Kyle May to Replace Chris Bauer as Head of Razorbacks NIL Collective

Kyle May is the new executive director of Arkansas Edge, the name, image and likeness collective for athletes at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

May will replace Chris Bauer, the collective’s first executive director, who announced he would step down because of personal reasons. Bauer was originally hired in January and will remain with the collective in a part-time advisory capacity.

In November 2023, the university announced Arkansas Edge would operate in partnership with Blueprint Sports of Las Vegas. Under the collective arrangement, supporters of the university can donate — or become a subscribed member — of the collective, and the collective then pools the money for distribution to the university’s athletes.

May joins Arkansas Edge after a decade as a fundraiser for the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville and the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers. He was director of development for the past two years at the Walmart AMP and he helped raise $18 million for the AMP’s expansion in 2019-2020.

“There has been so much incredible work done thus far with Arkansas Edge to help the Razorbacks recruit and retain top talent, and I am looking forward to hitting the ground running to continue that work,” May said. “Through NIL, Razorback student-athletes have the opportunity to leverage their personal brands in a way that can be life-changing, not only for themselves, but also for the wider community, organizations, and businesses that they get to serve. I am thrilled to play a part in that change by leading the Arkansas Edge team.”

Arkansas Edge also named Alex Harper as the collective’s director of corporate partnerships. Harper spent the past five years as an account executive for Arkansas Business Publishing Group in Little Rock.

“Corporate partnerships are a critical piece of a strong NIL collective,” Harper said. “Connecting with Razorback student-athletes is a great way for a business to build brand awareness. I am looking forward to exploring new ways for student-athletes to maximize their NIL potential.”