Utah State’s Max Shulga partners with BreakingT to benefit his native Ukraine

The Utah State men’s basketball team will be donning new swag during warmups next week.

The Aggies will be wearing shirts that feature Ukrainian teammate Max Shulga and a basketball in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Shulga, a junior guard, was born in Kyiv, Ukraine. With the ongoing Ukrainian humanitarian crisis, Shulga is using NIL to benefit his home country.

The shirts are available for purchase on the BreakingT website. T-shirts can be had for $32 while hoodies are $55. A portion of all proceeds from the apparel will go to UNICEF Ukraine. BreakingT notably worked with Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt as well to create custom apparel after his legendary five-touchdown performance against Alabama.

This deal was made possible by Student Athlete NIL (SANIL), which facilitates around 20 collectives.

Shulga took to his Instagram to promote the merchandise. “ ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,’ ” wrote Shulga, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Please join me in helping support my fellow Ukrainian brothers and sisters!”

Shulga joined Utah State in 2020 after spending his high school years playing in Spain. In the summer of 2022, Shulga was able to play for his native Ukraine at the FIBA U20 European Championship. The guard played a huge role in his team’s upset over Lithuania in the tournament.

Shulga is currently in the midst of his best season for the Aggies, averaging 11.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.