UNLV Rebels Athletic Director Erick Harper Talks Financials, NIL, and More

UNLV Rebels athletic director Erick Harper has a lot on his plate with everything he's had going on over the past year. Amidst the ever-changing college football landscape, he's also had to replace the head coach for his two biggest programs. After making signings like head coaches Dan Mullen and Josh Pastner, and dealing with everything that comes with the athletic programs on the field, he also has to deal with the financial numbers that the athletic department has to deal with off the field.

Recently, he spoke with UNLV's official website about all the financial issues he has to deal with, including NIL deals, the economy, and team earnings.

UNLV Rebels Athletic Director Erick Harper On Where NIL The School's Money Comes From

"For us, NIL still operates on the outside. Those dollars are not part of the revenue we have to generate on a daily basis. So we’re still able to fund our non-revenue/Olympic sports at a competitive level.

The money that we use to pay players is driven by external donors that we go out and specifically solicit. We’ve come to find out that there’s a population of donors interested in [their donations] being used to pay players and a population that doesn’t believe in NIL but is willing to support in other ways, which could include nutrition, academics, and enhanced facilities."

Harper On How The Economy Impacts Expenses and Spending

Correct. But people also always forget that a big part of the job is managing expenses. You can’t just always focus on generating revenue; you have to manage your expenses, too. Which means some days you have to eat a hamburger when you really want to eat a steak. Improving fiscal responsibility in all areas is important."

Harper On The Football Program Finally Being On Solid Footing

"No doubt. Everybody’s paying attention now. But the job is attractive not just because we’re winning. Our day-to-day facility, the Fertitta Football Complex, is a $35 million facility. And our game-day facility is a $2 billion stadium. No other college football team in the country can say that they play every single home game in a $2 billion stadium. We can.

Our crowds continue to grow and we soon hope to be averaging 50,000 per game, including 10,000 students. When we get there, we will be ecstatic."

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