Degree® Deodorant Signs 18 Additional Diverse & Standout Student Athletes to its 2nd Annual NIL 'Breaking Limits Team' While Searching for More

World's #1 Antiperspirant Brand Continues Commitment to Working with College Athletes with Mentorship & Community Programs that Support Them Both During and After College

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As one of the first major brands to work with college athletes when new NIL rules went into effect last year, Degree® Deodorant set a precedent for brands entering the NIL space by taking a more thoughtful approach to partnerships with college athletes.

With the majority of NIL deals over the past year directly tied to leading athletic performers in key nationally recognized conferences and sports, Degree® is committed to giving college athletes from a diverse set of schools, sports and backgrounds, a platform to share their stories and inspire the confidence in everyone to break down barriers and push limits.

Degree®'s inaugural #BreakingLimits Team launched last summer with a commitment to offering equitable payments in aggregate to women's and men's athletes, a mentorship program with Unilever executives, a platform to share the athlete's untold stories of adversity, and a community program that supported local NGO partners.

Degree® is thrilled to launch the search for its 2^nd annual #BreakingLimits Team to ensure more college athletes have the opportunity to benefit from their years of hard work and dedication, and their untold stories are shared. Joining eligible athletes from last year's #BreakingLimits Team, Degree® has added a new class comprised of athletes from a range of sports, geographies, abilities, and backgrounds, who have all persevered to break through their own limits, and inspired their peers and the next generation of athletes and non-athletes to do the same:

• NEW Abby Bauleke – Wheelchair Basketball, University of Alabama
• NEW Abraham Montano – Football, Fresno State 
• NEW Caroline Ducharme – Women's Basketball, University of Connecticut 
• NEW Chucky Hepburn – Men's Basketball, University of Wisconsin
• NEW Edriss Ndiaye – Fencing, Ohio State 
• NEW Griffin Brooks – Men's Diving, Princeton University 
• NEW Jameson Wang – Football, Cornell University 
• NEW Jayda Coleman – Softball, University of Oklahoma
• NEW Jordan Chiles – Women's Gymnastics, UCLA 
• NEW Junior Colson – Football, University Michigan 
• NEW Kayleigh Truong – Women's Basketball, Gonzaga University
• NEW Kaylynne Truong – Women's Basketball, Gonzaga University 
• NEW Langston Wilson – Men's Basketball, University of Washington
• NEW Lexi Ellis – Track & Field, University of Oregon
• NEW Marlee Smith – Wrestling, Arizona State
• NEW Peyton Sippy – Women's Cross Country, University of Wisconsin 
• NEW Ryan Hilinski – Football, Northwestern University
• NEW Sydni Black – Women's Lacrosse, Loyola University Maryland
• Adrian Martinez – Football, Kansas State University
• Asjia O'Neal – Women's Volleyball, University of Texas
• Ayoka Lee – Women's Basketball, Kansas State University
• Bailey Moody – Wheelchair Basketball, University of Alabama
• Charlie Easley – Men's Basketball, South Dakota State
• Charlotte Teeter – Women's Soccer, Texas Tech University
• Chase Griffin – Football, UCLA
• Chayla Edwards – Women's Ice Hockey, University of Wisconsin
• Gloria Mutiri – Women's Volleyball, University of Oregon
• Nimari Burnett – Men's Basketball, University of Alabama
• Saquan Singleton – Men's Basketball, George Mason University

Degree® is searching for more college athletes to join them by encouraging athletes to share their Breaking Limits story of adversity via Degree®'s Instagram. The selection process begins on August 2, 2022, and concludes on August 17, 2022. Degree® will review the entries and select individuals who will receive an offer to join the 2022-2023 #BreakingLimits Team roster.

"Degree® was one of the first brands I partnered with, and it really helped launch my NIL career and understand the importance of partnering with a brand whose values you share," said Chase Griffin of UCLA. "Along with Degree® providing a platform to help inspire others with my story, the brand also gave me an incredible mentorship opportunity to speak with representatives within Unilever and I'm thrilled that my new #BreakingLimits teammates will have this same life changing experience."

This search of athletes follows the Degree® #BreakingLimits inaugural Team in the 2021-2022 academic school year comprised of 23 standout student athletes on and off the court/field/pool. The inaugural class will use their social platforms and voices to help find additional athletes for year two with just as inspiring stories of their own.

"Continuing our commitment to working with college athletes in a thoughtful and meaningful way is Degree®'s priority as we believe there is significant opportunity to highlight athletes with diverse backgrounds and stories tied to pertinent topics in culture," said Desi Okeke, Brand Director, Degree® Deodorant. "We look forward to another year of giving college athletes the opportunity to share their stories of adversity with the world to help inspire others."

"What makes The #BreakingLimits Team program so unique is sitting down with each of these incredible student athletes to learn more about them as human beings," said Rob Master, Vice President Integrated Marketing and Media, Unilever®. "Each one of these athletes has an inspiring story and is a leader of our next generation. Our Company is thrilled to offer them the opportunity to be paired with Unilever executives as part of a mentorship program to ensure post-graduation success with the hope to guide them to a career they're passionate about."

The #BreakingLimits program is part of Degree® Deodorant's larger $5 million commitment to inspire people to move beyond their limits – supporting youth organizations and individuals who face the biggest barriers to being active and providing them access to the tools, resources, and safe spaces needed to move more. 

About Degree®  

Degree® deodorants and antiperspirants are designed to inspire the confidence in everyone to move more. We make it our business to know about sweat, and what we learn informs every product innovation to help you keep moving. As a brand designed for and dedicated to promoting movement, Degree® has always believed in the power of movement to enhance our wellbeing. Yet, we know that the opportunity to move is not distributed equally, which is why we have made a commitment to ensure everyone has the freedom to move and help youth transform their lives through the power of movement. We are bringing this commitment to life through a variety of ongoing partnerships and programs that strive to help everyone find the confidence to move beyond limits. Visit www.degreedeodorant.com and follow us on Instagram and Twitter to learn more.  

About Unilever  

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 3.4 billion people every day. We have 148,000 employees and generated sales of €52.4 billion in 2021. Over half of our footprint is in developing and emerging markets. We have around 400 brands found in homes all over the world – including iconic brands like Dove, Knorr, Hellmann's, Magnum, Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Degree®, Seventh Generation, St. Ives, Suave, TRESemmé, and Vaseline. 

Our vision is to be the global leader in sustainable business and to demonstrate how our purpose-led, future-fit business model drives superior performance. We have a long tradition of being a progressive, responsible business. It goes back to the days of our founder William Lever, who launched the world's first purposeful brand, Sunlight Soap, more than 100 years ago, and it's at the heart of how we run our company today. 

The Unilever Compass, our sustainable business strategy, is set out to help us deliver superior performance and drive sustainable and responsible growth, while: 

• improving the health of the planet;
• improving people's health, confidence, and wellbeing; and
• contributing to a fairer and more socially inclusive world.

While there is still more to do, in the past year we're proud to have achieved sector leadership in S&P's Dow Jones Sustainability Index, 'Triple A' status in CDP's Climate, Water and Forest benchmarks and to be named as the top ranked company in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility Sustainability Leaders survey, for the eleventh consecutive year. 

For more information about Unilever and our brands, please visit www.unilever.com 

PRESS CONTACT  
Thea Nagle   
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SOURCE Degree