WAG Culture Is Coming for College Campuses

Allison Kaye didn’t set out to become the go-to makeup artist for professional athletes’ wives and girlfriends. But after the Ohio native did hair and makeup for Sophie Scott, longtime girlfriend of 49ers quarterback Mac Jones, for the 2021 NFL Draft in Cleveland, bookings from so-called WAGs simply haven’t stopped. (Jones was selected 15th overall by the Patriots, making him the heir apparent to Tom Brady, who left the team in 2020.)

“Sophie tagged me in a few Instagram posts from that night, and other wives and girlfriends from around the NFL immediately started following me,” Kaye, who now lives in South Florida, tells Front Office Sports. A few months later, several Dolphins wives and girlfriends, realizing Kaye was local to the area, inquired about a makeup session of their own. Then, she says, “everyone kind of followed suit … it was just one NFL referral after another.” 

This influx led Kaye to formalize her work with a business, creating Game Day Glam in 2022. She’s spent the intervening years criss-crossing the country to prepare all kinds of pro athlete partners—not just NFL WAGs—for long days on the sidelines. But this football season, Game Day Glam, like many other brands, is also bringing its offerings to college campuses. 

Her first college stop was Sept. 5 in Columbus, Ohio, where she glammed four girlfriends of Ohio State players, including starting quarterback Julian Sayin. They were introduced by the girlfriend of former OSU linebacker Sonny Styles, who hired Kaye to do her makeup ahead of his appearance in the 2026 NFL Draft in April. (The Washington Commanders took Styles in the first round.) 

Because Kaye shares many of her clients’ transformations on Instagram and TikTok, she says she’s “really a content creator who happens to do makeup.” Videos from her Ohio State visit racked up hundreds of thousands of views within days—and drew a fresh wave of interest from college football WAGs nationwide. 

She tells FOS she’s prioritizing “schools with huge fan bases” as she sifts through direct messages. That strategy landed Kaye at Penn State’s homecoming weekend, where six Nittany Lion WAG glam sessions produced even more widely watched content.

Kaye suggests her content has become so popular because it provides an “inside look” at the lifestyle players and their partners lead. “The players don’t share that kind of content themselves,” she says. “It gives people this insider look, and obviously, you know, people love the fashion and beauty aspect of it the most. It’s fun to see what people are wearing to games.”

To make any game day worthwhile, Kaye says she must see a minimum of four clients and prices travel into her fee, which “varies widely” based on distance. Player partners organize and pay for the services themselves; the teams aren’t involved. 

But a professional glow isn’t all Kaye provides. Her roughly 200,000 followers make Kaye a target for beauty brands that want to be featured in her content—and that want to get in front of her equally influential clientele, meaning WAGs usually walk away with lots of gifted products and swag bags. 

“I’m providing a pretty unique opportunity for companies because of my contacts,” says Kaye. “It feels like nearly every wife in the NFL follows my page at this point. Plus, my clients usually like to share their experiences, so if I’m doing five or six or seven girls for a game, a brand is most likely going to get incorporated into all of their content as well.” 

Kaye is also known for transforming her hotel rooms into “glam suites,” complete with team-themed decor, food and drink, and plenty of good vibes. And she’s going even more all-out than usual for her new college clients since, unlike pro WAGs, she says they’re “not used to being offered gifts or more luxury experiences.”

Getting into the college game means Kaye’s fall weekends are now almost totally booked, but that hasn’t stopped her from thinking about what’s next. Working with teams and leagues in a formal capacity is at the top of the list. “My dream is to have a team call me up and let me go in the locker room,” she says, “and walk around with a mini mic while I quiz players on different makeup products.”

That dream could soon become reality: Last month, the NFL told FOS that it has been “scaling up its female-focused content” with a particular focus on player wives and girlfriends, and “will be doing even more in the future.”