June 23, 2025

Carolina Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham sent the following note to Tar Heel fans and supporters this morning….


Dear Tar Heels,
 
June 6 marked a historic day for college athletics, as Judge Claudia Wilken officially approved the House vs. NCAA settlement. The result of the five-year class action lawsuit paves the way to share revenue with student-athletes, pay past damages for the loss of NIL opportunities and address roster limits while adding scholarships across many sports.
 
This is a significant evolution that will change our department's financial model while providing greater financial opportunities for Tar Heel student-athletes. At Carolina, we have been preparing for these changes for more than a year. We are fully committed to adapting to this new era and continuing to create outstanding championship experiences for our student-athletes across our 28-sport, broad-based program.
 
Beginning July 1:
 

• We will fully fund and distribute $20.5 million in revenue share directly to UNC student-athletes. The majority of those funds will be paid to student-athletes in our two revenue-generating sports, Football and men's basketball, with women's basketball and baseball players receiving some revenue share, as well. The revenue share number will increase by 4 percent each year, and we will evaluate the division of all funds annually.

 

• The settlement removes scholarship limits for all sports, so we will increase our scholarship allotment by nearly 200 across our 28-sport program (338 to 532). The ability to have more Tar Heels on full scholarship will greatly strengthen our athletics program and the student-athlete experience at Carolina. This is a great opportunity to support additional student-athletes financially, outside of revenue share, and we want to keep building our Rams Club Scholarship Endowment in the hope of increasing scholarships even more in the future.

 

• All student-athletes will continue to benefit from NIL opportunities from third parties, separate from revenue share. Deals of more than $600 must be reviewed and approved by a national clearinghouse. The implementation and enforcement of revenue share and third-party deals with be overseen by the newly-formed College Sports Commission.

 
In addition, the House settlement mandates approximately $2.7 billion in back pay to student-athletes who participated from 2016-24 but were not allowed to participate in NIL activities because of NCAA rules. The NCAA will fund this payout by withholding revenue distribution to schools over the next 10 years – an impact of about $2 million annually for Carolina.
 
No doubt, these changes will be expensive. With the addition of revenue share, and our new investments in football, we expect our approximately $150 million budget in 2024-25 to grow by about $30 million next academic year. To prepare, we have hired a new Chief Revenue Officer to investigate and initiate new revenue opportunities, including naming rights, field sponsorships and jersey patches, expanding football's Bell Tower Block Party to draw more fans, options to further optimize our relationship with corporate sponsorship partner Learfield and more aggressive ticket sales initiatives. ACC Success Initiatives and additional funding allocated by the state of North Carolina from gambling revenues may also assist our efforts in the coming years, and we will continue to evaluate our Department's budget and spending for cost-cutting opportunities.
 
We appreciate the University's support as we navigate these financial changes. We are also thankful to Rams Club donors, who have contributed more than $25 million to the Excellence Fund and Excellence Endowment – two initiatives launched in November 2024 to provide unrestricted dollars – as well as through generous gifts through annual memberships and critical special projects.
 
As we modernize our operations, we are committed to continuing the athletic excellence at Carolina that has resulted in 63 national championships (including two this past year). There are multiple impactful ways you can support our student-athletes and Carolina as part of this new era:
 

• Contribute to The Rams Club: Rams Club members play a vital role in financially supporting Tar Heel student-athletes by providing scholarships, outstanding facilities and operational support for all 28 teams. The Excellence Initiatives give supporters the opportunity to make unrestricted gifts to allow funds to be applied in creative ways as new needs arise. To learn more and donate, visit ramsclub.com.

 

• Investigate third-party NIL opportunities: Businesses interested in sponsorship deals with student-athletes can work through our collectives, Old Well Management and NCHOF, through our corporate sponsorship partner Tar Heel Sports Properties or through other preferred partners. Email uncnil@unc.edu with questions and to learn more.

 

• Follow our student-athletes and teams digitally: Not only will following Tar Heels on X, Instagram and TikTok help you learn more about them, their teammates and their programs, it also can have a positive impact on their earning potential with third-party corporate deals. Likes and follows matter!

 

• Buy tickets and attend games: Our athletics events draw more than 1 million visitors to campus annually. Your attendance contributes to our game atmosphere and revenue – join us in Chapel Hill!

 
It remains to be seen how this new economic model will impact the future of intercollegiate athletics. We do know that as we continue to evolve, Carolina remains committed to providing outstanding experiences and broad-based programming as we share revenue with teams and student-athletes who earn it. As we begin this new era, one thing won't change: our dedication to excellence and winning in and outside of competition.
 
Thank you for your support. Go Heels!
 
Sincerely,
 
Bubba Cunningham
Director of Athletics
University of North Carolina