MSU Player Uses Earnings To Start Foundation In Africa

College athletics are a major source of revenue for colleges and universities nationwide. Yet, for many years, student-athletes have been unable to profit from the sports they help make so much money. That all changed in June 2021 when the NCAA changed its stance, allowing student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness opportunities as long as students follow the guidelines the NCAA has set.

Some students like Mady Sissoko, the senior forward on the Michigan State Spartans Men's Basketball team who is from Tangafoya, Mali, however, can't take advantage of this new rule. He cannot keep the money made from his NIL due to his student visa. Instead, Mady found an altruistic solution to this problem by creating the Mady Sissoko Foundation, a foundation that allows him to send all his would-be profits back to help his village in Mali.

Already, his foundation has raised enough funds to build a school with running water and a restroom. According to Sissoko, before the completion of the school, kids would have to "walk for like an hour-and-a-half to go to school." He went on to say "Even if you like school, it is going to discourage you...now they have school right there." The school is now as close as a five-minute walk and can fit nearly 240 students.

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While the Foundation has reached its initial $50,000 goal, it is still taking donations to further support the village of Tangafoya. It has even received support from Wolverine Worldwide, a global leader in the footwear industry, to provide shoes and other footwear to Mady's village. To show how drastic a difference these donations have made, this was the school Mady had gone to before moving to America.

The Spartans start their post-season campaign this Thursday against Minnesota in the second round of the BIG 10 Tournament.