Tyrese Perkins, Assistant Sports Editor
Before the House v. NCAA settlement effective July 1, 2025, athletic departments could not directly share institutional revenue with student-athletes.
Athletes could only receive benefits such as scholarships and cost-of-attendance assistance, while Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities primarily came through outside parties.
The settlement allowed Division I schools to directly provide athletes with compensation tied to their athletic revenue.
This change created a new distinction between the money an athlete receives directly from their university, and money earned through NIL opportunities.
“The revenue-sharing process for us is solely focused on student-athletes,” VCU Athletic Director Ed McLaughlin said.
In March 2025, McLaughlin estimated that the university could only afford to spend approximately $5 million annually on student-athlete compensation while remaining competitive. This August, McLaughlin said that entering into year two under the NCAA settlement, would increase their previous $5 million threshold during year one.
“Players may now come and go faster than what we’ve expected, but the reality as an athletic department is that we must be ready to adapt,” McLaughlin said.
The majority of VCU’s planned revenue-sharing money would be directed toward men’s and women’s basketball, while athletes across the athletic department would still be eligible to receive compensation, according to McLaughlin.
“I’m happy to buy into the revenue sharing, I actually think it’s great for the student-athletes… student-athletes can leave college debt behind and create generational change for themselves,” McLaughlin said.
Basketball is VCU’s most prominent revenue-generating program, bringing in about $12 million in annual revenue, accounting for roughly 30% of the school’s entire athletic department revenue, according to College Factual.
In October 2025, McLaughlin said that approximately 25 to 30 VCU student-athletes received direct revenue-sharing compensation, while more than 300 did not. VCU has not publicly identified the 25 to 30 athletes awarded or how its revenue-sharing pool was divided among its programs.
VCU has already begun looking for new revenue opportunities. The athletic department has plans to rent out the Siegel Center for outside events and there are still conversations around how concession and ticket sales can increase across the athletic programs, along with boosted alumni engagement.
“It’s not only about finding more avenues for growth, it’s growing what we already have,” McLaughlin said.
VCU’s men’s basketball revenue and attendance increased by 20% in 2025, with men’s baseball and other Olympic-sports also experiencing substantial growth, according to VCU Athletics.
In May of this year, McLaughlin acknowledged that VCU’s first year of paying athletes was successful, but the cost of building a competitive roster had increased. VCU places immense value on roster retention.
“What we do, how we do it, and the experience our athletes are going to have here will never change,” McLaughlin said.
While the long-term playbook is still being written, one thing is certain: VCU Athletics core mission remains unchanged.
“We will continue to develop young adults into great versions of themselves,” McLaughlin said. “We’ll do it through sports and what they’re proud of doing.”