“If there’s one thing that’s weighing me down, it’s raising money.”
College sports is a different beast than it once was, even just five years ago. The transfer portal and NIL have changed the course of college sports forever. But with that comes constant change and adaption.
Revenue sharing is a big talking point, but Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops believes that it will be enough to compete in the NIL world.
Stoops spoke with Darrell Bird of The Cats Pause about his concerns of with revenue sharing.
“The revenue sharing is not going to stop this,” Stoops Bird. “The players have rights to make money off their true, authentic name, image, and likeness.”
This also affects the rosters for football, basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball, leading to more revenue sharing. Football can now use 105 scholarships — it was previously 85 — a 20-spot increase.
Stoops spoke on fundraising and NIL in this interview, and it’s clear that he wants more help.
“You know, the SEC says it just means more, right? Well, we need to continue to pour into it and I continue to ask for help. If there’s one thing that’s weighing me down, it’s raising money. That’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of pressure. These guys deserve it. I have to find a way to be creative and continue to work at it to raise funds. I need some help. We need some help in that area desperately.“
The 15 Club was established in large part to help the football program by raising enough funds for a salary pool to pay players. With the help of fans across the commonwealth and the country, the Kentucky program has gained some traction in the fundraising game, but it still takes a toll on Mark Stoops every offseason with constant re-recruiting of his own players.
“I have 100 free agents every six months,” the Kentucky head coach told Bird. “You don’t think there’s pressure of raising money to keep them and to pay them what they deserve and to help them? And I’ve done this for two, three years completely alone. I get no help. None.”
Very eye-opening.