| Dear Duck Family: As we reflect on an exciting fall for Oregon Athletics, I want to thank you for your continued loyal support of our athletic programs. Each year, your generosity is pivotal in allowing us to deliver an exceptional student-athlete experience and the competitive excellence we have collectively enjoyed at UO. As we approach a new year, several of you have shared questions regarding the shifting landscape in college athletics—especially revenue-sharing with student-athletes and name, image and likeness (NIL)—and we want to provide you with background and what the changes mean for Oregon Athletics. A proposed settlement in a collection of antitrust lawsuits commonly referred to as House was preliminarily approved by a federal judge in October, with final approval potentially in the late spring of 2025. If the settlement is finally approved in its current form, institutions may share revenues with student-athletes for direct payments for NIL, up to an amount estimated to start at more than $20 million annually and increasing each subsequent year. This marks a significant change in college sports, as in the past, student-athletes could only receive aid from athletic scholarships, institutional Alston academic benefit payments and NIL deals from third parties. While institutions will soon be able to provide additional resources to student-athletes, it also represents a significant new unfunded expense. Oregon Athletics will need to make strategic decisions to ensure that we continue providing the resources necessary to compete at the highest levels of college athletics with a significant new expense. Another significant aspect of the House settlement is that schools will transition from current NCAA rules on scholarship limits to NCAA rules on roster limits. There will be no caps on scholarships but rather roster limits. Each university will be able to determine how many scholarships they provide in each sports program, up to the new roster limit. This change creates flexibility, offers expanded scholarship opportunities for both institutions and student-athletes, and adds a significant cost to Oregon Athletics as it also pays the full cost to UO for its resident and non-resident scholarship recipients. If UO were to provide scholarships to all student-athletes based on the new updated NCAA roster limits, it would nearly double the number of scholarships currently awarded, adding another $14-$15 million to the annual operating budget. That is in addition to the proposed more than $20 million annual revenue share expenditure. Oregon Athletics is one of fewer than 20 athletic departments nationwide that operates as a self-sustaining unit, receiving no institutional support or student fees. Every dollar generated by Oregon Athletics is reinvested directly into supporting the success of the 20 athletic programs and roughly 500 student-athletes. At the heart of competing at the highest level is providing the maximum possible benefits to our student-athletes, which will soon include direct payments for NIL and additional scholarships. Achieving that will require additional resources. We have always prioritized fiscal responsibility within Oregon Athletics and will continue to do so, and we will continue to let our innovative spirit guide us through these changing times. However, this new model will require that we examine all possible additional revenue streams and cost-containment strategies to sustain and enhance our programs. With our transition to the Big Ten Conference, we are thrilled about the stability, competitive opportunities, and national exposure we now enjoy as a member of the most outstanding collection of academic and athletic universities in the country. This transition fills us with optimism and we are confident that with your continued support, Oregon Athletics will navigate these new challenges and continue to compete for championships among the nation’s elite. And our mission remains unchanged: to provide a first-class student-athlete experience and to achieve broad-based excellence. We deeply appreciate your ongoing commitment to Oregon Athletics. Your support for our programs and student-athletes is more important now than ever, and we look forward to continuing this journey together. As more information and ways to help become clear, we will continue to communicate with our supporters. Go Ducks! |
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| Rob Mullens Director of Athletics |
