Below is a playbook Mississippi State (MSU) can follow to
free up or raise the ≈ $20.5 million it will need every year for athlete revenue-sharing under the House settlement. Think of it as stacking several midsize revenue streams and a few cost tweaks rather than finding one silver-bullet check.
1. Use the TV-money tail-wind first
| Source | 2023-24 $ | 2025-26 Outlook | Notes |
|---|
| SEC distribution | $52.6 M per school (espn.com) | Low-$60 M once the new ESPN package, OU/Texas inventory and 12-team CFP dollars kick in | The jump of ~ $7-10 M covers a third to half of the rev-share bill. Build the settlement line item into the conference check before it hits the operating budget. |
2. Turn philanthropic momentum into an annuity
MSU’s
State Excellence Fund has attracted at least
$18 M in major gifts in the last nine months (one $8 M pledge and multiple 7-figure donations). (
hailstate.com,
hailstate.com,
hailstate.com,
hailstate.com,
msubulldogclub.com)
- Pivot the campaign’s message: tell donors they are now paying athletes directly—a far more tangible ROI than scholarships or bricks.
- Annualize gifts: encourage multi-year pledges (e.g., $500 k/yr for five years) so the first $5-6 M of the $20.5 M arrives automatically each July.
- Sweeten priority points: MSU already gives 4 points per $100 for NIL gifts through the Bulldog Club; lean on that system to nudge smaller donors. (msubulldogclub.com)
3. Monetize new inventory the NCAA just unlocked
| Asset | Potential at MSU | Why it’s realistic |
|---|
| Midfield logo & two small field ads | $2-4 M/yr | On-field ads are now legal starting 2024. (sportsbusinessjournal.com) |
| Football/basketball jersey patches | $0.5-5 M/yr | Learfield says patches can be worth 25-50 % of the rev-share cap at scale. (sportsbusinessjournal.com) |
| Facility or clubhouse naming rights | $2-3 M/yr | Dudy Noble Field is already a brand; add a “presented by” tag or sell a new premium club. |
| Concerts/off-season events at Davis Wade | $1-2 M/yr net | Stanford is already booking acts like Coldplay to fill the summer calendar. (sfchronicle.com) |
A conservative mix of these items can
net $6-10 M annually without touching ticket buyers.
4. Grow core operating revenue without alienating fans
- Dynamic ticket pricing & fees: A $5 average bump on ~55 k seats over seven home games = ≈ $2 M.
- Premium-seat expansion: 200 new club seats at $3 k = $600 k; scale with suite renovations.
- Guarantee/neutral-site football games: one $4-5 M payout game every other year smooths cash flow.
- Licensing & e-commerce: Fanatics athlete-branded merch now shares revenue with the school; earmark MSU’s cut for the rev-share pool.
5. Trim or redirect existing dollars
| Line item | Adjustment | Annual impact |
|---|
| Olympic-sports travel & scheduling | More bus trips/regional opponents | $750 k-1 M |
| Capital project timing | Slow non-revenue facility renovations by 12-18 mo. | Frees $3-4 M cash this cycle |
| Administrative overhead | Vacancy freezes, shared services with campus | $1-2 M |
These savings are modest but create
$5-6 M of breathing room, which is crucial given MSU ran a
$7 M athletics deficit in FY 2024. (
sportsbusinessjournal.com)
6. Tap outside capital—carefully
Private-equity style funds such as Elevate’s new
$500 M Collegiate Investment Initiative will front cash for revenue-producing projects (clubs, loge boxes) that can throw off operating money within 12-18 months. (
sportsbusinessjournal.com) MSU should use this only for projects that
directly expand annual operating revenue, not vanity builds that add depreciation.
Putting it together
| Bucket | Low-End Yield | High-End Yield |
|---|
| SEC/CFP Media Growth | $7 M | $10 M |
| Philanthropy (pledged & annual) | $5 M | $8 M |
| New Sponsorship Inventory | $6 M | $10 M |
| Ticketing & Game Ops | $2 M | $4 M |
| Cost Controls | $2 M | $5 M |
| TOTAL | $22 M | $37 M |
Even the conservative column
covers the $20.5 M cap and leaves a cushion for Title IX matching and compliance costs.
Key takeaways
- Start with what’s easiest: plug the first one-third of the bill with media-rights growth already in the pipeline.
- Lock in multi-year donor money so the rev-share pool is “pre-funded” before July 1 each year.
- Exploit the NCAA’s new ad real estate—it’s low-hanging, high-margin revenue.
- Use private capital only for projects that generate recurring operating cash, not shiny cap-ex.
- Treat the $20.5 M as a fixed cost—budget for it first, just like coaching salaries—then fit everything else around it.
Follow this layered approach and Mississippi State can move from asking “Where do we find $20 million?” to managing
which of several viable revenue lanes it prefers to accelerate.
