Chase Fisher was casting around after graduating from San Diego State in 2010, working as a surf instructor, trying to decide what to do with his life.
The following year, he went to a DJ show downtown wearing $5 neon green sunglasses that drew rave reviews from fellow concert-goers and that got him thinking. It was the genesis of Blenders Eyewear, which over the past decade has grown into a national brand worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“This,” Fisher, the company’s 37-year-old founder and CEO, said Friday, “is a full-circle moment.”
The occasion was donating $1 million per year over the next five years to the men’s basketball program of his alma mater, a massive injection of capital into the successful mid-major program trying to keep pace with the seemingly endless resources of power conferences.
“It’s everything to us,” coach Brian Dutcher said, “because we’re not the Big Ten or SEC where we have all this TV revenue that we can do revenue sharing. The revenue we share is the money we raise. For Chase to make this kind of commitment to San Diego State University and San Diego State basketball, this is significant beyond belief.
“It gives us a chance to compete for some of these good players. … It moves the needle.”
The MESA Foundation, SDSU’s basketball NIL collective, has been the program’s primary fundraising instrument in the four years that players have been allowed to monetize their name, image and likeness, which has been code for professionalizing football and men’s basketball almost overnight. MESA’s budget is close to $3 million for the 2025-26 season, which seems like a lot until you see that Kentucky’s payroll this season reportedly is $22 million.
Fisher’s contribution and the $1 million guarantee from the annual Players Era Festival event over Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas gives the program a starting base of $2 million per season. That’s exponential growth from MESA’s 2021-22 budget of $350,000.
Blenders has worked with the MESA Foundation in the past, raising $275,000 through the sale of signature sunglasses. This donation is separate from the company, though, coming directly from Fisher.
“Life is full of many moments, and this is very special moment for me personally,” Fisher told Fox 5 on Friday morning, wearing a scarlet and black Blenders letterman jacket with the old Aztecs headdress logo that was retired in the early 2000s. “I went to school at San Diego State. This is home.
“I love this city, I love this program, I love what ‘Dutch’ has built, and I want to be part of it long-term. I feel like I’m in a unique position to bring to the table a lot of resources, a lot of knowledge and a lot of skills, a lot of opportunity for these student-athletes.”
Dutcher accompanied Fisher, who is no relation to former head coach Steve Fisher, on the morning TV spot, a pair of Blenders mirrored sunglasses tucked into the collar of his SDSU quarter-zip pullover.
A university release referenced Fisher’s donation going to the “SDSU MESA men’s basketball recruitment and retention fund,” the first indication of a merger between the independent MESA Foundation and the athletic department’s internal revenue-sharing fund that launched in June. It means the Campanile Foundation, which generally receives a percentage of all donations to the university, will likely scrape off an estimated 5%, or $250,000 total.
Previously, NCAA rules required NIL payments to come from outside the university. But the recent House settlement legislated revenue-sharing to athletes directly from the university that, in theory, limits the ability of collectives to pay athletes above what is deemed market value.
“Chase Fisher’s extraordinary gift is a transformative investment in SDSU men’s basketball and a powerful reflection of the bold, entrepreneurial spirit that defines our university,” President Adela de la Torre said in a statement. “Much like his journey as the visionary founder of Blenders Eyewear, this commitment mirrors the innovation, pride, and forward-thinking leadership that propels SDSU into the future —especially as we prepare to enter the Pac-12.
“This landmark contribution comes at a defining moment in our history. We are profoundly grateful to Chase for his generosity and belief in our mission. His support will elevate our ability to recruit, develop, and retain exceptional student-athletes who embody the excellence and energy of SDSU on the national stage.”
Originally Published: October 17, 2025 at 9:47 AM PDT