Tennessee
Tennessee’s 10% NIL Ticket Surcharge is Insulting to Volunteer Fans
University of Tennessee Athletic Director Danny White recently announced that the university is implementing a new 10% surcharge on ticket prices for the upcoming 2025-2026 season. The strategic move comes in response to potential NIL revenue sharing for college athletes that could arrive as early as next season and cost the most prominent schools roughly $22,000,000 annually –– White has aptly monikered the new cost a “talent fee.” The “talent fee” implicates both single-game and season ticket sales and will complement the projected average 4.5% increase in ticket sales at Neyland Stadium in the coming year.
This is enough for Volunteer fans to revolt. In an interview with On3 White stated “It’s going to our student athletes as part of this new world order in college sports. So I know our fans will embrace it.” I’d think twice about the embrace of a price hike on fans who have seen nothing but constantly increasing ticket costs. After begging fans to donate hard-earned money to their NIL collective for the last three years, the Volunteer Athletic Department also wants those same fans to subsidize their athlete payment costs. How far can Volunteer administration expect fans to stretch their wallets?
Power 5 colleges have gotten away with not paying their on-field talent while often raking in over nine figures annually from media rights partnerships, donations, ticket sales, and licensing fees. In the 2022-23 academic year, the Volunteers athletic department generated $202,097,305 in revenue –– this was before the 2024 SEC media deal that now entitles Tennessee and every other SEC program to an extra $15,000,000 in media rights payments every year. You can see the full financial breakdown of every public university here.
The NCAA system that restricts direct athlete payment has allowed schools in big-time conferences to rake in money without ever having to pay their talent –– in the professional sports landscape players and owners hover around a 50-50 split in revenue. The proposed NCAA direct NIL payout of $22,000,000 is closer to a 90-10 split in favor of ownership when looking at Tennessee’s 2022-23 revenues.
For so long, college athlete labor exploitation has allowed power conference athletic departments to have tremendous bloat — unnecessary expenditures in personnel, facilities, and inflated coaching and administrative salaries are pervasive around campuses. Most power conference schools are public, meaning they have a “use it or lose it” mentality. There are no shareholders at public institutions like Tennessee; if the Vols were to experience a year with an incredible profit margin, no institutional shareholder would be directly richer for it.
In practice, that means that every dollar the athletic department earns should be spent. In 2023, Tennessee spent over $191,000,000 in athletic expenditures. The restriction of athlete payment and lack of profit incentives have made college sports economics wonky. It is the reason why twelve offensive coordinators in the college ranks are making over $1,000,000 in 2024. It is also why so many power conference football locker rooms have price tags above $100,000,000 – below is a rendering of the recent $30,000,000 upgrade to Tennessee’s locker room.
Prioritizing the student-athlete experience.
Unveiling the approved plans for a $30 million upgrade and expansion of the current 145,000-square-foot Anderson Training Center — the home of Tennessee Football.
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) November 11, 2021
Yes, non-revenue athletic programs hemorrhage money. The rational reader would point out that if you want to fix the budget, the best move is to cut these programs, which have become increasingly costly in an era of non-geographical conference realignment. That would be a fair argument, but in a purely revenue-driven collegiate sports landscape, why have such a large revenue split discrepancy from the industry standard?
The 90-10 revenue split in favor of ownership accounts for the subsidies necessary for non-revenue and Olympic sports programs to be supported through football and basketball. In a system that is truly profit motivated a 50-50 revenue split seen from every large American sporting league would be expected. A school like Tennessee would be on the hook for $100,000,000 and not $22,000,000 annually for athlete payment — meaning a lot more belt-tightening and a lot more loss of opportunity.
Danny White made $2,310,000 in 2023, and the entire athletic administration, excluding coaches, made a total of $36,040,365. Tennessee coaching salaries in 2023 totaled $34,916,833: Josh Heupel made $9,000,000; Rick Barnes made $5,700,000; Women’s basketball coach Kellie Harper made $1,100,000; and Defensive Coordinator Tim Banks made $1,500,000. White is asking hard-working Tennessee fans to pay 14.5% more in ticket prices so his salary can continue to climb and he can maintain a bloated athletic department.
The $15,000,000 increase in media rights payment is shockingly left out of SEC stakeholders’ messaging when discussing the “rapidly evolving landscape of college sports.” Schools in the Big Ten earn roughly $40,000,000 more annually from their new giant media rights contract, yet continue to message that they NEED more money to survive in the new landscape –– where did those dollars go?
The NCAA has opened opportunities for schools to generate new revenue streams to prepare for the additional costs of athlete payment. Many schools have quickly cashed in on the NCAA’s removal of prior restrictions against on-field sponsorships. Tennessee has inked a new multi-year deal with Pilot, including on-field sponsorship, which is expected to bring substantial funding.
There are plenty of ways athletic departments can cut costs and generate revenue to offset potential athlete NIL revenue share payments. Passing the buck to those wanting to attend games is a selfish and tone-deaf move to preserve the opulent spending within Tennessee’s athletic department.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Nashville Soccer Club has been named Tennessee’s 2026 “Professional Team of the Year” for its historic 2025 season. Nashville SC and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (TSHOF) made the announcement Wednesday.
In 2025, Nashville SC became the first professional sports team in Tennessee to win a championship with its Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title. The team also qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.
“This year’s Achievement Award honorees reflect the very best of Tennessee’s rich sports tradition — from legends who’ve inspired generations to rising stars making their mark on the national stage,“ said Harold Graeter, chairman of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors. ”We are proud to honor these individuals and teams whose dedications, excellence, and impact represent what the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Stands for.”
In addition to their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title and qualification to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, Nashville SC said it set multiple club records in 2025, including:
- The most single season wins in Nashville SC history (22)
- The most single season MLS wins in Nashville SC history (17)
- The longest unbeaten streaks in Nashville SC history (15 all competitions, 12 MLS)
- The most single season home wins in Nashville SC history (15)
- The most single season goals in Nashville SC history (75)
- The most MLS All-Stars in Nashville SC history with three (Hany Mukhtar, Andy Najar, Sam Surridge)
The TSHOF will formally present Nashville SC with its award at its 2026 Banquet at the Omni Nashville Downtown on July 11.
Nashville SC said this honor is the third TSHOF Achievement Award in the club’s history, with the others including principal owner John Ingram’s 2022 ‘Tennessean of the Year’ recognition and Hany Mukhtar’s 2023 ‘Professional Player of the Year’ honors.
Copyright 2026 WSMV. All rights reserved.
Tennessee
A Tennessee congressman introduced a federal bill to crack down on fake emergency calls. Here’s what to know about swatting.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A U.S. congressman from Tennessee has introduced a bill to crack down on swatting.
Rep. David Kustoff (R, TN-8) introduced the “Preserving Safe Communities by Ending Swatting Act,” which would strengthen federal penalties for swatting.
The measure says, “This bill makes it a crime to intentionally convey false or misleading information in circumstances where the information may reasonably be expected to cause an emergency response and the information indicates the occurrence of criminal conduct or a threat to health or safety (commonly referred to as swatting).”
This comes after more than half a dozen schools in Tennessee were all placed on lockdown this week after hoax school threats.
Here’s which TN schools were impacted by ‘hoax’ threats, and what to know about the swatting investigations
What is swatting?
According to the FBI, swatting is when a person calls 911 and fakes an emergency that draws a response from law enforcement — usually a SWAT team.
The calls can put first responders and victims in dangerous situations, the FBI said, as the callers often report tales of hostages about to be executed or bombs about to go off.
“The community is placed in danger as responders rush to the scene, taking them away from real emergencies,” the FBI said. “And the officers are placed in danger as unsuspecting residents may try to defend themselves.”
While the FBI does not have a publicly recorded number of swatting calls that have been made year over year in the U.S., the National Association of Attorneys General says swatting threats have escalated across the U.S. Because of this, several states have taken targeted action to criminalize these calls, including Kentucky, which in 2022 approved a bill that would increase penalties for falsely reporting emergencies and allow courts to order restitution to affected agencies or individuals.
According to the FBI’s 2023 Year in Review report, it launched the National Common Operating Picture database to track swatting events. The agency reported more than 300 incidents between May and September of 2023.
The K-12 School Shooting Database recorded swatting incidents at U.S. schools from 2023 to 2024. The highest number of reported incidents occurred in March 2023, with 210. The second-most was 148 in February 2023.
Recent swatting incidents in Tennessee
On Tuesday, a flurry of swatting incidents caused several schools in Middle Tennessee to be put on lockdown and lockout, drawing responses from several law enforcement agencies and disrupting students’ education.
In April, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a threat made against a student at Independence High School.
The school was placed on a brief lockdown as the sheriff’s office investigated the threat.
The sheriff’s office later determined that the call was actually a swatting incident and was likely made from out-of-state.
A spokesperson for Williamson County Schools said some similar false threat calls were made to other schools in the area as well.
The investigation into that incident is ongoing.
Earlier this year, an East Tennessee teen was arrested for allegedly making four swatting calls to the McMinnville Police Department. The caller reported that a person had been shot and another was being held hostage.
The 17-year-old Maryville boy admitted to being angry at another teen staying at a McMinnville home and paying someone to call false emergencies and being present when the calls were made.
The Associated Press reported in 2025 about a wave of swatting calls at multiple college campuses in August.
One of the first incidents in this wave occurred in Tennessee at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga when authorities received false calls reporting an active shooter with an AR-15-style rifle and four people shot.
The AP reported that dispatchers reported hearing multiple gunshots on the calls.
Ways to protect yourself from swatters
The FBI shared measures you can take to protect yourself from swatters, including:
- Review your online presence for sensitive personal information that could enable malicious actors to conduct a swatting attack.
- Exercise care when posting content (including photos and videos) or sharing it with individuals online. Although seemingly innocuous, images and videos can be exploited or manipulated by malicious actors for criminal activity.
- Consider online resources and services that may aid in reducing or removing sensitive publicly available information.
- Use strong, unique passwords and multi-factor authentication on all devices and accounts, including smart home devices.
- Discuss swatting with your family members or colleagues and have a plan in place in the event of law enforcement contact at your residence, business, or other location.
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