we weren’t going anywhere,” said Ordeneaux, an offensive lineman for the Wave in 1997 and 1998. “It was an obvious demonstration of how we care about you as an individual.”
Arata, who graduated in 1989 after starting at linebacker, felt the same way.
“It was really personal for us,” he said. “All three of us were like we are going to share the message with these guys that we’re here, man. We try to make sure we’re part of their experience, not just from a transactional standpoint, but a support standpoint.”
Tulane lost some key players, with defensive end Keith Cooper, linebacker Corey Platt and defensive back Kentrell Webb following Fritz to Houston; wide receiver Chris Brazzell going to Tennessee; and end Devean Deal leaving for TCU, but it was hardly the devastating blow that affected schools in similar situations such as Arizona and Washington.
Less than a week after the SMU loss, Tulane agreed to a deal with No. 1 target Jon Sumrall as Fritz’s replacement. The Fear the Wave trio played a role in that decision, too. Sumrall had a good gig at Troy, and he singled out the collective as a reason for his move.
“This day and age in college football, if you don’t have great organizational structure within your NIL, you have no chance,” he said at AAC media days. “Michael (Arata) and Jimmy (Ordeneaux), the work they have done blew me away before I got here, and then the continued work they have done. That is going to allow us to have sustained success over the long haul. I don’t know if I’d be at Tulane if it wasn’t for what they’ve created.”
He knows for sure he would not have the roster he formed through the transfer portal without the collective. In the receiver room alone, the Wave has former USC star Mario Williams, Alabama’s Shazz Preston and Texas A&M’s Yulkeith Brown, who joined the team last year.
“Getting that talent around you, it’s really kind of crazy to think I’m playing with USC receivers, Texas A&M, Alabama,” redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah said. “I never would have thought of them being here, so our collective’s been extremely helpful.”
Think of Tulane’s collective as the little engine that could. Fear the Wave does not have the same corporate backing that Memphis does with FedEx, but Tulane ranked 1-2 with the Tigers in transfer portal additions for 2024, according to 247Sports.
“It’s a very well-run, organized collective,” said Oregon transfer quarterback Ty Thompson, who does monthly appearances or community service as part of his NIL deal. “In this day and age, people aren’t playing for free. Arata puts his blood, sweat and tears into it. You see him at fundraising events jumping up and down on tables, getting alumni to do this and that. The way they love this program and love this team and are giving everything they can, it’s a great thing to see.”
Ordeneaux and Comarda formed the collective as a nonprofit at the end of 2021. Their initial goal was to solicit $10,000 to help get one good player, and they recruited Arata after they started.
Then the Cotton Bowl season happened, and interest in the program exploded, with Tulane winning its first conference title since 1998 and finishing ninth in The Associated Press poll.
“We definitely beat our $10,000 budget,” Arata said. “We beat that pretty good.”
Having worked out small deals for linebacker Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams, their real jump was getting quarterback Michael Pratt to commit for another year as Tulane prepared for the Cotton Bowl. While they lacked the same money offers that were floating around from interested parties across the country, they sealed the deal on legacy.
“He could have played anywhere, but he was Michael Pratt here,” Arata said. “He would have been (insert the school name) quarterback there.
“One of the great things we all agreed on was we don’t have to be the SEC collective. We’re going to do it our way and share our values and make sure the people we deal with know the most important thing for us isn’t the money. It’s about the total package and what Tulane is and what Tulane means to us.”
While keeping the original nonprofit setup, teaming with Son of a Saint to provide opportunities for players, the collective has added a marketing company to keep up in the NIL world. The primary philosophy has not changed, though.
“We’re not going out there and bidding top dollar on people,” Ordeneaux said. “You can feel good about the financial piece of it, but that’s just one small piece of the overall structure of why a kid wanted to come to Tulane. Jon Sumrall and his staff are amazing recruiters. They are doing all the heavy lifting.”
It is a labor of love, with an equal emphasis on both words. Arata and Ordeneaux have full-time jobs as trial lawyers and do not make any money off of the collective. They also had to increase their workload when Comarda left in April for a paying NIL job with Fritz at Houston.
They seek support for not just football but also for every sport on campus because they believe it is the right thing to do, most recently hosting a party for the women’s basketball team on Sept. 17 and a golf fundraiser on Oct. 1. They hold events like pizza night and burger night as often as five times a month and run two huge fundraisers each year, including a wine and dine with Sumrall in July.
“I don’t sleep,” Arata said. “Jimmy somehow figured out how to get 26 hours into a 24-hour day. I don’t know how he did it, but he did.”
Much of their energy stems from their relationship with Sumrall.
“We were … going with coach Fritz, but we feel like we’re hitting this (with Sumrall) at a totally different level now because we’re so like-minded and we’re so consistent with what we want to do,” Arata said. “Just the right time, right person, right place. It was like nuclear fuel to us. We didn’t back down. We doubled our efforts.”
Fans can help fund the collective at fearthewavecollective.com, with membership providing assets at varying levels depending on the amount contributed.
What the structure will look like beginning next year, when NCAA rules will permit universities to pay athletes directly, remains to be seen.
As positive as Sumrall has been, and as well as Tulane (4-2, 2-0 AAC) has played while destroying South Florida and UAB in its past two games, he knows the Wave cannot stand still, pointing to Memphis and South Florida in particular as being ahead of other AAC schools.
“NIL, revenue share, those things are vital,” Sumrall said. “I’ve told everybody that will listen, facilities are great, but you can build a brand-new building, and if you don’t have good players, good luck winning.
“We’ve got to push the gas and continue to go. I like what’s been started, but we have to constantly evolve. We need a great roster. How do you get good players now? You take care of them.”