Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) has become a much more well known tactic in the world of college sports, creating deals with athletes in support of different national brands. And small business owner and founder of clothing brand MuskOx, Bradley Hoos, a Michigan State University alumni, didn’t take the traditional route to get to this team partnership.

After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in engineering, Hoos went to continue his education at the University of Iowa to receive his masters, but the tragedy of 9/11 struck, rerouting Hoos quickly. He recalled walking into his local senator’s office and saying, "Hey, I want to help."

"They said, 'Do you want to stuff envelopes for a campaign?' And I said yes, next thing I know I was driving a vice presidential motorcade and got to spend campaign night at congressman’s house," Hoos said. 

After his time in Washington, D.C., Hoos put his engineering degree to use as a consulting engineer. Four years later, he pivoted to business, enrolling at the University of Chicago for an MBA — a key step in launching the now nationally recognized brand, MuskOx.

"I got a chance to work on sort of a startup working with Caterpillar Dealers and then I thought, 'well I’m not terrible at this startup thing, and I really like it,'" Hoos said. "Why don’t I go ahead and do this after not taking advantage of any of the entrepreneurial options at the University of Chicago."

After returning to Michigan and settling in Detroit, where he became the CEO of the Outloud Group, Hoos and his business partner developed the concept of MuskOx in 2019, launching it soon after.

As an environmental engineer in Indianapolis, Indiana, Hoos was able to take ideas from the job while working in a proactive environmental job to help spark change in the MuskOx brand. MuskOx not only works to make sure customers are satisfied by their purchases, but also gives back in the meantime. 

Not only are the flannels known for their great quality, but also stand for what it means to have a sustainable environment. Being made a part of the Better Cotton Program, which is what assures the cotton is being grown in a sustainable manner and the company gives $5 back to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center with every purchase of an item, as well as using recycled ocean bound plastic on the buttons that are on the shirt.

"There’s really three pillars to our brand," Hoos said. "Quality is the first pillar, the second pillar is environmental stewardship and the third is wildlife conservation and we’re named after the MuskOx so the third is straightforward in terms of why we do that."

Being a high quality brand, the idea of partnering with the Michigan State hockey team came from Hoos wanting to bring that same high quality material to a high quality team. And in an attempt to put the brand more out in the world, the partnership came to light.

"MuskOx travel in herds," Hoos said. "So we thought for us being named after the muskox and honoring the muskox and the fact that hockey is such a team sport, that this just made all the sense in the world."

Bringing the deal to his alma mater, Hoos aimed to create noise where others hadn’t while also embracing a different, cutting-edge approach. Partnering with the hockey team — a sport he began playing at age four — helped elevate the brand.

"We strategically have decided that we want to do more to support hockey here in 2025," Hoos said. "For us as a company we thought that was a great fit, so combine that with the way coach (Adam) Nightingale is running his program, they’re clearly a top notch program and by all accounts doing things the right way and are built for the long term."

And not only did the NIL come to his alma mater, the deal plays a role for the entirety of the team, each player having their opportunity to help the brand explode.

"Ultimately, whether you're a human or a brand, you want to surround yourself with good people doing good things, and I think that rubs off on you, so I'd like to think the hockey team feels the same way, and that's why they partnered with us," Hoos said. "We love being able to partner with Michigan State hockey, a program that's so well respected in the nation right now, and to have the players individually all buy in to what we're doing, I think it means a lot."