West Virginia Athletic Director Signals Desire to Raise Funds to Share Revenue

The House vs. NCAA settlement continues to make its way through the court system and, assuming it is approved, athletic programs around the country can start sharing revenue with student-athletes as soon as this fall.

Many college athletic programs have stated their desire to share at the highest level of the revenue spectrum, and West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker was the latest to focus on the upcoming opportunity.

In a ‘Dear Mountaineer Nation' letter on the athletic department’s web site, Baker encouraged the program’s fans to continue buying season tickets, considering joining WVU’s Mountaineer Athletic Club and support market-based name, image, and likeness initiatives for student-athletes.

“We are actively preparing for these changes and working closely with the University to ensure long-term relevancy and success,” he wrote. “In the coming weeks and months, we will share key initiatives with you aimed at addressing a $20 million increase in expenditures. These efforts are critical in sustaining our spot in the national landscape and growing WVU Athletics. Your ongoing support and involvement will play a vital role as we move forward in this important endeavor.”

Baker’s comments would indicate that the Mountaineers intend to share revenue at or close to the maximum anticipated in the settlement, with is at least $20 million for the 2025-26 athletic year. WVU fields 18 men’s and women’s varsity sports.

Many of Baker’s colleagues in the Big 12 have already stated the same goal, including Utah’s Mark Harlan. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently said that he anticipates that each of his conference’s 16 schools to share as close to the maximum as possible.

Some schools are already pushing initiatives to raise additional funds for revenue-sharing, such as surcharges on tickets and other merchandise. The settlement also comes with reset scholarship limits for all sports and, in some cases, an expansion of full scholarships for certain sports.

The House vs. NCAA settlement is a combination of three different lawsuits against the NCAA that deal with the entity’s longstanding policy to bar student-athletes from making money of their own NIL, a policy that was suspended after the Alston ruling in 2021.

Along with the ability to revenue-share with student-athletes, all conferences will owe some money over the next 10 years to a group of former student-athletes that were part of a separate case and will be compensated for their inability to leverage their NIL when they were in school.

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