For decades, NCAA athletic departments were built on a lopsided foundational model called fundraising first. Development officers, booster clubs and alumni relations teams drove operational revenue. Success was measured not just in wins and losses, but in checks and donors. That model worked well in the amateur era, but that ship has sailed.

College athletics is entering a structural transformation: Departments must evolve from fundraising-first models to true revenue engines. For decades, budgets leaned on fragile lifelines of media payouts and donor checks. In 2022, Power Four distributions covered 35% of revenues and donations 18%, yet both remain volatile, bound by conference deals, fickle wins, shifting economies and generational giving patterns.

The cost side isn’t waiting. Coaching salaries, new hires, facility upgrades, NIL demands and revenue sharing at 310 schools are driving expenses through the roof. By 2032, nearly half of Power Four revenue will lean on media payouts. This transformation isn’t cosmetic; it’s existential. Tear down silos, rebuild with vision and treat athletics as both mission and business, or risk athletic and social irrelevance.

Revenue sharing is no longer theoretical — it’s here, with 310 Division I universities opting into the new model. For these schools, generating sustainable revenue is no longer optional; it is a fiduciary responsibility. The need to monetize IP,........

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