This month’s historic House vs. NCAA settlement will bring more changes to the landscape of college athletics and Colorado State has been preparing for it for some time.
The settlement, which is the result of a 2020 lawsuit brought by former Arizona State swimmer Grant House seeking damages for athletes who could not earn NIL money, will allow Division I schools to opt-in to sharing revenue with athletes beginning July 1.
“While (the) official stamp of approval puts in motion the next era of college athletics, it was a ruling we have long planned for to be ready in the moment,” CSU director of athletics John Weber said in a statement following the announcement of the settlement. “The long-awaited ruling in many ways is consistent with our land-grant mission to provide access to a world-class education for all with the talent and desire to attend college. This important access leads to opportunities to grow and maximize individual potential.
“Our vision is clear: To be the most-loved, most-watched and most-innovative program in the West. We are a proud Tier 1 research institution which offers phenomenal academic, athletic and personal opportunities to all.”
In basic terms, colleges can now directly pay athletes. Over the last several years, athletes could make money from NIL (name, image and likeness) opportunities with businesses and boosters working with athletes for mainly pay-to-play deals.
The most significant part of the settlement is the revenue-sharing portion, and the cap, which is expected to be around $20.5 million in 2025-26, its first year.
“This is an important day for all student-athletes and a step forward for intercollegiate athletics,” Weber said. “It stands as a significant day for Rams athletics as it enables us to further support our student-athletes while on campus to be sure they have every opportunity to be well prepared for their future, whether it is continuing professionally in their sport or entering their career.”
Weber went on to say that Colorado State will participate in revenue sharing with its student-athletes alongside all of its Pac-12 partners.
CSU will move from the Mountain West Conference to the Pac-12 following the 2025-26 school year.
“We are completely supportive of the new opportunities created for student-athletes,” Weber said. “These new guidelines enable us to support the student-athlete journey in ways we have not been able to previously. We will do so in a thoughtful manner, consistent with all NCAA rules and laws in the state of Colorado.”
In addition to revenue sharing, scholarship limits will be replaced by roster limits. Schools will be allowed to allocate scholarship funds at their discretion. The settlement will also not eliminate walk-ons as it features a grandfather period so that athletes will not lose their roster spot.
“Friday’s approval ensures no student-athlete will lose their roster spot as we adapt to the now-established roster limits,” Weber said. “Current and immediately incoming student-athletes will still have the opportunity to compete for a roster spot.”
Weber did not specify how much revenue CSU is expected to spend in the first year, or how it will be portioned out among all the programs. It is expected that not all schools will reach the full spending amount allowed.
It has been estimated that 75 to 80% of the cap will go to football, up to 15% to men’s basketball and the remainder to women’s basketball and Olympic and non-revenue sports. There are no specific guidelines for how the money is to be distributed.
“We are completely supportive of the new opportunities created for student-athletes,” Weber said. “These new guidelines enable us to support the student-athlete journey in ways we have not been able to previously. We will do so in a thoughtful manner, consistent with all NCAA rules and laws in the state of Colorado.”
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