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Missouri athletics published an approximately 10-minute-long interview Friday between longtime Mizzou Radio play-by-play announcer Mike Kelly and MU athletic director Laird Veatch, in which the AD discussed the expected changes coming to college athletics.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken will hold a final hearing in the House v. NCAA class-action case that is expected to reshape college athletics.
The settlement is expected to be approved, which will allow universities to allocate $20.5 million in revenue to student-athletes directly from the university. It is widely expected that football and men’s basketball will receive the bulk of the allocated revenue. Veatch said in his interview with Kelly that Missouri will do the same, but is still in the process of finalizing its plans.
Third-party name, image and likeness deals — how NIL has existed since its inception July 1, 2021 — will still be available, but the major upcoming change is that schools will be able directly distribute revenue to their athletes.
Here is a synopsis of what Veatch said during the interview, and how he expects the upcoming changes to impact Mizzou. Some of Veatch’s answers have been slightly edited for length and clarity:
“We, like most everyone out there, plan to distribute (revenue) primarily to football and men's basketball. They'll be getting the significant majority,” Veatch said. “But there will be considerable investments in other sports like women's basketball, baseball; and our other student-athletes will have the opportunity to earn revenue-share dollars as well.”
“We're also really proud that we are actually adding the equivalent of 60 full scholarships to the tune of about $3 million in total starting next year as part of this as well, and a significant majority of those dollars are actually going to our women's sports,” Veatch said. “It's actually about a two-for-one ratio. So a lot of changes, a lot of investment coming, and we are proud that we're going to be in a position to do that, but it's not going to be without its challenges.”
“We're highly competitive in the most competitive conference in the country, right?” Veatch said. “We have the commitment of our leadership, our president, board of curators, and … we have such a passionate fan base that is demonstrating more and more that they are truly committed to doing what it takes to step up and get to another level. So, we're going to need a combination of all of those things … to really get where we want to go.
“We're going to need to do our part internally. So, we are doing a real deep dive into our budget process to really reduce expenses in some areas so we can reallocate those to the revenue share dollars. We're going to reinvest our resources into what really drives winning. And we are going to continue to ask more of our people, right? We're going to have to continue to ask more and more of the Mizzou fanbase and ask them to be a part of this. And I'm convinced more and more that that desire is there — they want to be a part of helping us continue this ascension that we're on.”
“I have been genuinely super encouraged by the response of our fanbase,” Veatch said. “It has really reinforced to me that our people truly want to do what it takes to win, and they are demonstrating to me and all of us that ‘will to win’ that we keep talking about. There's been a clear recognition of our need to raise prices, and that's been evidenced by really strong renewal rates and an early waitlist of well over 1,000 new season-ticket holders. So, a lot of good momentum there.
“There's been a real appreciation for our need to simplify and modernize our fundraising structure. So that's been evidenced in particular by a real interest in being a part of the ‘Mizzou Leadership Circle,’ and that … is really what's going to ultimately drive our ability to share those revenues at the highest level and drive our ability to compete. I also think our fans would be very interested to see and hear what all is going on behind the scenes to essentially reimagine our whole internal operation and position us to be successful in this next era of college sports. So, as an example, we need to do all we can to utilize what is already a very advanced NIL structure to essentially shift gears into this revenue-sharing model, which will essentially be a lot like what the professional sports leagues operate under with a salary cap.
“So, a lot goes into that. At the same time, we are doing all we can to develop more and more opportunities for third party NIL opportunities for our student-athletes. We're going to be doing a lot in that area as well, and we're going to need our business community, business leaders in the Mizzou space to continue to buy into that and look for those opportunities in the coming years.”
“Moving forward, there's going to be three ways for student-athletes to be compensated and, candidly, for us to secure the top and best talent to play for the Tigers,” Veatch said. “First, the central opportunity will continue to be through scholarships. … We're also increasing that to the tune of about $3 million, but for fans to help us compete, the first and best way will continue to be by purchasing tickets and being members, giving to the ‘Mizzou Athletics Fund.’
“The second way for student athletes to be compensated will be by us sharing those revenues directly with student-athletes for the first time ever, right? So, we will be forming contracts directly with our student-athletes to provide them those revenue share dollars in exchange for their NIL and their competitive services. And the best way for fans to help us there, particularly our most loyal and dedicated donors, is by being part of the ‘Mizzou Leadership Circle.’ And, as we've talked about in the past, the ‘Mizzou Leadership Circle’ is really that core group that helps drive us financially. And the benefits of that, first of all, the membership starts at $5,000 … and the benefits of that go to things like traveling with the team or special access on game day, special recognition, those kind of things.
“And third and finally is that third-party NIL opportunity that I mentioned. So, third-party NIL is essentially what NIL was intended to be originally, before this whole collectives world came about. Essentially, it is endorsement-style or endorsement-type arrangements between a business and a student-athlete that moving forward will have to go through an approval process. There's a national clearinghouse being formed. And I know that sounds like a lot, but we're pulling all that together, and we'll be providing more and more information in the months ahead.”
More: Missouri basketball transfer portal tracker: Here’s who is in, out for Mizzou
More: Will Missouri invest enough resources in women's basketball to win? Kellie Harper thinks so
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri AD Laird Veatch on future of NIL, revenue sharing at Mizzou
Continue reading...
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken will hold a final hearing in the House v. NCAA class-action case that is expected to reshape college athletics.
The settlement is expected to be approved, which will allow universities to allocate $20.5 million in revenue to student-athletes directly from the university. It is widely expected that football and men’s basketball will receive the bulk of the allocated revenue. Veatch said in his interview with Kelly that Missouri will do the same, but is still in the process of finalizing its plans.
Third-party name, image and likeness deals — how NIL has existed since its inception July 1, 2021 — will still be available, but the major upcoming change is that schools will be able directly distribute revenue to their athletes.
Here is a synopsis of what Veatch said during the interview, and how he expects the upcoming changes to impact Mizzou. Some of Veatch’s answers have been slightly edited for length and clarity:
On how Missouri plans to distribute revenue
“We, like most everyone out there, plan to distribute (revenue) primarily to football and men's basketball. They'll be getting the significant majority,” Veatch said. “But there will be considerable investments in other sports like women's basketball, baseball; and our other student-athletes will have the opportunity to earn revenue-share dollars as well.”
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On how scholarships are changing at Mizzou
“We're also really proud that we are actually adding the equivalent of 60 full scholarships to the tune of about $3 million in total starting next year as part of this as well, and a significant majority of those dollars are actually going to our women's sports,” Veatch said. “It's actually about a two-for-one ratio. So a lot of changes, a lot of investment coming, and we are proud that we're going to be in a position to do that, but it's not going to be without its challenges.”
On how Missouri will pay for, fund revenue sharing
“We're highly competitive in the most competitive conference in the country, right?” Veatch said. “We have the commitment of our leadership, our president, board of curators, and … we have such a passionate fan base that is demonstrating more and more that they are truly committed to doing what it takes to step up and get to another level. So, we're going to need a combination of all of those things … to really get where we want to go.
“We're going to need to do our part internally. So, we are doing a real deep dive into our budget process to really reduce expenses in some areas so we can reallocate those to the revenue share dollars. We're going to reinvest our resources into what really drives winning. And we are going to continue to ask more of our people, right? We're going to have to continue to ask more and more of the Mizzou fanbase and ask them to be a part of this. And I'm convinced more and more that that desire is there — they want to be a part of helping us continue this ascension that we're on.”
On the response to ‘asking more’ from fans
You must be registered for see images
“I have been genuinely super encouraged by the response of our fanbase,” Veatch said. “It has really reinforced to me that our people truly want to do what it takes to win, and they are demonstrating to me and all of us that ‘will to win’ that we keep talking about. There's been a clear recognition of our need to raise prices, and that's been evidenced by really strong renewal rates and an early waitlist of well over 1,000 new season-ticket holders. So, a lot of good momentum there.
“There's been a real appreciation for our need to simplify and modernize our fundraising structure. So that's been evidenced in particular by a real interest in being a part of the ‘Mizzou Leadership Circle,’ and that … is really what's going to ultimately drive our ability to share those revenues at the highest level and drive our ability to compete. I also think our fans would be very interested to see and hear what all is going on behind the scenes to essentially reimagine our whole internal operation and position us to be successful in this next era of college sports. So, as an example, we need to do all we can to utilize what is already a very advanced NIL structure to essentially shift gears into this revenue-sharing model, which will essentially be a lot like what the professional sports leagues operate under with a salary cap.
“So, a lot goes into that. At the same time, we are doing all we can to develop more and more opportunities for third party NIL opportunities for our student-athletes. We're going to be doing a lot in that area as well, and we're going to need our business community, business leaders in the Mizzou space to continue to buy into that and look for those opportunities in the coming years.”
On how fans can contribute in new era
“Moving forward, there's going to be three ways for student-athletes to be compensated and, candidly, for us to secure the top and best talent to play for the Tigers,” Veatch said. “First, the central opportunity will continue to be through scholarships. … We're also increasing that to the tune of about $3 million, but for fans to help us compete, the first and best way will continue to be by purchasing tickets and being members, giving to the ‘Mizzou Athletics Fund.’
“The second way for student athletes to be compensated will be by us sharing those revenues directly with student-athletes for the first time ever, right? So, we will be forming contracts directly with our student-athletes to provide them those revenue share dollars in exchange for their NIL and their competitive services. And the best way for fans to help us there, particularly our most loyal and dedicated donors, is by being part of the ‘Mizzou Leadership Circle.’ And, as we've talked about in the past, the ‘Mizzou Leadership Circle’ is really that core group that helps drive us financially. And the benefits of that, first of all, the membership starts at $5,000 … and the benefits of that go to things like traveling with the team or special access on game day, special recognition, those kind of things.
“And third and finally is that third-party NIL opportunity that I mentioned. So, third-party NIL is essentially what NIL was intended to be originally, before this whole collectives world came about. Essentially, it is endorsement-style or endorsement-type arrangements between a business and a student-athlete that moving forward will have to go through an approval process. There's a national clearinghouse being formed. And I know that sounds like a lot, but we're pulling all that together, and we'll be providing more and more information in the months ahead.”
More: Missouri basketball transfer portal tracker: Here’s who is in, out for Mizzou
More: Will Missouri invest enough resources in women's basketball to win? Kellie Harper thinks so
Watch the full interview
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri AD Laird Veatch on future of NIL, revenue sharing at Mizzou
Continue reading...
