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The RAA’s Young Alumni Committee is pleased to spotlight some of the fantastic journeys recent Rutgers graduates are taking as they enter the workforce and make a difference in their community, and their advice to both current and recently graduated students.
Geo Baker is the co-founder of The Knight Society, an NIL collective dedicated to helping foster greater connections within the Rutgers community while supporting student-athletes as they represent RU. He graduated from the School of Arts and Sciences in 2021 and then again in 2022 with a graduate degree in labor and employment relations after representing the Scarlet Knights on the court since 2017. The following text has been edited for clarity and space; for the full interview see the video above.
Jordan Cohen: All right. Thank you, everybody, for joining us for our Young Alumni Spotlight. Our Young Alumni Spotlight this month is someone some of you may know, his name is Geo Baker, graduating class of 2021 from the School of Arts and Sciences. Geo, thanks so much for joining us.
Geo Baker: Thank you for having me. I’m excited to be on.
A lot of people might know you for one or two things but obviously the main thing is basketball. Now you came from New Hampshire, right?
Yes.
Had you watched Rutgers at all before you came here? What was the pathway to Rutgers outside of, obviously, the recruiting side?
Honestly, I’d only heard of Rutgers as a little kid for probably the wrong reasons.
Rough start.
I won’t get into too much details about that, but that’s really all I had ever heard about Rutgers before. I didn’t know that it was in New Jersey. I didn’t know too much about the school. Obviously, as Coach Pikiell started to recruit me, I started to do a little bit more research and eventually came to visit and fell in love and the rest is history.
I know we’ve heard the stories a little bit about the recruiting with Coach Pikiell, being a part of the next big story, but were there other parts of Rutgers that really stood out to you other than maybe the athletics?
Geo: Most definitely. Right off bat, even Coach Pikiell himself, we didn’t spend a lot of time talking basketball. Obviously, that was one of the things that we first talked about, but more about me, my family, just a very genuine personality. Then you saw that with every person that you would meet. I’d get to my academic advisor, it’d be the same type of thing. She’s talking to me about school, talking to me about who I am as a person, what I want to achieve as a person. I got a chance to meet Pat Hobbs. It’s always just the same message.
I think just the genuine personalities of everyone who I was meeting around campus and then even just fans as well, people are coming up to me just saying, “Oh, Rutgers is a great place to be. This could be your future home.” Just getting that family vibe and just feeling like I was at home when I was on campus was very important to me.
What did you major in?
I majored in human resource management.
When you came in, was there a goal that morphed over the time you were at school?
Yes, honestly, I didn’t have any– I really wanted to be a basketball coach when I was older and that was the first thing that I told my academic advisor. We mapped out a plan and honestly, human resource management was a nice little major because I took a lot of leadership courses. I just got a chance to, basically, learn how to be a better captain, how to be a better leader, and how to see over everything. You think about coaching, you think about recruiting and the same type of thing that goes on in human resource management. It ended up being a good major for me, I think. I ended up learning a lot of good things along the way.
You mentioned these different classes, what classes stood out to you, experiences, projects?
Yes. I actually go into my final course this past semester, which honestly didn’t have a ton to do with human resource management, but a great class that I thoroughly enjoyed and was just very involved. It was a class called negotiations and it actually went right along with name, image, and likeness. The first day in class, our professor is teaching us how to basically negotiate a deal with a car dealership and how to get your own car. Just little things like that it really felt like a real-life experience and those are the type of classes that I love the most where it felt like I could really apply it to everyday life. That’s like the first example I could think off the top of my head. That class was amazing.
Any professors you want to give a shout-out to?
Yes. Professor Dwyer, for sure.
You mentioned the name, image, and likeness. Obviously, a lot of people know you for really pushing forward that whole revolution in college sports. There’s debate about where it should be and where it should go but, I guess, the main question would be what pushed you forward to start making that conversation a part of your career at Rutgers and a part of your legacy?
Yes, I think it was a combination of a couple of things. I think I was pretty well educated when I was younger, but maybe not as confident to go out and speak my mind about it. I think there was a couple of athletes who were already doing that Jordan Bohannon, probably being the most notable, who was just speaking their mind and basically saying athletes weren’t being treated fairly by the NCAA. Seeing him do something like that gave me the confidence to do the same thing as well.
Then also personal experiences. Seeing guys coming from my teams who ended up leaving school early because they had a family to take care of and they felt like it was the best thing to do knowing that they couldn’t make money in college. Guys who had huge followings on social media easily could have had a chance to make a ton of money through name, image, and likeness and stay in school, get their education but instead had to take that risk and jump ship early.
That’s just one story that I could relate to, but there’s thousands and thousands of kids who are doing the same thing because they have a family to take care of. I really felt like name, image, and likeness was a way for college students to stay college students, get their education, continue to learn, and continue to play basketball. Basketball is better when the league is older and the guys are seniors. That was something that just stuck out to me.
“I was a basketball player. I was labeled as a basketball player since I was seven years old, and I’m moving into a whole new world, and trying something new.”
Obviously, I can think of two examples off the top of my head. Corey Sanders had a DJ career he was working on. I think Myles Johnson was working on his foundation, BLKdev, and had to really thread the needle in terms of what he could do with it. Did either of those come into play or it is a part of the larger story?
Those are two guys who I can think of right off the bat. Myles is doing something where he’s really just trying to help people, and the NCAA restricted that, which didn’t really make any sense to me. Then you have a guy like Corey Sanders who is super talented on the court and just super likable off the court. You talk about a guy who’s making music. He’s on social media. He just has that type of personality where brands would’ve loved to partner with a guy like that. His likeness was at his peak at Rutgers. He just didn’t get a chance to do that and like I said, there’s thousands of stories all over the country where kids are going through the same exact thing.
Now there’s a conversation to be had when it comes to athletics that for students like yourself or people on the high profile teams that they don’t necessarily get that “college experience,” so to speak, of not really having the time to go with clubs, play everyone else in intramurals, that kind of thing. Did you ever get to have any of those quintessential college experiences that really stick out to you?
Everyone’s experience is probably a little bit different. I never got a chance to join a club, but I got a chance to be on the basketball team. That’s my experience versus someone else who may have a great time in a different type of club. For me, I had a great time. I thought my college experience was amazing. I wouldn’t take it back for the world. There are definitely times where you wish you could go out and socialize a little bit more. Especially during that COVID year, we’d win a game and we couldn’t do anything after. You would be walking through the dorms, you could hear other people partying to celebrate your win-and you’ve just got to keep moving. That was really rough. That was like the one time where I felt like I wasn’t really getting that college experience, which, again, goes back to speaking up about name, image, and likeness, and explaining how important we were for college sports at the time. Other than that, that was another main reason why I wanted to come back for a fifth year as well is to get that college experience. Other than the COVID year, I always had that college experience in my book.
We [students] definitely saw you guys. I think I overlapped a little bit with you folks when I came to basketball. We definitely saw you in the dining hall. Chowing down on Livi is something every modern college student can enjoy at Rutgers.
Yes, Livi Dining Hall is something else.
What’s your favorite station?
The hibachi station.
It takes less time than the pasta station at least.
They both take a little bit- I would go back and forth between those two, but you have to learn how to time it right. You order the food, you go get everything else, put your plate down, and then you come back and you’re ready.
Get someone else to save the table.
Yes, get it. That’s a vet move though. You don’t learn that until like sophomore or junior year probably.
Obviously basketball was a big part of your college experience. What are your top five moments?
Top five moments, now that’s a lot of moments for basketball. Okay. Number one has to be Ron making the shot. I wasn’t even there for that, but just a historic moment in Rutgers basketball history, in college basketball history. That’s going to live forever. That was number one. I was actually on my couch going crazy as it happened because I had the flu during that game. I was just on my couch going crazy, but that’s number one for sure. Just the fact that I was part of the team when we beat the number one team in the country, that’s a dream come true for any basketball player.
Number two, for me, also was, Purdue. That game, their senior night, I think it was 2020, my junior year, we got a chance to go beat them on the road. Any basketball fans who have ever been in Mackey Arena- not many teams go in there and get a win, especially on senior night. The fact that we were able to do that, I think, just showed how good our team really was. I really wish we could have got a shot [at the] NCAA tournament that year. That was just an amazing moment for us in general. Then, obviously, I got a chance to make a couple of big shots in that game, which really felt good.
Then I’d say number three, probably our run, my freshman year in the Big Ten Tournament. You’re talking about a team that didn’t win games. We won three games in the regular season and what, two games in the Big Ten Tournament. Honestly, I think if we beat Purdue. I think it would have made the championship. That team was really, really good. Penn State, I think they were a little beat up. The next game, I think we could have beat Penn State for sure. That team, a lot of adversity. Talking about adversity, we didn’t get many wins. The fact that we were able to stick it through to the Big Ten Tournament, really meant a lot.
Number four, I’d have to say, our first win in the NCAA Tournament, what was it, 30-something years, 40 years, something like that. I don’t know how many years it was.
Since 1991.
Yes. Again, a chance to play in the NCAA tournament, it was awesome, and then get a chance to win a game. I got a chance to make the final bucket in that game as well so that was a huge moment for me.
Then number five, I have to say, our home comeback against Northwestern. I scored 27 points in that game or 25 points. I was actually in a huge slump. People probably don’t remember. I think I scored zero points a game before that, against Maryland. Just being able to bounce back from that. I don’t know. I was in some different type of zone. I wish I was able to get in that zone every game because I just couldn’t miss. That was a big moment for me. Honestly, we wouldn’t have gotten 20 wins that year if it wasn’t for that game as well. Those are a couple of my big moments that I really appreciate it.
It’s amazing, the recall you’ve got in terms of– It seems like it’s playing like a movie. If we’re talking movie, obviously, the fans are supporting cast. Do you have any specific fan experiences, or people that you work with or have been a part of your career as a Rutgers student over the past couple of years that really stand out to you?
Yes. There’s probably too many, honestly. Anyone who’s gotten a chance to meet me, I’m very personable. I’ll talk with fans for hours. [chuckles] They’re going to have to be the ones to be like, “Oh, I got to go.” The one that sticks out to me the most is Dave White. Of course, I got a chance to meet his son, Ben, multiple times. He ended up winning my jersey giveaway. I got a chance to actually go to his house and deliver the jersey to him.
If anyone hasn’t seen it, there’s a video on my Twitter of me, giving the family the jersey. Just like very genuine people, they’re asking me a lot of different stuff, non-basketball wise. I got a chance to play one-on-one with his son. Just a way to connect with the fans a little bit more and, really get to know them, and they get a chance to know me. That’s probably the one that sticks out the most for me.
Now, I guess, the best way I could say it, is you’ve got these great experiences, you’re coming up at the end of your career at Rutgers, and you wanted to be a basketball coach when you started. Is that still where you want to be? Is that where you see yourself 10 years from now?
Maybe. I think my vision has definitely changed a little bit. I definitely want to stay involved with basketball as much as I can. I’ve been going around visiting different camps and get a chance to speak to younger kids and passing on whatever experiences that I’ve learned along the way. I could definitely see myself wanting to be a coach maybe someday in the future. Maybe if I have a son or a daughter who wants to play basketball, obviously, I’m going to want to be the one who gets a chance to teach him and pass on my knowledge.
I’m super into entrepreneurship now. Name, image, and likeness brought that out of me I’d say and that’s something that I’m super interested in right now. Maybe, eventually, I could go back into the basketball world and become a coach but the vision is definitely changed a little bit.
What you’re saying is Coach Pikiell doesn’t have you as his successor yet.
Geo: Yes, not yet. I don’t know. Me and him talk about it every now and then as a joke. But yes, we’ve definitely had that conversation before and, that would, obviously, be a dream come true also.
You mentioned you got into entrepreneurship. Obviously, you’re partnering with Eric LeGrand, Todd Frazier, I believe, a couple of other big Rutgers names. Was there a key moment or time or experience or conversation that made you think, “Hey, maybe I’m going to start leaning more this way?”
I think it was just overall name, image, and likeness, getting a chance to interact with different businesses, seeing how they operate, networking with all these different people, and seeing that I know I had a chance to do the same thing. I’ll point out Alva Fitness, who is run by Rutgers alumni, Jason Saran and his brother, Desi Saran. They let me take charge when I was dropping my clothes with Alva Fitness. They let me be creative with it. If we didn’t really like the designs, they would let me try to fix it up and do things a certain way. They would let me give them ideas for marketing, so gave me a real chance to see how they operate, see how a clothing brand operates, and I got really excited doing it. I really love doing it.
I think it was moments like that where I realized I was super passionate about it, and then you tie in name, image, and likeness, and college athletes and how vocal I was about that. Now, I also get to educate other guys about how they can go about doing the same thing. That’s where I got really excited as well.
Name, image, and likeness is something you pushed for, very strongly along with, as you mentioned, Jordan Bohannon, and other athletes. It’s kind of taken on a life of its own, I think, would be the easiest way to say it.
Yes.
What’s that like starting a movement like that, or I should say, not necessarily starting, but really pushing a movement like that and then seeing it move past the goals that you already had set for it?
It’s pretty crazy. [chuckles] It really is. I didn’t expect to be at the forefront. I didn’t expect to be– A lot of people coming to me like, “Oh, you’re the face. You’re the guy who did this, this, this.” It’s like, I wasn’t really, my intentions are, I was really just speaking my mind, and putting out stuff that I thought was factual and needed to be talked about. As it was going on, we got a chance to meet with the NCAA president, which no one really gets a chance to do. I don’t think at the time I understood how big that was. We got a chance to meet with lawmakers and we’re really discussing how can we go about getting things changed.
The biggest part for me was just, I’m just getting a chance to realize that I was actually doing something that was moving the meter, that was actually changing something. That was something that was really cool to me.
You’ve graduated now. You’re running an NIL Collective as one of the backers of it and the leaders of it. Was there a conversation that you had with the other folks involved or was it something that coalesced over time?
I was a little bit of both. I’m the founder of the Knight Society. We’re basically focusing on just connecting the Rutgers community, while also, simultaneously, supporting Rutgers athletes. How we’re going about that is the NFT membership program. Basically, you buy the NFT, and you’re officially a member in the Knights Society, and you get exclusive access to athletes, you get discounts at local bars and restaurants we partner with, and you get just great networking opportunities.
How we went about that? It was forever changing. Originally, I fell down a little NFT rabbit hole and I wanted to do my own little project where it was a Geo Baker fan club or something like that, where I could give, basically, just a lot more personal with anyone who was a fan of me and what I was trying to do. Then I extended it out to Eric LeGrand and Todd Frazier and I said, “I think we could really do some really cool for the Rutgers community.”
That idea just kept expanding and then that’s where we brought in the NIL aspect, where us, old guys, don’t really need to be involved. We actually involved the college athletes who are on campus so we can help students interact with people who already want to support them, fans, alumni, other students, and at the same time you get to connect these fans to each other, people who maybe didn’t get a chance to meet before. We already have the Rutgers Fan Club Discord which people are already loving. People keep messaging me like, “Oh, I would have never met this person,” or, “I would have never had this conversation if you didn’t get this created.” I think that the project that we’re trying to do, it actually extends, it emphasizes that even more because now instead of in a discord chat, you get to meet these people face to face and connect while also getting a chance to support your favorite athletes and getting to meet them as well.
Are there Rutgers experiences that you think prepared you for being an entrepreneur and trying to push something like this forward?
Yes, definitely. Especially from the basketball side, I think that athletes, you learn time management, you learn teamwork. For me, I was a four-year captain, I learned leadership. You learn how to face adversity. Obviously, I would talk about the games where I had zero points. The next game I come back, I have 25. As an athlete, it’s not easy to do. Especially with social media, a lot of people can be coming down on you really hard if you’re not playing well. That’s something that you have to learn over time, how to face that adversity. I feel like I’ve applied that to everything I’ve been doing with Knights Society.
It’s been fun so far. I really enjoy all the different business meetings, connecting people to businesses, businesses to other businesses, and connecting athletes to fans. I think that it’s all coming together really well. I think basketball definitely prepared me for it.
Is there advice that the Geo Baker of today would give the Geo Baker of 2017?
I think 2017 me was very worried about what other people thought of me. I think I would always think that way instead of worrying about myself first and making sure that I’m all right. I think that’s the first thing I would say is ‘just block out the outside noise and focus on what you’re trying to do and doing what you love.’
“College is a place of growth. If you’re the same three or four years of college, you did something wrong, in my opinion. I don’t think anyone ever comes out of college the same as they went in, so make sure to go out and take those opportunities. I don’t want to say take a risk, but just try something new and go for it.”
I don’t have that many other questions. There’s a couple of basic ones. How are you planning on staying involved with Rutgers? I think that’s pretty clear.
Yes, I’m going to be around for sure.
Are you getting season tickets?
Yes, I’m working on it right now, actually. I’m working on it, so I should be over there.
100s, 200s, you’re going to–
Oh, we got to see. I’m working on it though. I’ll be at games for sure. I’ll most definitely be at games. I don’t know if I’ll be at every one, but I’ll be over there.
What’s something about, maybe some of your teammates, maybe Myles, or Ron, or Caleb, that people who are just watching, or the casual fan, or even people who follow the team avidly from an athletics perspective wouldn’t know?
They wouldn’t know. Man, I don’t even know. I feel like we definitely put our personalities out there. I would just say everyone is just, we’re talking about like, funny, funny, funny dudes. Caleb is probably the biggest jokester you’ll ever meet in your life, and it’s crazy because he’s always so serious on the court and so fierce, but if you ever met him off the court, it’s never serious with Caleb. [chuckles] That’s something I can think about off the top of my head.
Myles and Ron can both really cook. Myles, especially, is a A1 chef. I was his roommate. Our strength coach is always trying to get him to keep his weight down, so I’d be in there stealing his food with no regrets at all, everything he cooked. Yes, just good dudes, man, good funny dudes. You get a chance to meet these guys and it’s just a lot bigger than basketball.
For those students who are entering school in 2017, or entering school in class of 2020, it’s 2026 at this point, would you give them the same advice that you’d give yourself or something new?
Yes, I think so because college can be a lot of outside noise in general, not just for athletes. I think blocking the outside noise and just doing what you love is super important and just getting out there and try new things. I think college is a place of growth. If you’re the same after three or four years of college you did something wrong in my opinion. I don’t think anyone ever comes out of college the same as they went in, so make sure to go out and take those opportunities. I don’t want to say take a risk, but just try something new and go for it. If you think it’s something that you love and you’re passionate about, then there’s no reason that you shouldn’t try it in college.
For those young alumni who just graduated this past year, do you have any advice for them?
I think we’re on the same boat. Everyone is probably a little scared. We’re moving on to new beginnings. It can definitely be scary at times. I think about it for myself. I was a basketball player. I was labeled as a basketball player since I was seven years old, and I’m moving into a whole new world, and trying something new. I’m sure there’s a lot of stories like that for everyone who’s graduated from Rutgers where you’re moving on to a professional life that maybe they hadn’t thought of before. It can be scary, but change is always good. Just embrace it and you’re going to find a way through it.
Last question. What is your favorite point of pride in Rutgers University? What’s your favorite factor or thing that Rutgers has done or that Rutgers has? What’s something you take the most pride in as an alumnus?
It is going to be so corny. I would say, the song that we do at the end of every game. The fact that the Riot Squad stays there the whole time. I’ve been through the wringer a couple of times, freshman, and sophomore year, we had some really ugly losses and the fact that we still had people who would stay there with us, that’s when you truly feel connected, and you really feel bonded to the university, and you realize that we’re all in this together, type of situation. That was always very prideful for me.
There are times you don’t want to stand right there after you lose a game, whether it’s close or blowout, you’re damn near embarrassed because you were the one on the court trying to give it your all. I’d say that there’s a lot of pride in that for sure.
Perfect. We love to sing the Alma Mater with you Geo. We’re looking forward to sing with you as a fan. Thank you so much for joining us. Go RU and good luck.
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
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