Amidst College Sports Shakeup South Florida Creates NIL Strategy Unit

The University of South Florida has just announced the creation of a new NIL Strategy Unit within its athletic department. Associate Athletic Director/Football Chief of Staff Andrew Warsaw will spearhead the new unit and add a third title to his business card –– NIL General Manager. He will assemble a crew of four other NIL specialists to round out the division: an assistant general manager, a director of NIL community development, a manager of NIL operations, and a director of NIL administration. 

The news comes just one week after the settlement proposal in the House v. NCAA case outlined a potential future collegiate sports model that would include athletes receiving NIL revenue sharing from television broadcasts. Schools like USF, who play in the American Athletic Conference, do not receive the mega broadcasting rights payouts like those schools in the Power 4. For Group of Five schools which have massive revenue gaps in comparison to more prominent conferences, finding creative ways to compensate players with NIL outside of revenue sharing is imperative to keep up with the broadcasting payouts Power 4 schools will be able to offer student-athletes.  

According to a statement from Warsaw in a press release from the USF athletic department, “There is a great commitment from the University and Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly to participate in NIL opportunities at the highest level allowed. The NIL Strategy team working with our outstanding student-athletes, coaches, donors, partners, and fast-growing community will be a big part of our ability to do just that and be in a position for success as the collegiate sports landscape continues to evolve.” While Warsaw did not explicitly list the potential challenges Group of Five schools will face shortly, a not-so-subtle nod to current developments can be inferred. 

As athletic departments outside of the Big Ten and SEC look to generate additional revenue streams to support athletic programs and remain competitive in an era when universities can directly compensate athletes, expect more investment in athletes’ revenue generation to be a focus. USF, like many other schools, will quickly bolster NIL resources so that they are not left behind when inevitable changes to the NCAA structure arrive.