What’s Next Initiative Update
10/24/2024 2:38:00 PM | General, Bronco Athletic Association
Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey Introduces Key Timeline and Goals Associated With Student-Athlete Revenue Sharing
Hello, Bronco Nation!
With the recent news of selling out all six home football games this year, a first in our program's history, we wanted to pause and thank you for your belief and commitment to What's Next! In addition to selling out Albertsons Stadium for the entire season, our men's basketball season ticket total has climbed above 8,000 for the first time in program history, and soccer leads the Mountain West and is 21st in the country in average attendance. We're currently on pace for the highest average attendance across all ticketed sports in school history.
We're especially overwhelmed by the support of the Ashton Jeanty endowed scholarship, which resulted in $50,000 raised in the first 48 hours. To see our student-athletes leaving a legacy before they graduate and creating opportunities for future Boise State student-athletes shows what it truly means to be a Bronco. Thank you, Ashton, and all those who have helped him launch that powerful scholarship.
We've also experienced a tremendous amount of change in recent months, which unlocks a clearer path to the future era of revenue sharing in college athletics through the House settlement. We've shared updates about this in the past, and here is our most recent update below:
House v. NCAA Settlement
The House v. NCAA settlement, an antitrust lawsuit between former college athletes and the NCAA, creates transformational change to the financial structure of college athletics moving forward. The $2.8 billion settlement will retroactively issue damages associated with lost NIL earnings over the next decade. Eligible recipients include student-athletes who participated in college athletics from 2016-21.
Revenue Sharing
Pending final approval, as part of the settlement Division I programs can opt-in to a custom revenue sharing model with their student-athletes beginning July 1, 2025. In simpler terms, the new arms race for recruiting and retaining student-athletes will embody a financial compensation package associated with an athlete's competitive market value. The settlement, which received preliminary approval earlier this month, will include expanding roster sizes for some sports and will result in each institution evaluating its scholarship model moving forward. Summary details are included below:
House Settlement Details
* Revenue Sharing: Based on a formula outlined in the settlement, schools can share up to 22 percent of the Average Shared Revenue for power conference schools (estimated at approximately $22 million for 2025-26) annually with their student-athletes.
* Roster Caps: Roster caps will be set for all sports, calling for the industry to move towards an equivalency model. For example, the football roster limit will be set at 105 beginning in 2025 and FBS schools can determine how many scholarships they wish to provide across the 105-person roster. Currently, an FBS football program is limited to 85 scholarships but can have a roster up to 120 student-athletes. This new model will replace scholarship caps that are currently in place, which means there are no limits to the number of scholarships that can be provided to each team.
Key Dates
October 2024: Notice of settlement to class members/claims period has begun
Jan. 31, 2025: Deadline for athletes to opt-out of or object to the settlement
April 7, 2025: Final approval hearing
July 1, 2025: Revenue sharing begins
Boise State in the New Era
What we like about the House settlement is it gives us a path forward. Our intent is to opt in to the House settlement and participate in revenue sharing with Bronco student-athletes. Our mission will remain the same: support our student-athletes and change their lives as they prepare to change the world. We are creating our strategic plan of what this looks like for Boise State as we continue to strive for championships and elevate our strong brand across 18 sport programs. We will continue to compete at the highest level of collegiate athletics and revenue sharing is a key component of that going forward.
This will create other opportunities in our athletic department, including roster limits, but we will continue to invest our resources to offer a world-class student-athlete experience. Those are non negotiable. You've heard me say it before, but it's always "What's Next." We're in a tremendous position of momentum, and we have to continue to fight to improve our experience even more for everyone, especially our 350-plus student-athletes.
As we move forward, we are positioning our revenue sharing strategy to drive competitive excellence at Boise State. I am thrilled to announce we will be embarking on an aggressive two-month end-of-year campaign to create momentum towards our 2025 goals. Please stay tuned for details and an exciting campaign for the Horseshoe Collective to launch next week.
Additionally, we are working tirelessly to build the best-in-class revenue sharing organization in the country, where we will welcome and provide turnkey services for all student-athletes who wear the Blue and Orange. We will drive our competitive advantage through alternative funding concepts, franchise workflow and technology, contracts, and immersive brand development strategies tailored for student-athletes who want to Bleed Blue. We expect to unveil this newly-branded organization soon and begin working on several innovative revenue sharing activities.
Please know that I will not waiver in my commitment to position Boise State for achieving "Epic." Industry changes will not slow our pace, and we will be prepared to thrive in the new landscape of college athletics.
To do epic, we must first believe in epic. It is going to take a team, and together we can be the model for sustainable excellence. Stay tuned for #WhatsNext!
Go Broncos!
Jeramiah Dickey
