Episode 1 Featuring DL Kris Jenkins Now Live
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan Athletics and its multimedia rightsholder, LEARFIELD, announce the debut of Those Who Stay – a new original, seven-part docuseries highlighting football student-athletes who chose to return to Ann Arbor for their senior season in pursuit of the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Episode 1 launched today and features DL Kris Jenkins of Olney, Md., who candidly shares with fans what led to his decision to return to Michigan and what it will take to bring a national title back to Ann Arbor. Among Jenkins’ accomplishments as a three-time letterman at Michigan include Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2021) and All-Big Ten selection (honorable mention, coaches and media, 2022).
“We are excited to launch this new series with LEARFIELD to highlight some of the great young people that made the commitment to remain at Michigan to continue their education and keep making an impact on the football field,” said Kurt Svoboda, Associate Athletic Director for External Communications and Public Relations. “This new series will give our great fans an inside look at the tremendous culture and drive of our football team, as well as the hard work these student-athletes put in on and off the field.”
Presented by Cheez-It, Those Who Stay spotlights seven University of Michigan Football Team student-athletes who decided to return for the upcoming 2023-24 season. Featuring one player each episode, fans get an all-access look into the lives of these student-athletes and discover what motivated them to remain a part of this program. New episodes will air every Tuesday and Friday for the month of June. Featured football players include Kris Jenkins, Trevor Keegan, Mike Barrett, Cornelius Johnson, Zak Zinter, Mike Sainristil and Blake Corum.
The LEARFIELD Studios team collaborated with Michigan Athletics and Michigan football personnel on the overall production and concepts for the series in order to deliver compelling behind-the-scenes access for fans. Those Who Stay episodes are approximately five minutes long and showcase a different student-athlete each episode of the series. Additionally, participating players have the opportunity to leverage their name/image/likeness (NIL) through sponsored social posts. Fans can watch each episode of this unique storytelling series on a dedicated page within the official athletics website at mgoblue.com/thosewhostay.
“We believe it’s incredibly valuable when we can create these unique opportunities for fans to engage with the university and Michigan student-athletes through original content. It’s special, and the authentic storytelling is unrivaled,” said Jennifer Cadicamo, Vice President and General Manager for LEARFIELD’s Michigan Sports Properties. “Brands also want to be involved in this type of engagement too, so we are thrilled to have a national LEARFIELD partner in Cheez-It as our presenting sponsor. Fans loved the Michigan Made series in the fall with women’s basketball and Meijer as presenting sponsor, and we know Those Who Stay will be a big hit as well.”
The subsequent release schedule for Those Who Stay, presented by Cheez-It, is as follows:
Episode 2 – OL Trevor Keegan, June 9
Episode 3 – LB Mike Barrett, June 13
Episode 4 – WR Cornelius Johnson, June 16
Episode 5 – OL Zak Zinter, June 20
Episode 6 – DB Mike Sainristil, June 23
Episode 7 – RB Blake Corum, June 27
The Michigan Wolverines kick off their 2023 football campaign hosting the ECU Pirates on Sept. 2. Big Ten competition opens against Rutgers on Sept. 23 at home. Fans can visit the official athletics website for the complete 2023-24 season schedule.
About LEARFIELD
LEARFIELD is a media, data, and technology services leader in intercollegiate athletics. Its locally based Michigan Sports Properties team is solely dedicated to representing the Wolverines. LEARFIELD unlocks the value of college sports for brands and fans through an omnichannel platform with innovative content and commerce solutions. Its services include licensing and collegiate sports properties’ multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, audio, digital and social media; data analytics and insights; ticketing software; and ticket sales, premium seating, and fundraising services; branding; campus-wide business and sponsorship development; and venue technology systems. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for NACDA’s acclaimed LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup, recognizing athletic departments across all divisions.