Whether you bounce a ball or swing a racket at UNCW, Tama Tea wants to sponsor you.

In conjunction with the NCAA’s new policy regarding the corporate sponsorship of college athletes and their ability to now accept endorsements, Tama Tea is stepping up to the plate and offering every UNCW athlete a local, small business endorsement.

Founders Wells and Kelly Struble and Rocco Quaranto are all graduates of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Wells Struble and Quaranto were members of the track team there.

The founders tout Tama Tea as a healthy alternative to caffeinated energy drinks and sodas because it’s brewed with organic green tea, organic fruits and other natural flavorings.

“We are excited to make the first public endorsement for our local college athletes,” Wells Struble said.

Tama Tea started in Wilmington as a cafe in 2015; however, during the pandemic, Tama's owners made the difficult decision to close their cafes and shift its focus toward their canned tea and wholesale loose leaf tea operations.

A prior endeavor for the partners upon their graduation from UNCW’s Cameron School of Business was the founding of The Fuzzy Peach. Having employed many UNCW students over the years at both The Fuzzy Peach and Tama Cafe, founders said they were eager to support local student athletes.

“I think the NCAA’s recent ruling to allow student-athletes to receive compensation and endorsements provides an exciting opportunity,” Wells Struble said. “We know that what we can do at Tama Tea is very small in the big scheme, but we are doing it, and we are excited about it. What we hope is that other community businesses will also step up to support UNCW but more specifically the athletes.”

Rather than select one or two key student athletes, Tama Tea has chosen to support every student athlete at UNCW who accepts the endorsement with $50 cash, free Tama swag and a free 12-pack of sparkling Tama Tea each month for the upcoming fall semester.

Student athletes must reach out to the company via DM on its Instagram account @tamateaco to learn more.

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