Deone Walker will be available Saturday at Fan Fest to sign autographs or take photos with fans. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Even if there were not a lot of other Kentucky football players and other UK athletes scheduled to be at the 15 Club Fan Fest Saturday, Ryan Maxwell thinks just getting to see UK star defensive lineman Deone Walker would be worth the $25 admission for adults or $10 for children.
“He is an amazing athlete and has demonstrated that on the field but he is a far better individual and person than he is football player and I want more people to know that,” said Ryan Maxwell, one of the founding fathers Athlete Advantage that oversees The 15 Club. “He is a character-filled young man.
“He could have gone anywhere in the country (via the transfer portal) but chose to stay here because of his relationship with the coaching staff and community. That speaks so much to the character of the young man.
“If you come to Fan Fest you are going to meet someone you are going to see play on Sundays (in the NFL) and find out just what a great young man he is.”
The event begins at 1 p.m. at the Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington and goes until 6 p.m. when UK men’s basketball faces Georgia in Rupp Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at this link or day-of at the door.
“Fan Fest was a huge success last year and gives fans a great opportunity to interact with players,” Maxwell said. “NIL has this bad rep about paying players to play but that is not the way we have approached it. We have looked more at player retention. We want you to have the opportunity to meet players who had opportunities to leave UK for other places but elected to stay here.
“If you are a fan and want to help the collective come to Fan Fest and show the players some love for what they do for the university. This is not just a great opportunity for fans but also for players to become more connected to the fan base.”
Along with Walker some of the other top returning UK football players scheduled to attend Fan Fest are Barion Brown, Dane Key, Maxwell Hairston and JJ Weaver. Also scheduled to attend and meet UK fans for the first time are players from the transfer portal — quarterback Brock Vandagriff, quarterback Beau Allen, running back Chip Trayanum, linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, receiver Ja’Mori Maclin, receiver Raymond Cottrell and others.
Some of the other returning Cats scheduled to attend include Zion Childress, Jordan Lovett, Jordan Dingle, Alex Afari, Marques Cox, Eli Cox, Josh Kattus and Khamari Anderson.
Fans will also have a chance to meet highly-touted true freshman linebacker Brian Robinson.
Maxwell said several athletes from baseball, gymnastics and volleyball will also be part of Fan Fest.
“Go to Kentucky15.com and you will see that we do not just support football but also baseball, gymnastics, volleyball,” Maxwell said. “This is a celebration for BBN at Fan Fest and we are hoping we can get as many fans as possible there.”
Maxwell said 80 percent of all revenue raised by The 15 Club goes directly to student-athletes.
“The other money goes for operational costs but a lot of collectives are taking 30 to 40 percent out for their costs,” Maxwell said. “We want the vast majority of the money to go to UK student-athletes.”
