The House vs. NCAA settlement case has reshaped college athletics moving forward with schools now able to directly pay student-athletes through revenue sharing. In College Park, Maryland athletic director Damon Evans made his plea to the fanbase.
“Maryland Athletics has developed a comprehensive new strategy and structure not just to navigate this new collegiate landscape, but to thrive in it. While we will be evaluating targeted reductions in operating expenses, we know that we cannot grow our program by cuts. Our focus must continue to be on revenue growth,” Evans said after noting the athletic department will share $20.5 million – the max amount – while expenses are expected to exceed $25 million.
Evans pleaded for fans to renew season tickets to the school’s revenue sports – men’s and women’s basketball in addition to football. Evans noted a $2.50 ticket fee “to help underwrite our academic and leadership development programming” while also pitching fans to renew their Terrapin Club membership. “Even better, please consider upgrading your membership level,” he wrote while reiterating the need to support upcoming fundraising efforts and recruit new fans. No added benefits or incentives were announced to mentioned Terrapin Club memberships.
Maryland announced a contract extension for Evans in August with his contract now set to run through June 30, 2029.
Full release via UMTerps.com:
College athletics is transforming right before our eyes. The era of conference realignment; Name, Image and Likeness (NIL); the transfer portal and litigation challenges have led to a revolution across the collegiate athletics landscape. From the beginning, the staff and coaches of Maryland Athletics have demonstrated innovation and resilience in navigating these new, turbulent waters.
In October, a U.S. District Judge gave preliminary approval on the settlement in the House v. NCAA case, paving the way for athletic departments to begin sharing revenue directly with student-athletes.
Starting with the 2025-26 season, we will be sharing the maximum-allowable amount of $20.5M with our student-athletes, with the vast majority of it going to our revenue-producing sports – football, men's basketball and women's basketball. This level of investment attests to our enduring commitment: to compete for conference and national championships.
In addition to permitting revenue-sharing, the legal settlement would replace scholarship limits with roster caps. This will provide us with the opportunity to add scholarship support to our varsity programs. The settlement also provides back damages to student-athletes who competed from 2016-24, a total of nearly $2.8 billion. Our share of those back damages totals $1.5 million annually for the next 10 years.
While we support the proposed settlement and the new opportunities it provides for our student-athletes, it also creates significant financial challenges for our program. In all, we anticipate new expenses exceeding $25 million annually.
Maryland Athletics has developed a comprehensive new strategy and structure not just to navigate this new collegiate landscape, but to thrive in it. While we will be evaluating targeted reductions in operating expenses, we know that we cannot grow our program by cuts. Our focus must continue to be on revenue growth.
The forthcoming transition to the per seat model for football and men's basketball, including the upcoming reseat process, will provide a solid foundation for future growth. Last month, we opened The Maryland Club, a terrific new premium club overlooking the court in XFINITY Center, that provides a best-in-class member experience as well as new revenues for our department. We are also actively revitalizing our ticket sales and annual fund plans, investing in major gift fundraising, and exploring additional premium amenities.
Moving forward, we will be asking you to continue and augment your support of Maryland Athletics. To remain competitive, we will need to significantly grow our resources. To that end, I ask you to do the following:
Renew your season tickets, whether it's for football, men's basketball, women's basketball or all three;
Renew your Terrapin Club membership. Even better, please consider upgrading your membership level;
Starting with the 2025-26 athletic season, we will be increasing our ticket fee by $2.50 to help underwrite our academic support and leadership development programming;
Support forthcoming fundraising campaigns;
Recruit new fans and members to Terrapin Nation.
The success of Maryland Athletics over the past decade has been the result of dedicated administrators and coaches, outstanding student-athletes, and generous support from donors like you. We built and opened Jones-Hill House, the incredible home of Maryland Football. We renovated and expanded the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. The Barry P. Gossett Basketball Performance Center will open in Fall 2025, providing a gleaming new home for women's and men's basketball. Indoor hitting facilities for Maryland Baseball and Maryland Softball are under construction. And we invested in new state-of-the-art video boards and sound systems at XFINITY Center and SECU Stadium.
Your generosity has also led directly to victory on the field. Since we joined the B1G, we have won 55 national and conference championships, behind only Ohio State and Michigan in the conference. I hope you all take great pride in these collective achievements.
I cannot begin to show my gratitude for the longstanding loyal support from fans like you. Because of you, we have provided an incredible experience for thousands of student-athletes and proudly represented our great state and university.
My pledge to you is this: We will continue to lead boldly into the next era of collegiate athletics, to rise together to meet the forthcoming challenges and to continue to compete for conference and national championships.
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