The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME T h e l a n d m a rk " Ho u se vs. NCAA" settlement revolving around paying collegiate athletes received preliminary approval from the U.S. District Court on Oct. 7, putting schools one step closer to being involved in student-athlete compensation when final approval hits, scheduled for April 7, 2025. Michigan athletics director Warde Manuel weighed in on the ruling in an email on Oct. 9, calling the changes to come a "significant im- pact" on the programs in Ann Arbor. "Once finally approved, this landmark settlement will have a significant impact on Michigan Athletics, our peer Big Ten institutions, and all of collegiate athlet- ics," Manuel said in a release. "We plan to continue an approach that was estab- lished when Michigan started compet- ing in intercollegiate athletics in 1865: providing championship-level support to each of our NCAA varsity sports. This approach best positions our teams to compete for conference and national championships." Pending final approval, institutions can share revenues with their student- athletes for the 2025-26 academic year, anticipated to be between $22-23 million annually. Before the ruling, athletes could only be compensated via scholarships and name, image and likeness (NIL) op- portunities funded outside of the uni- versity. In addition to the implementation of revenue sharing, all Division I athletes who participated in 2016-21 are eligible for NIL back pay, with the courts decid- ing that participants during this time were prevented from profiting from NIL. Parties included in the suit negotiated a settlement that will pay almost $3 billion in damages to those involved in the case. Michigan's involvement in the settle- ment will be $1.5 million per year, de- ducted from the NCAA revenue distri- bution over the next 10 years to cover its part of the costs. U-M will have no say in how the money is distributed. Also, all NCAA sports now have revised roster limits, and scholarships can be provided, if the funding is available, for every avail- able roster spot. Revenue-sharing payments are ex- pected to increase each year to maintain a proportional share, and U-M says that if the department decides to hit scholar- ship limits for all of its teams, education costs are expected to increase by $29 mil- lion annually. Manuel said in his release that the combination of increasing revenue and reducing expenses will require about $50 million added to the budget each year. "Michigan Athletics has always been a self-sustaining unit of the university," Manuel said. "Unlike many athletic de- partments across the country, we do not receive funds from the state, the university or any student fees. All revenue that the department re- ceives through conference media rights, licensing, ticketing, sponsor- ships, donations and other sources is used to fund our annual operating budget in order to support our teams throughout the year. "We intend to maximize the reve- nue-sharing opportunities presented by these new policies to support and recognize the NIL contributions of our student-athletes to the full extent al- lowed by the NCAA and the agreed upon settlement. Their hard work in athletics and commitment to the community and classroom help drive our collective pas- sion for Michigan Athletics. "We are continuing to assess the num- ber of additional scholarships that our department will be able to fund, but we are firm in our commitment not to elimi- nate any sports or reduce the number of scholarships we currently offer." NIL will still be a crucial part of U-M's plan to address the needs of its athletics department, Manuel said. And contri- butions to both the department and the collectives are encouraged. "There is still a significant need to support the NIL initiatives of our stu- dent-athletes," Manuel wrote. "For the foreseeable future, collectives such as Champions Circle will continue to be an important source for our student-ath- letes' NIL opportunities. "NIL support will continue to play a role in our success, especially through recruitment and retention of student- athletes." ❑ ❱ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS AD Warde Manuel Lays Out Plan For NCAA Settlement: Changes To Player Compensation Coming In 2025 Manuel noted that Michigan intends to continue funding and maintaining present scholarship levels for all its current sports. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL