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Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt reveals big increase in scholarships
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- Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt reveals big increase in scholarships
MIDLAND — With college sports leaders having so far failed to bring more order and structure to the era of NIL, revenue sharing and unfettered team jumping by athletes, Texas Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt said his department will increase its efforts to keep taking advantage of the landscape.
Hocutt told a Red Raider Club crowd on Tuesday, Feb. 10, that during the 2026-27 school year, Tech will commit $21.3 million in direct revenue sharing to athletes (the maximum allowed), add about 80 new scholarships worth $2.5 million to non-revenue sports teams and redirect up to $10 million of athletics department revenue toward NIL deals.
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If no one's going to tell the Red Raiders they can't, Hocutt said, Tech's not going to throttle back what's worked during a successful 2025-26. Nine of its 17 teams have been nationally ranked and at least two more are sure to be.
"We at Texas Tech are going to continue to aggressively look for every competitive advantage that's going to allow our trajectory to continue to climb during this unsettled period of college athletics," Hocutt told an audience at Green Tree Country Club.
More: Texas Tech baseball season preview: Red Raiders try to snap 2-year slide
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Hocutt referred to max revenue sharing, more scholarship spending and redirecting $10 million worth of department money as "bucket one" of Tech's plan for the next 12 to 16 months. He said Tech can gain "our competitive advantage" with "bucket two": By asking Tech supporters to provide direct sponsorship NIL opportunities to athletes or agencies. One way is via a fantasy camp next summer with Tech men's basketball players, he said.
"I'll be direct," Hocutt said. "Bucket one alone is not going to get it done with the level of success that we've experienced this year. Bucket one, we'll compete for Big 12 Conference championships, but if we want to go to the CFP, if we want to go to the Orange Bowl, we want to go beyond, if we want to go back to the Elite Eight and further in basketball, bucket two is how we have to excel."
Hocutt made the comments during the first stop on the Red Raider Club's Wreck 'Em Tour, where Texas Tech University System Board of Regents chair Cody Campbell and football coach Joey McGuire also spoke. The next such gathering is Feb. 17 at The Rustic in Dallas.
Texas Tech shifts strategy on scholarship spending
Tracer Lopez prepares to throw during the Texas Tech baseball team's alumni game, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Rip Griffin Park.
Under terms of the House v. NCAA settlement approved in July 2025, Tech committed $20.5 million in revenue sharing for this fiscal year. The revenue-sharing maximum will grow by 4% next year, as specified in the House settlement; thus, the increase to $21.3 million for 2026-27.
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In year one of the agreement, any athletic scholarship increases up to $2.5 million results in a department's revenue-sharing pool being reduced by an equal amount. Offering new scholarships totaling, for example, $2 million reduces the revenue-sharing pool to $18.5 million.
Next year, Hocutt said, Tech plans to reallocate about $1 million in revenue sharing from non-revenue sports to football and add $2.5 million worth of new scholarships to the non-revenue sports. The baseball program, for example, will go from 11.7 scholarships — the previous NCAA limit and the number the Red Raiders are operating with this year — to 34 scholarships (the roster limit specified in the House v. NCAA settlement) next year.
Regarding the 2025-26 strategy, "We took the approach at Texas Tech that cash is king," Hocutt said. "We're not going to allow any of our sports to award additional scholarships so that we can give out the maximum $20.5 million in revenue share. They have changed that rule as we go into the second year of the College Sports Commission and the revenue-share era in that additional scholarships no longer negatively affect our revenue-share number of $21.3 million. Any additional scholarship that we provide now is taxed at 20 cents on the dollar.
"So as we went through this current competitive year with our sports, we found with a lot of our Olympic sport programs, they wanted more scholarship. They appreciated the little bit of revenue share that they received, but they wanted more scholarships."
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Hocutt also noted, "The one thing I didn't realize and plan for as we built our strategy in year one was the majority of the Southeastern Conference athletics departments, they awarded additional scholarships. They deducted from their $20.5 million in revenue share. Our Olympic-sport coaches, our non-revenue coaches have said, 'We need more scholarships.'"
Hocutt said the scholarship increases are for non-revenue sports only. Tech football will continue with 85 scholarships — the previous NCAA limit and 20 fewer than allowed under the House settlement.
In its annual revenue-and-expense report to the NCAA filed in January, Tech reported spending $7.82 million on athletics scholarships during fiscal year 2025.
Texas Tech plans to shift adidas, Learfield money for NIL
Texas Tech director of athletics Kirby Hocutt looks on during the team trophy celebration after the Big 12 Conference championship football game, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2025, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Additionally, Tech plans to redirect $9 million to $10 million of department revenue in what Hocutt termed "above-the-cap dollars."
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"Everybody's got $21.3 million," he said. "Everybody can award additional scholarships, but what else can you do to allow your coaches the resources to attract the very best talent?
"We've been talking to partners, such as adidas, such as Learfield, who's our corporate partner provider, and we're saying, 'Adidas, let's redirect dollars that were coming to Texas Tech athletics and we're going to ask you to build NIL opportunities directly with our student-athletes in lieu of (Tech's taking) that athletic department revenue.
"So take the cash or take some product that contractually you're obligated to provide to Texas Tech, do NIL deals that have to go through the College Sports Commission, that go through NIL Go, that Deloitte has to approve, do deals with our student-athletes. Corporate partners, do deals with our student-athletes.'"
Tech's 10-year, $59.25 million contract with adidas , signed in December 2024, includes $50 million in total product allotment and $9.25 million in total cash for rights fees, marketing and support of athletes.
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Texas Tech plans men's basketball fantasy camp with 12 teams, players promoting and coaching
Hocutt said Tech will partner with G3 Marketing to put on a men's basketball fantasy camp, expected somewhere between July and September. That's a key component of Tech's "bucket two" revenue plan.
GE Marketing's website says its function is "Uniting brands with world-class athletes and entertainers to create unforgettable experiences."
In Tech's case, a basketball fantasy camp promoted and worked by Red Raiders players.
"It is as traditional an NIL opportunity as is out there. It will all go through NIL Go," Hocutt said.
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"So what we will ask the Red Raider nation to do is to be sponsors of this camp through G3 Marketing. We'll need title sponsors. We'll probably have 12 teams with corporate sponsors there. Our student-athletes will coach the teams, they'll promote the camps and those will be NIL opportunities. I will tell you we need to generate $4 to $5 million through this fantasy camp to continue to have that incremental edge and advantage that we've talked about."
Hocutt further pitched donors on partnering with AthletiQ , a marketing and communications firm based in Lubbock, to facilitate NIL arrangements.
"They were doing a lot of the work with the Matador Club (donor collective), and they're a partner with Texas Tech athletics now," Hocutt said. "They are motivated and aligned with us to execute scalable NIL opportunities that connect your brands with our athletes."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt discusses big increase in scholarships
