From the AD: Playing Offense – Embracing the New Era of College Athletics

Story Links

Bulldogs,

With Friday’s formal approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement, college athletics officially enters a new and exciting era.
 
The college athletics model that we have been accustomed to for more than 50 years – one that I experienced as a Butler student-athlete – required updates to a market-driven model demanded by multiple court rulings over the last decade. Revenue generated with the assistance of student-athletes in select revenue-producing sports will now be shared with those student-athletes.
 
This transformational change to the funding model of intercollegiate athletics represents an opportunity for Butler to make up ground in the competitive basketball landscape, and we intend to do just that. Butler will emphatically and aggressively embrace this new model, while also continuing to prioritize the holistic student-athlete experience and educational benefits that have long been a trademark of our university.
 
Institutionally, we remain committed to a broad-based offering of 22 sports (which includes the dance and cheer programs among those numbers). Butler also plans to continue providing our current number of student-athlete scholarships. Over the last few months, Athletics has strategically reallocated some of our operating budgets. This will allow us to competitively invest additional resources into revenue-generating programs while also accounting for future lost NCAA distributions now being utilized to pay nearly $2.8 billion in back damages as part of the approved settlement.
 
With the approval of the settlement, universities can now compensate student-athletes directly through NIL revenue sharing contracts. Over the past few years, we have enjoyed a strong partnership with All Good Dawgs, our non-profit NIL collective. Butler is incredibly grateful to the leadership of AGD for their work over the last few years as college athletics rapidly evolved. We are also grateful for the generous support that many of you directed to AGD during this time. Going forward, All Good Dawgs will be phasing out and we ask that you redirect all NIL support directly to Butler Athletics.
 
University leadership continues to be a tremendous partner to Athletics; our institution understands the value that comes with being competitive in the BIG EAST and on a national stage, particularly in basketball. We appreciate the continued support provided from the university to supplement our operations. Butler Athletics will continue to aggressively pursue enhanced revenue streams to support our basketball programs at the highest levels – and all of our more than 500 student-athletes.
 
Our ask of each of you is fairly simple: continue to passionately support our student-athletes and our teams. Wear your Butler gear with pride, buy tickets to games and cheer loudly, and donate to support our NIL revenue sharing, operations, and a transformative student-athlete experience. Keep doing what you’re doing… and if you are able to enhance your support in these pivotal times, that increased support will be incredibly impactful. 
 
Go Dawgs,
Grant Leiendecker
Butler Vice President/Director of Athletics

Support Butler Student-Athletes through a donation to the Bulldog Club!