NACDA Confirmed: College Athletics Is Sitting on Untapped Revenue

College athletic departments can build revenue by activating existing alumni networks, vendor relationships, and commercial ecosystems. At NACDA, NOCAP Sports and leaders from Ohio State, Pittsburgh, and Duke discussed how structured business networks and intentional asset monetization can help address financial pressures from revenue sharing, NIL obligations, and rising operating costs.

Last week, NOCAP Sports took the stage at NACDA and the room said everything.

Standing room only. A packed house of athletic directors, administrators, and industry leaders gathered for one conversation: how do college athletic departments build sustainable revenue in a landscape that no longer looks anything like it did five years ago?

The session, "Turning On the Revenue: How Athletic Departments Are Monetizing What They Already Have," was presented by Run Payments and Marsh McLennan Agency and moderated by Ben Portnoy of Sports Business Journal. 

NOCAP's Adam Gunn was joined by three practitioners who are actively reshaping what revenue generation looks like inside their programs:

• Logan Hittle, Senior Associate AD of Strategy and External Engagement, The Ohio State University

• Pat Bostick, Senior Associate Athletic Director, NIL Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, University of Pittsburgh

• Terrell Smith, Assistant Director of Athletics and NIL Strategy, Duke University

These aren't theorists. They're the people in the rooms making decisions, building partnerships, and figuring out how to reach athletes with real financial opportunity.

The Central Thesis: Activate What Already Exists

The financial pressure facing college athletics is not subtle. Revenue sharing, NIL obligations, and rapidly escalating operating costs are forcing every department in the country to rethink how they generate and sustain revenue. Fundraising alone can no longer carry the load. And waiting on the next media rights deal isn't a strategy.

But here's what the panel made clear: the infrastructure most departments need to build real revenue pathways already exists. It lives inside alumni networks that haven't been fully engaged commercially. It lives inside vendor relationships that haven't been structured for mutual value. It lives inside commercial ecosystems that are sitting dormant, waiting to be activated.

The opportunity isn't about reinventing the wheel. It's about finally turning it.

Pro Sports Money. Now It Needs Pro Sports Strategy.

College athletics is now operating at a financial scale that rivals professional sports. The revenue is there. What's lagged behind is the strategic sophistication to match it. The intentional monetization of existing assets. The creation of structured business networks. The development of revenue pathways that actually reach the athletes and the institutions themselves.

That's the gap NOCAP was built to close. And moments like NACDA – a packed room, a stage shared with leaders from Ohio State, Pitt, and Duke, a conversation that clearly resonated – are proof that the industry is ready for this shift.

A few years ago, we were building in relative obscurity. That's no longer the case.

What Comes Next

The conversation at NACDA wasn't a conclusion. It was a starting point. The schools leading on revenue generation today are the ones that will define what a modern athletic department looks like tomorrow. They're not waiting. They're building.

Build Recurring Revenue for Your Athletic Department

Would you like to know more about NIL revenue share? College sports have changed permanently, with revenue sharing, rising costs, athlete compensation, and the transfer portal converging at once. The programs building real commercial infrastructure now will lead the next era, and NOCAP Sports helps brands and universities turn that shift into growth. Through relationships with athletic departments and a network of alumni business owners, NOCAP delivers the access, strategy, and execution brands need to reach fans, students, and athletes authentically and measurably.

Brands like Norton, Energy by 5, and Run Payments have partnered with NOCAP to generate qualified leads and build revenue that lasts well beyond a single campaign. You bring the product, and NOCAP provides the university relationships, alumni distribution, fan activation, and full-service NIL execution to turn access into pipeline. If your brand wants to get involved in college athlete marketing, visit nocapsports.io to book a call with our team, or reach out to our sales team directly at sales@nocapsports.io. Whether you’re a national brand or a regional business, NOCAP’s team will help you find the right entry point into college sports and structure a partnership around your goals.

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