This article originally appeared in the Money print issue, in stands March 2025. It has not been updated and some information may be out of date.
The landscape of collegiate athletics changed drastically in 2021 when the NCAA adopted a policy covering the name, image and likeness (NIL) of all student-athletes in America, allowing them to receive payments for their individual brands.
The goal of the interim policy was to allow NCAA students to be compensated for NIL activities as the NCAA worked with Congress on a national NIL law.
This advancement made an immediate impact on every participating athletic campus in the country. Major athletic schools, such as the University of Utah, faced numerous challenges upon the announcement. Logistics involving resource allotment, donations, brand opportunities and bonuses were sprung on the university to figure out instantly.
Resource allocation
As a university funding 18 different sports at the Division I level, Utah had a lot of work to do in accounting for the various revenues and expenses that would come as a result of the NCAA’s new policy.
Luckily for the Utes and their athletics department, valuable monetary data had wisely been calculated to help make these tasks much more feasible. According to a report from the Office of the State Auditor, plenty of work went into the decisions of where to allocate funds within the program.
“Sales and services revenues have been allocated to the activity generating the income,” the report said. “All revenues — student activity fees, contributions, conference distributions, national broadcast revenue, e-commerce, investment income, direct institutional support, etc. — have been allocated based on the department’s management decisions and categorized as instructed by the NCAA’s revenue and expense policies and procedures.”
It continued, discussing contribution policies.
“Donations are used to subsidize student-athlete scholarships, facility upgrades and academic support. Donations received are posted to the Crimson Club, Athletic Restricted and Scholarship Circle Development accounts. Donation money is transferred from the development account into the department’s operating accounts to cover the aforementioned expenses. The athletics department adjusted the methodology of collecting and accounting for revenue associated with football and basketball season tickets. The allocation of the cost for season tickets was adjusted such that a larger portion was allocated to contributions rather than ticket sales.”
From this information, University President Taylor Randall, along with the Board of Trustees and Audit Committee, were able to agree on the allocation of funds received for athletics via the Crimson Club.
“Donations deposited to the Crimson Club general fund account were allocated 85% to football and 15% to men’s basketball,” the auditor’s report read. “All sport specific donations are allocated accordingly. In-kind contributions include dealer-provided automobiles, equipment, goods and services.”
In terms of revenue production from what Utah considers to be the four major university sports, football generates the most monetary value for the school. The revenue numbers from 2022 are as follows: football, $75,749,261; men’s basketball, $11,928,174; women’s basketball, $504,030; gymnastics, $1,038,622.
Compensating student-athletes
The university has partnered with the Crimson Collective to reward the athletes of these sports in a variety of ways. The goal of the collective is to help student-athletes build their brands and engage with the community.
This has been accomplished through gifting athletes luxury vehicles, allowing players to have their own brands in the campus store, providing resources to help athletes maximize their potential earnings and marketing, and offering opportunities for corporate partnerships, memberships and charitable contributions.
Plans are in place to continue growing the U’s NIL fund. Starting in the 2025-26 football season, the U’s athletics department will take over the Crimson Collective’s NIL fundraising and distribution functions. This will change the Crimson Collective’s role due to a proposed settlement in the House v. NCAA antitrust case. The settlement allows universities to directly pay athletes for NIL use and share revenue.
Every aspect of college sports is competitive. The revenue that a successful athletics department brings to a university creates a higher demand for wins and attention. With levels of competition continuing to rise across all sports, Utah’s work is far from over when it comes to strategizing efficient NIL actions.
j.leone@dailyutahchronicle.com
The post Navigating the NIL Era: How the University of Utah Is Strategizing Success first appeared on The Daily Utah Chronicle.