Lights, camera, action: How Baylor coach Nicki Collen's budding acting career came to be

Baylor women’s basketball fans haven’t been treated to many dunks since Brittney Griner was dominating on the court in Waco.

That is, until head coach Nicki Collen saw poor Craig holding a donut.

Whether she’s encouraging dunks, driving the lane or taking charges, Collen can add actor to her impressive coaching resume after starring in a series of commercials for Central National Bank over the last two years.

“To see people lean in, especially with Craig and the donut, and to have fans have signs that say, 'Take the Charge,' it’s been really clever,” Collen said. “It’s been a good connection for our program, the bank and the Waco community. I tried to have fun with it and lean into the role.”

Collen is not one to shy away from the camera or the mic.

In addition to her time as a college assistant and WNBA head coach before coming to Baylor, she did some TV as a color commentator with ESPN. 

These commercials were different.

She was expecting a simple shoot, like with most local markets, where you stand in front of a teleprompter and read some lines. 

When she got to the shoot, and there was a full production with multiple scripts, she remembers reading them and thinking that it was either going to go over really well or be very, very cheesy.

“You’d be surprised at how many times I said those lines over and over again,” Collen said. “From every camera angle and with different voice inflections. You get coached in the same way you do on a basketball floor.

“And I’ve never had a problem making fun of myself.”

Central National Bank Chief Operations Officer Bryan Fonville grew up dreaming of being an anchor on SportsCenter. He would watch the same highlights on loop all day.

And, of course, the "This is SportsCenter" commercials always stood out.

“When we had this opportunity, that’s just kind of what came to mind,” Fonville said. “We (at CNB) work very collaboratively, and when we had these ideas, we were just workshopping the scripts together.”

While CEO Joe Nesbitt, Chief of Staff Kristi Blagg, Director of Employee Engagement Veronika Thompson-Smith, Fonville and others from Central National Bank work to come up with ideas, Fonville does the writing.

“When you’re filming it, it can look ridiculous,” Fonville said. “You have to play big to the camera in order for some of the comedy to work. For someone in a profession where that is not normal, she’s been really great at just going for it.”

Seniors Jana Van Gytenbeek and Bella Fontleroy both said their favorite commercial is the "Drive the Lane" spot, while Fontleroy added her second favorite is the "Take the Charge’" commercial, fitting for the leading charge-drawer on the team.

They’re not particularly surprised at how comfortable Collen is. 

“You guys don’t see the side of Nicki that we do,” Fontleroy said. “She’s very funny and sarcastic. She loves to joke, and she loves to have fun, so those commercials were right up her alley.”

Both Fonville and Nesbitt have appeared on screen alongside Collen.

Peggy, who plays a co-starring role in the ‘Take the Charge’ commercial, was a receptionist at the bank for many years.

And then there’s Craig.

After getting yelled at by Collen for not dunking his donut in the first round of commercials last year, he is on the receiving end of Collen’s wrath after trying to get her attention in the drive-thru lane.

He works in the credit department at Central National Bank and has become, in some circles, a local celebrity.

“The hardest role to play is yourself, and that is exactly what he is doing,” Nesbitt said. “He is the same guy from those commercials.”

In addition to being a local school and bank, the commercials are produced by Waco-based production company Willow Film Co.

While they’re done with commercials for this season, they expect the partnership to continue. 

Season three is in production. 

“We always wanted our partnership to add to the program,” Fonville said. “The goal with the Coach Collen commercials was to bring awareness to the program and help fans see her in a different light.

“We think we have some crazy ideas, and they entertain all of them respectfully.”

More than funny commercials

Central National Bank became the first-ever presenting sponsor of women’s basketball ahead of the 2024 season.

That agreement between the school and the bank came with a few other things, including sponsoring the Coach’s Show and the Baylor-TCU rivalry football game, but the main focus was women’s basketball.

The biggest reason is Collen.

“Who she is and the loyalty of that fan base; win or lose, they kept showing up,” Nesbitt said. “There could not have been a bigger contrast from the previous coach and the way the fans reacted to the product on the court (compared) to what is there now. That all meant a lot to us and was very attractive as a potential sponsor.”

The group met with Collen, women’s basketball General Manager Juliana Smith and a couple of players to make sure everyone was on the same page about what they hoped to get out of the partnership. 

“It felt like they were interviewing us,” Nesbitt said. “It was great.”

Collen wasn’t the only one to get some screen time.

Fontleroy, Van Gytenbeek and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs starred in their own commercial that, while more traditional than the commercials Collen was in, had a solid message about how to avoid fraud.

“It was a really cool opportunity, we got all cute and whatever after practice,” Fontleroy said. “They had scripts for us and we filmed some B-roll stuff. It was a great group to work with and we had a lot of fun.”

The commercial with the players was separate from the partnership between Central National Bank and Baylor, providing NIL opportunities for the team. 

“Juliana made it very easy when we had questions about the NIL piece,” Thompson-Smith said. “You don’t know what players should get paid to be in commercials, but we sat down with her, and she gave us some guidance, which was really helpful.”

Collen said the best part of doing the commercials last year was that they brought in the players this season.

She even gave them some tips when they were in front of the camera.

“To lean into three of our seniors made me want to do the commercials again,” Collen said. “Especially in this day and generation, it really is about finding ways in the NIL space to help your players, and this was a really good way to do it.”

All three of the players embraced their opportunity in front of the camera.

But Fontleroy was a natural.

The senior communications major, who took many journalism classes at Baylor, is already comfortable in pregame and postgame press conferences, routinely giving succinct and thoughtful answers to everything regarding basketball. 

She was one of two Baylor athletes to represent the school in the Big 12 Beyond Borders program, which allowed her to go to Washington, D.C., and Mexico City to grow as a leader and learn about different cultures. 

“She’s someone who is smart, beautiful and articulate,” Collen said. “She’s very comfortable in front of the camera, so she could do a lot of things, whether it’s talking about basketball or other interests.”

Fontleroy’s parents met playing basketball, and her dad set up a playpen in the corner of the gym for her while he worked out playing professionally.

She most likely has a playing future ahead of her, but TV could be in her future.

Acting in a commercial for Central National Bank was another chance to get some reps.

“I know basketball so well, and I love the way that I connect with people, so whether it’s calling games, doing commentary, or talking about players off the court and what they’re passionate about, I would love to do that,” Fontleroy said.