New Maryland Athletic Director Says Revenue Will be Primary Focus

Taking over a major collegiate athletic program in the age of NIL, transfer portal and revenue sharing is not for the faint of heart.

What Jim Smith lacks in collegiate experience as an administrator he makes up for in experience driving revenue in professional sports — and that experience is useful these days.

The University of Maryland introduced Smith as its new athletic director on Thursday. He replaced Damon Evans, who took the same job at SMU.

While at one time Smith was the president and CEO of the Ohio State University Alumni Association, his primary experience is in professional sports. Most recently, he was the senior vice president of business strategy for the Atlanta Braves. Previously, he was in charge of revenue and marketing for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United.

What Jim Smith Said About Generating Revenue at Maryland

The Terrapins are in the Big Ten, where the league recently signed an enormous television contract with three different networks and allows the league to be competitive with the SEC financially.

Still, there is more money needed and it’s up to individual schools to make that happen. Smith said that’s his primary focus as he takes over.

“We’re going to focus on revenue, because make no mistake about it, to compete with the caliber of schools, not just in the Big Ten but across the country, we must increase our revenues,” Smith said, per the Associated Press. “We’re going to be trying a few new things — I’m not going to tell anyone any of them today — taking new approaches, applying what I’ve learned from professional leagues.”

He believes he has the requisite experience for the job. He said during his introduction that when he started with the Falcons they were near the bottom of the NFL in revenue.

Smith has one major issue to deal with immediately — House vs. NCAA. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken hasn’t ruled on the final proposed settlement. That could come this week. If approved, it will usher in a new world of college athletics, that includes revenue-sharing with student athletes, to the tune of $20.5 million in the first year.

The House v. NCAA settlement is a combination of three different cases brought by current and former student-athletes. It will allow for $2.75 billion in damages will be paid to thousands of college athletes over 10 years as part of restitution for their inability to access things like Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities.

The new settlement won’t prohibit student-athletes from leveraging NIL, but they will need to report any deals valued at $600 or more.

The settlement also caps scholarships and, in some cases, expands them for certain sports through roster limits.