Tony Catalina, Austin American-Statesman
| Hearst – Austin Transition
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M athletics plans to trim its department budget by almost $10 million as a result of the recent House v. NCAA settlement, which requires universities to pay their student-athletes.
Trev Alberts, A&M’s athletic director, told reporters Monday about the department’s plan to increase scholarships, reduce spending and staff, and create a new position to deal with the ramifications of the settlement, which calls for student-athletes to be paid by their schools.
Student-athletes were previously able to sign endorsement deals or make salary demands from third parties under loosened name, image and likeness rules. Alberts said he was “really excited about having a hard cap” and excited about work on NIL Go, a clearinghouse that will review NIL deals.
“This (settlement and resulting committee) has to work for the future of college athletics,” Alberts said. “It’s worth saying, you know, an unregulated market that we’ve lived in the last three to four years is not in the best interest of anybody, including the student-athletes.”
A&M’s plan is not finalized, with some savings and cut estimates still being calculated, according to a fact sheet provided by Alberts. The settlement — a result of a 2020 class-action lawsuit against the NCAA — approved by a federal judge earlier this month says that each university must pay athletes $20.5 million out of their revenue-sharing agreements. The decision took over a year to be finalized after the NCAA agreed last May to settle the suit. Texas A&M trimmed several athletics positions in April 2024, just before the NCAA bowed out of its legal fight against revenue sharing.
“I knew that this (settlement) was coming,” he said, “but, you know, I think any time you have a transition, (staff changes are) kind of normal in a sense.”
How Texas A&M is finding the money to pay its players
Alberts, 54, said he felt the department was “a little heavy” in its executive staffing. Hecame to A&M in March 2024 after serving two-plus years as the AD at Nebraska, where he was an All-American linebacker in the 1990s.
The total of the cuts, along with projected revenue increases, will provide an additional $26.5 million in “financial resources,” the fact sheet states. Texas A&M athletics in fiscal year 2024 made $266.4 million in operating revenues and spent a total of $243.7 million, according to public records obtained by kbtx.com in College Station. Most of that $22.7 million in profit was due to football, which raked in more than $118 million compared to $90 million in expenses. That includes over $27 million being paid to former coach Jimbo Fisher, per KBTX.
Football is A&M’s only revenue-creating sport, Alberts said, but revenue-sharing will be spread among six Aggies programs: football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, softball and volleyball.
“We’re going to have (a) best-in-class, fair-market value, NIL strategy,” Alberts said. “It’s where I think Texas A&M has a great strategic advantage… bringing all of our combined assets together to create the best fair-market value NIL strategy for all of our student athletes, (that) should be a separator for us.
“How do we leverage the largest living alumni in the SEC?…”
The changes following the settlement are already being felt, said Alberts, who spent over an hour Monday on campus, discussing the future of the school and college athletics as a whole with local media members.
The university’s cuts will come from about $1 million in decreased expenses tied to the number of student-athletes; more than $2 million in cuts for sports teams (roughly 2-8% budget reduction); nearly $4 million, or more, in cuts to department administrative staff, department support and team support staff; and moving away from the $1.8 million provided in Alston Awards, which are four-figure annual funds student-athletes can use for academic-related expenses.
The fact sheet shows a yet-to-be-determined “line-item reduction” in disbursements to the 12th Man Foundation, which funds “scholarships, programs and facilities” in support of A&M athletics. Analysis is also pending on “admin operational savings,” which are budget cuts for support staff.
The department is planning on revenue from $5 million in additional disbursements by the 12th Man Foundation; a new multimedia rights agreement that is expected to bring in $12.5 million; and a potential ninth football conference game. A yet-to-be-determined amount is expected from SEC and College Football Playoff revenue distribution, too.
“… You first put as the North Star: ‘What is in the best long-term interest of Texas A&M and Texas A&M athletics?’ Period,” Alberts said. “This is not ‘What’s in the best interest of Trev Alberts or any other individual or organization.’ It has to be, ‘This is about Texas A&M.’”
The sheet also says the moves will provide sports programs with more autonomy, among other things, and the staffing cuts will make the department more sustainable.
Alberts was on the job for a little over a month when Texas A&M cut 18 student and professional positions last year.
More scholarships for several sports
SEC schools elected to increase scholarships at each school and decrease the money pooled for players, Alberts said Monday. He said because of the vote, the SEC is the only Power Four conference to reduce the $20.5 million cap to $18 million for its member schools.
Texas A&M entered the 2024 athletic calendar with 255 scholarships, and after the court’s ruling, the Aggies will go forward in the 2025-26 school year with 410, an increase of 155 from the previous season.
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Football’s roster sizes will jump to 105 from the original 85 limit, while baseball’s scholarship allocation will more than double to 34 from its previous 11.7 model. Softball, ranked the No. 1 team in the country at time this season, will increase from 12 to 25, and volleyball, which just reeled in one of the top recruits in the nation, from 12 to 18.
Part of that plan is adding a staff member to help coordinate and facilitate expansion into the new NIL space.
“We’re not ready to announce a name, but we are hiring a new position. That’ll be an associate athletic director reporting directly to me that is an attorney, and it’s basically, ‘What is our strategy on how do we leverage every one of our assets?’” Alberts said.
Although men’s outdoor track and field shared a national championship, the Aggies largely struggled as a department in 2024. Football finished the year 8-5 following a 7-1 start; baseball missed the playoffs as a consensus preseason No. 1 and softball and basketball had early exits in their respective postseasons.
Despite a rough first year, results-wise, at the helm, Alberts said all the change favors A&M. The school has one of the largest alumni bases in the country and has thrown millions behind NIL and recruiting efforts the past several years. It’s paid off with top 10 football recruiting classes, including the No. 2 class in the country for 2026.
“I believe this is Texas A&M’s time. This whole situation in college athletics, this is our time to separate and go, and I know I’ve had people say, ‘We’ve heard that a lot,’ but I believe that,” Alberts said. “I believe that, because this is one of the few places in the country that can actually adjust and adapt to this reality in a way that’s better than most. And that’s why I’m here, to be honest with you.”
