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Celina High School graduate Maddie Fleck has made a name for herself while golfing at Ashland University, capitalizing on name, image and likeness compensation opportunities and creating content for more than 24,000 followers across numerous social media accounts.
The 20-year-old junior majoring in marketing with a minor in sports management founded Maddie Fleck Media LLC, a digital media and content creation business focused on sports, golf, lifestyle and brand partnerships.
Not only is she earning money to pay her way through college and positioning herself for a future career in professional sports media, she's inspiring female athletes around the world.
"I think the No. 1 goal through social media and everything I do is to be able to make an impact," Fleck told The Daily Standard. "I truly believe we're put on this Earth to pick each other up and inspire each other, and to be able to help other people, and if my way is to do that through social media and to be able to show other people and share my story, I think that's the goal at the end of the day."
Fleck builds and manages her personal brand - @maddiefleckgolf - across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and other digital platforms.
"First and foremost, I do have a little bit of a humor side to me, and a lot of the content that I post is typically my friends and I just having fun," she said. "I post a lot of day in the life content as a college golfer to really showcase the student-athlete experience, which is very niche as a female in college golf at the Division II level, and I do like to tap into the educational side as well, so that people can learn more about golf. Especially since COVID, golf is one of the most growing sports on the planet. So to be able to teach non-golfers a little more about golf is really cool, too."
She also partners with national brands on NIL campaigns, sponsored content and other avenues.
"One of the main brands I've worked with for over a year now is SMACKIN' Sunflower Seeds, and I have a contract with them to create content monthly, and I get compensated," she said. "Another one I have worked with is CVS Pharmacy on multiple social media campaigns. I have worked with Whoop, the fitness tracker."
Some of her other partners include Oakley Meta, American Eagle and OLIPOP.
"A lot of golf brands in there too, such as Vice Golf and Sunday Golf," she noted.
Fleck, though, is selective about who she works with.
"I definitely take the time to research and get background info and look at other creators who might have worked with the brands that I'm potentially going to work with, and there have been many cases where a brand will reach out to me and … it doesn't align with my views or goals," she said. "So I just move on to the next one and make sure that it's sticking to my morals and views and that it I'll be good on my page."
In all of her content, Fleck strives to convey authenticity.
"I think authenticity in the world we are in today is extremely important, especially as a college athlete," she said. "Yes, I'm working with brands, but it's also to inspire the next generation and show what it truly is like being a college athlete at the Division II level at Ashland University and sharing my story to inspire and help others."
Revenue from her partnerships and content has helped Fleck finance her college education.
"I am Division II, so I'm not on a full ride, but it has definitely helped me make up for that, and it's something that for sure can be turned into a career," she said. "I have met a lot of connections who do content creation in the sports world and outside of the sports world full-time, and it is very rewarding. The sky is the limit as far as this can go."
Fleck first tried on the role of content creator in high school, where she played a major role in the rise in the Celina girls golf program. Celina won the Western Buckeye League invitational in 2022 with Fleck finishing second in the individual standings. The Bulldogs then qualified for the Division I district for the first time in school history.
Then in 2023, with girls golf an official league sport, Celina captured the WBL title. Fleck shot an 80 to not only take tournament medalist, but also secure Golfer of the Year honors.
While the team did not qualify for district that season, Fleck was the individual medalist at sectionals and a district qualifier. Fleck missed becoming the first Celina girls golfer to qualify for state by one stroke, shooting an 83 to finish tied for fifth.
"It actually goes back to when I was a sophomore at Celina," she said. "I made a TikTok account to help me get recruited and it started out at practice. I made a video with one of my friends, posted it and it got tens of thousands of views. Well then I posted another one and the views just kept coming and coming. It helped me get recruited to obviously play here at Ashland at the collegiate level, and it was just after my senior year, I kept posting, and a brand reached out to me and said they would love to work with me on a partnership side."
This happened right as NIL was shaping up and becoming more popular.
"At the time I might not have thought of it as NIL, but what a cool brand partnership," she said. "So since then I have really taken advantage of being a college athlete even though I play a smaller sport, golf, where you don't necessarily think of NIL. But I have been able to work with dozens of brands and capitalize on that."
Though Fleck learned the ins and outs of the content creation game mostly by herself, she has received some serious assistance along the way. In 2024, she was one of 50 women selected to participate in the NCAA x Meta Empower Program, a collaboration designed to help women maximize their name, image and likeness endeavors throughout their time as college athletes
"That program was really awesome, and I was actually the only freshman in that program," she said. "I got thrown right into it pretty fast, but to be able to have that opportunity as a freshman and where I was was incredible."
Fast-forward to 2026, and Fleck was one of 47 sophomores and juniors across the country chosen to take part in the NCAA Legacy Lab, which helps participants turn their skills, stories and ideas into sustainable ventures. The lab was held Sept. 10-13 in Indianapolis.
"I was actually nominated by my athletic director here at Ashland, and I didn't exactly know the impact it would have on me before I went, but it was such an eye-opening experience," she said. "I feel like I learned so much. I was surrounded by so many amazing student-athletes who are all individually incredible people."
Fleck was one of a few student-athletes in the program who were from Division II colleges.
"I was there with athletes at Power 5 schools, right?" she said. "Learning how they do NIL at their Division I school and comparing it to what I do at my Division II school and how we can learn and grow from each other was really cool."
Fleck addressed some of the similarities and differences between the two divisions.
"If you want to work or have NIL deals and work with brands, you do have to put in a lot of work and time on your own," she said. "The biggest difference probably was … most Division I schools have NIL advisors who handle the contracts and the money and the communication with the brands, whereas myself, I'm a one-man band and it's do it all."
Fleck ultimately aspires to parlay her love of sports, marketing degree and social media prowess into a career in professional sports.
"I am still in the process of kind of navigating exactly what I want to do, but definitely my biggest passion is sports, media and golf. So somewhere where I can make a career out of those," Fleck said. "I think a dream job for me has always been with the NFL or PGA."
Fleck said she interned with the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday in Dublin last summer.
"Which I absolutely loved," she said. "That really allowed me to get a taste into the world of professional sports, but I definitely want to keep exploring different sports, different types of positions that I can do on that route."
