Indiana Preps for Revenue Sharing by Eliminating 25 Athletics Positions

The Indiana University athletic department has eliminated 25 positions as it aims to cut costs ahead of student-athlete revenue sharing set to begin in 2025-26.

As reported by the Indianapolis Star,  12 of the 25 were open positions that are not being filled. The cuts were first announced in an email circulated Thursday, as the department looks to trim 10% of the budget from each of its auxiliaries (compliance, academic services, communications, etc.) and programs.

According to multiple sources, deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator Mattie White was among the employees laid off. 

Per the reporting of Michael Niziolek and Zach Osterman of the Star, White spent 19 years in the department, working her way up through academic and student services to a senior administrative role during Fred Glass’ tenure. She was elevated to her current position as one of athletic director Scott Dolson’s deputies in 2020, when Dolson was promoted to AD as Glass’ replacement. 

"According to a source with knowledge of the layoffs, the athletic department isn’t planning on cutting any sports," Niziolek and Osterman wrote. "Additionally, there were no cuts to any of the various teams’ coaching staffs or personnel and the department isn’t asking employees to take pay cuts."

As part of the House v. NCAA settlement, the nation’s top conferences agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion directly to players. The new revenue-sharing model allows schools to give up to 22% of the average power league school’s annual revenue to athletes. 

The initial cap for 2025-26 will be around $20.5 million per school and go up as revenues rise throughout the 10-year agreement. The proposal was granted preliminary approval by a federal judge in October, the Star reported.

Per Niziolek and Osterman, Indiana has already been signing athletes to revenue-sharing agreements in anticipation of a July 1 start date. The department anticipates having to reinvest some of the savings from the cuts into staff members knowledgeable in contracts and analytics. 

School administrators have been working for months to carve out space in a budget reported on the department’s fiscal year 2023 financial report to include more than $144.7 million in operating revenues.

Indiana’s shift to third-party vendors Legends (apparel) and Levy (hospitality and concessions) were both designed to improve the department’s overall financial position. One emerging area of growth that athletic departments from across the country are adopting is a per-seat contribution similar to the personal seat licenses used by professional teams. 

"The hope within the department is that those additional revenue streams will eliminate the need for further staff reductions as the revenue-sharing cap increases in the years to come," Niziolek and Osterman wrote.

Indiana saw a $4 million increase in football ticket sales and more than 100% jump in concessions revenues, thanks to a season that included eight home games and a department-record four sellouts of Memorial Stadium, as the Hoosiers rolled to a spot within the 12-team College Football Playoff. 

All Big Ten Conference member schools will receive additional funds from the conference thanks to four teams reaching this year’s CFP. The conference receives $4 million for each qualifier, $4 million for each team that reached the quarterfinals, and a further $6 million for each team that reached the semifinals and finals. By that math, the Big Ten stands to receive the largest per-conference share of CFP revenue this year — $46 million in total distributions.