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Texas Tech among many awaiting Judge Wilken decision in House v. NCAA settlement proposal
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- Texas Tech among many awaiting Judge Wilken decision in House v. NCAA settlement proposal
Thursday had the potential to be a landmark day in college sports. As we write this, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken was preparing to gather information and hear from attorneys for the NCAA, power conferences and plaintiffs in the three antitrust cases that might soon reshape college athletics into a model resembling pro sports.
College sports administrators all over America, Texas Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt among them, are paying close attention to what all unfolds. If Wilken gives preliminary approval to the proposed settlement in House v. NCAA filed in late July, two of the key outcomes could involve former athletes sharing in a pool of $2.78 billion in back damages — earnings opportunities they were denied by NCAA amateurism rules — and current and future athletes beginning to be paid directly by their athletics departments.
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Texas Tech and the other power-conference schools would begin revenue sharing as soon as the 2025-26 school year. Projections have the schools paying the athletes a little more than $20 million per school annually, with escalators, over a 10-year period.
More: Kirby Hocutt unsure on scholarship increases for Texas Tech football, other sports
More: Could concerts, facility tours, cookoffs join Texas Tech football at Jones AT&T Stadium?
Approval of House v. NCAA settlement proposal won't be quick, easy process
Even if Wilken gives preliminary approval, it's going to be a long process. What would follow are a 90-day window for notification and information to the athletes affected, then another 90-day window for objections. So it'll drag into at least February, which leaves little time for year-one implementation.
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Well aware of that, the Kirby Hocutts of the college-sports world have been planning ahead for months. The Texas Tech AD told the Avalanche-Journal in February he thinks "all day and every day" about how to fund the new way of business. Even as off-season conversation around Texas Tech football centered on last week's opening of the new football facilities in and around Jones AT&T Stadium, on the Big Red Spread they've long been thinking of the next step.
"As we complete the south end zone and the Womble Football Center," Hocutt said months ago, "I think you will start to see a new narrative and a redirection of our fundraising efforts that will move away from capital projects and move toward this new model and annual support in whatever direction this turns on us."
With Patrick Mahomes recently chipping in , Tech now reports gifts and pledges of $115 million toward the total cost of $242 million for the football projects. Tech envisions paying off the remainder through a combination of philanthropic gifts, financing, game-day premium revenue from that south end zone building and operating revenue in the annual budget.
Texas Tech director of athletics Kirby Hocutt speaks during a press conference at Jones AT&T Stadium, Friday, August 23, 2024.
Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt all in on revenue sharing, but scholarship increases are another story
At the same time, key pieces of the House v. NCAA settlement proposal would empower schools to drastically increase athletics scholarships while separately opting in on revenue sharing. As we reported recently, Hocutt and Tech deputy AD Jonathan Botros have pledged firmly to share revenue to the max with athletes.
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Less certain is Tech's commitment to increasing sports scholarships. Seems like a no-brainer, right, that Tech would increase football scholarships from 85, the maximum for the past three decades, to 105, which is the proposed new roster limit? Not so fast. Hocutt told the A-J in mid-August he doesn't know yet whether Tech will go to 105. Might give 85 players scholarships and 20 others revenue sharing.
Any new scholarship increases in men's sports, Hocutt cautioned, might well need to be matched by scholarship increases in women's sports to comply with Title IX.
The $20 million-plus for revenue sharing is first priority. As for how Tech aims to come up with that new money, you might well see concerts coming to Jones AT&T Stadium, frequent private-event and Tech sports facility tours for fans and non-game day events on stadium parking lots. The NCAA has thought about loosening restrictions around corporate logos and patches on jerseys.
And naming rights on Jones AT&T Stadium come up for renewal or a new partner after June 30, 2026.
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Private equity involvement? Brett Yormark and the Big 12 have discussed that as a possibility. Hocutt's not on board with that one.
"You bring others to the table," Hocutt said, "and there's no such thing as free dollars or free investment out there from the private-equity world. That's just not how it works. So just don't see how it aligns with what we're doing here today."
For now, everyone waits on Judge Wilken. Multiple parties have filed objections to the settlement proposal. One of the proposal's apparent aims, to curb collectives' spending on name, image and likeness, has raised objections, as it ought to. The players should be entitled to make what the free market's willing to pay for their talents. Wouldn't mind seeing the judge tell everyone to rethink that one.
We'll know more soon.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech, many await Judge Wilken decision in House settlement
