Athletes First already has some of the more renowned players in the NFL, not to mention a top-shelf coaching clientele that includes the likes of Ryan Day and Brian Kelly at the collegiate level as well as Matt LeFleur on the NFL side.
Now, the organization is making multiple moves to wade deeper into college football.
Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that Athletes First has hired longtime top Notre Dame personnel executive Dave Peloquin as well as LSU's Jordan Arcement to bolster their college sports division -- specifically the company's process of identifying potential prep and college players who project to potential top-tier college Name, Image and Likeness clients as well as NFL prospects.
The company has several notable NFL clients, including former Notre Dame All-America safety Kyle Hamilton as well as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
In a role that sources told FootballScoop essentially as as the company's general manager of the collegiate division, Peloquin instantly brings wtih him almost a quarter-century work from his time at Notre Dame -- spanning from his student-work as an undergraduate assistant.
Starting in Bob Davie's Notre Dame Fighting Irish program, Peloquin is one of the rarest individuals in all of college football -- his value extending through five full-time Notre Dame football coaches beginning with Davie, transitioning to Ty Willingham, Charlies Weis, Brian Kelly and, finally, in multiple roles for Marcus Freeman.
He was both retained by all those Irish coaches and turned down numerous job opportunities to head up personnel departments for several other Power Conference programs, including in the Big Ten and SEC.
Arcement steadily grew in LSU's recruiting department since his arrival in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2022, following work at the University of Virginia. Most recently, Arcement was LSU's director of recruiting communications and external relations. He also has coached in the prep ranks and played collegiate football at Nicholls State (La.).
The moves from Athletes First signal the company's willingness to try to be on the leading edge of ongoing changes in college athletics, specifically college football.
The House Settlement takes effect July 1, with Power Conference schools who opt in at the maximum amount able to share $20.5 million in revenue with student-athletes -- almost overwhelmingly directing the majority of those funds to football players -- annually and with built-in increases of 4% annually over the decade-long terms of the deal.
Additionally, NIL opportunities are still available for college athletes and increasingly more so for high school athletes. At the college level, as part of the House Settlement, all NIL deals valued at more than $600 must be ratified by third-party financial powerhouse Deloitte. Athletes First, like other powerful agencies in college and pro athletics, has long history in dealing with marketing arrangements -- the types of which Deloitte is being asked to oversee in the House Settlement.