Eastern Michigan: The best case study on NIL investment in women's golf

by Shon Crewe

May 27, 2026

Two years ago, Eastern Michigan women's golf was ranked 227th in the country. Jasmine Leovao's 15-foot birdie putt on 18 on Tuesday sent the Eagles past Texas and into the NCAA Championship semifinals, the first non-Power Four program to get there since 2015.

This year, the Eagles entered the national championship ranked No. 27, climbed five spots in the final round of stroke play to claim the No. 5 seed, and knocked out No. 4 Texas before falling to No. 1 Stanford in the semis. The run was unlike anything the tournament had seen from a mid-major like this.

None of it happens without what GameAbove made possible.

What a program-changing investment in women looks like. Eastern Michigan at the 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships, La Costa, Calif. | C. Morgan Engel/Getty

GameAbove, a Michigan-based private investment company and major EMU athletics donor, has committed more than $14.5 million to the university's men's and women's golf programs. The money built a 13,000-square-foot training complex with indoor simulators, putting and chipping areas, and a dedicated practice range, giving the Eagles year-round training capability in a state where outdoor golf is a five-month sport.

The funding also covered a national travel schedule competing in fields against Power Four programs throughout the season.

Beyond facilities and travel, the company funded a full coaching staff, player development resources, and the operational support that programs at this level typically don’t see. An NIL budget rounded it out, giving EMU a recruiting advantage and making it a credible destination for the game's top talent.

That's what brought Head Coach Josh Brewer to Ypsilanti, Michigan, after 12 years at Georgia. "Without the GameAbove support initially, I'm probably not at Eastern Michigan," he told MI Golf Journal.

Janae Leovao transferred from Long Beach State for her final season of eligibility and won back-to-back tournaments in the fall. At La Costa, she beat individual national champion and Golf NIL College Women's No. 11 Farah O'Keefe 5 and 4 in the quarterfinals and was up against world No. 2 and Golf NIL College Women's No. 7 Paula Martin Sampedro in the semis when Stanford clinched the match.

Her twin Jasmine had previously qualified individually for the 2024 NCAA Championships before transferring for her senior year. She made the birdie putt that ended Texas.

Savannah de Bock, a junior who transferred from Georgia, holds the program's all-time 54-hole scoring record. She went 5 and 3 in her quarterfinal match.

Junior Baiyok Sukterm, who won the Silicon Valley Showcase in March, came back from three down after eight holes to earn a half point against Texas and posted four consecutive rounds at or under par at the national championship. Sophomore Erina Tan was the first Eagle in program history to tee off in NCAA match play.

Their story was told by every outlet covering the NCAA Championships. For every player on the team, that national attention adds NIL value, and for those coming back next season, this week will follow them. De Bock, Sukterm, and Tan return in the fall with semifinal experience and as part of a team that has proven it belongs at this level.

What GameAbove helped build was an investment in women, which is exactly what every female athlete has been fighting for: the resources to maximize their talent and the recognition and rewards that come with delivering on it. That's the point of NIL.

Patch deals hit college athletics this fall, giving brands of any size a direct stake in programs for the first time. GameAbove made that bet two years ago, and it paid off on the national semifinal stage.

For every young woman who watched this season and assumed that path only ran through the same schools, Eastern Michigan women’s golf just proved otherwise.