With colleges and universities now capable of paying student-athletes directly, leaders are adopting unique strategies to ramp up revenue and sourcing to sustain competition, or risk falling behind.
On July 1, the long-anticipated House v. NCAA settlement went into effect, allowing institutions to share up to $20.5 million with their athletes in an academic year. In the next decade, they will be able to share up to nearly $33 million, or about half the current revenue of athletics departments in a power conference.
While the House settlement was directed toward Power Four institutions that generate the most revenue thanks to lucrative TV deals, institutions of all sizes are electing to opt in to the revenue-sharing model. It’s the “new arms race” required for institutions to remain competitive in retaining top talent, wrote Jeramiah Dickey, athletic director of Boise State, which joins the PAC-12 next year. (Note: The PAC-12 is no longer considered a major conference.)
“We will continue to compete at the highest level of collegiate athletics, and revenue sharing is a key component of that going forward,” Dickey wrote.
Despite the millions of dollars athletics departments can generate for an institution, only 25 Division I schools netted positive revenue in 2019, according to an NCAA database. Paying athletes now will only exacerbate this issue.
The University of Minnesota’s athletics department faces a nearly $9 million budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, due in part to their decision to share revenue with student-athletes, Kare 11 reports.
“Every school is going to have to look at its financial statements and make decisions on endowment spending or even cutting programs to sustain athletic revenue-sharing models,” says Karen Weaver, academic director of the collegiate athletics certificate program at the University of Pennsylvania. “The sector is already under tremendous financial pressure.”
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Institutions will have to drive funding into athletics by adopting an “entrepreneurial mindset” with auxiliary revenue, says Bill Guerrero, senior associate athletic director at the University of Connecticut. “This is uncharted territory. Universities must look at auxiliary revenue and other innovative revenue streams as net tuition revenue flattens or reduces.”
The University of Connecticut’s athletics department self-generated $59.7 million in revenue in fiscal year 2025 and expects to increase to over $81 million in fiscal year 2026, Sports Business Journal reports.
Similarly, Texas Tech University, historically considered a small-market football program compared to some of its Big 12 counterparts, recently lured an athlete away from the likes of Florida, Michigan State and Texas by offering a three-year, $5.1 million contract, Sports Illustrated reports.
Here’s how some institutions are maneuvering in the new era of student-athletics.
‘Creative bookmaking’
In June, the Florida Board of Governors approved a new amendment that allows state universities to use auxiliary revenue to cover expenses related to their athletics departments’ revenue-sharing models, CBS Sports reports.
That means money generated from a Florida institution’s bookstore, housing and parking is fair game over the next three years.
“Those programs will lose about 20% of their funds to pay student-athletes,” Weaver says. “There’s a lot of creative bookmaking going on here.”
Record-setting fundraising campaigns
Many colleges and universities launched ambitious fundraising campaigns in the last fiscal year to compete for top student-athletes.
Mississippi State University’s athletics department secured $84.6 million in donations and pledges, doubling its previous all-time fundraising record, according to a release.
“The inspiring philanthropic support, in addition to new revenue generation, continues to align our department’s transformation to the new era of college athletics,” said athletic director Zac Selmon.
Other institutions include:
- Elon University: Generated $2.3 million in operational support, marking the first time it crossed the $2 million threshold.
- Florida Atlantic University: Received $26.1 million in philanthropic giving, eclipsing last year’s campaign by 13%.
- Murray State University: Raised more than $21.5 million in 2024 in total donations, pledges and NIL—the largest one-year funding total in school history.
In February, Syracuse University announced a $50 million fundraising campaign to “attract and retain champion-caliber student-athletes.”
Increasing student fees
Power conference institutions and small-market schools alike may add fees on top of student tuition to help offset the price of revenue-sharing models.
“I don’t see how students are going to be left out of this,” Weaver says. “Many schools are framing it like this: ‘You came here for a top-class, Division I, Power Four experience. You’re going to have to pay for it.'”
Monetizing facilities and events
Institutions and their conferences are negotiating naming rights deals with big-money corporations to drive revenue.
For example, the Big 12 may undergo a significant brand renovation to incorporate a sponsor’s name, Yahoo! Sports reports. Similarly, Rice University announced a new partnership to explore naming rights opportunities for its 80-year-old stadium that hosts football and other major sporting and entertainment events.
