On Friday, the settlement in the House v. NCAA case received final approval from the United States District Court.
This moment marks a historic turning point in college athletics and the beginning of a new era for student-athletes, universities, fans and communities alike.
Virginia Tech Athletic Director Whit Babcock says this new framework introduces student-athlete revenue sharing, removes scholarship limits in favor of roster limits and brings long-overdue structure and transparency to a system that desperately needed both.
“It will redefine how we operate, how we compete and how we support our student-athletes moving forward,” Babcock said.
“The settlement also presents major financial challenges for all of us, with an expected increase in annual costs in the tens of millions of dollars. Like many in the Power Four, we will continue to identify new revenue streams and evaluate how we support our enterprise moving forward. With challenge comes opportunity — and Virginia Tech is ready.”
He said there will be renewed emphasis on the Hokie Club and its critical role in the future. “Hokie Club membership remains the most direct and impactful way our fans, donors and alumni can help us meet this moment and continue building a model that supports our student-athletes at the highest level.”
To oversee this process, the College Sports Commission was established and will be led by former MLB executive Bryan Seeley. The commission will play a central role in ensuring accountability, enforcement and fairness in revenue sharing and NIL.
“We are in the final stages of implementation, with details still emerging between now and the official start of this framework on July 1,” said Babcock.
There is no one-size-fits-all formula for distribution. The specifics will be determined by each school. At Virginia Tech, they are actively evaluating models to ensure equitable, thoughtful implementation that reflects the values of its athletic department, supports programs and aligns with its competitive goals.
Beginning in the 2025–26 academic year, schools like Virginia Tech will have the opportunity to directly share a portion of athletics revenue with student-athletes, while also navigating new scholarship and roster structures across all sports.
“As this model takes effect, we are committed to staying competitive, responsibly managing our resources, and continuing to offer an elite student-athlete experience. We will rely on creativity, collaboration, and the unwavering support of Hokie Nation to help ensure our programs not only adjust — but excel,” Babcock said.
The House settlement refers to the resolution of three major antitrust lawsuits filed against the NCAA and the power conferences, including the ACC. These cases challenged the NCAA’s previous limits on how student-athletes could earn compensation — particularly from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The plaintiffs claimed that these restrictions prevented athletes from accessing the full economic value of their participation, including missed earnings from things like NIL, broadcast appearances, and video games.
After years of legal proceedings, a settlement was reached and received final court approval on June 6, 2025. Implementation is set to begin on July 1, 2025, marking one of the most significant turning points in the history of college athletics.
The settlement has three major components:
For the first time, schools like Virginia Tech will be permitted to share a portion of athletics revenue directly with student-athletes — beyond the current benefits already included in their scholarship (tuition, housing, meals, academic awards, medical care, etc.).
Each institution will have the option to distribute up to 22% of its defined athletics revenue (media rights, ticket sales, sponsorships, etc.), which is currently estimated to be about $20.5 million per year. How that money is allocated across teams and student-athletes will be left to each school to decide. There is no required minimum payout, and this does not establish an employment relationship between schools and student-athletes.
In addition, third-party NIL agreements — those made between student-athletes and businesses or collectives — will continue under stricter oversight. Deals above $600 will be reviewed by a national clearinghouse, operated by Deloitte, to ensure they meet fair market value standards and are tied to legitimate commercial activity, not simply recruiting incentives.
Babcock said there is no new pool of NCAA money to fund this model. “Revenue sharing and expanded scholarship costs will be absorbed through a combination of existing revenues, new fundraising efforts, operational efficiencies, campus support/subsidies and other creative solutions. We are committed to approaching this with transparency and long-term financial responsibility.”
The changes include “back pay” for former athletes.
As part of the settlement, the NCAA and conferences will pay approximately $2.8 billion over the next decade to former student-athletes who competed between 2016 and 2021, before NIL compensation was allowed.
Each ACC member institution, including Virginia Tech, will contribute to this settlement through a reduction in conference revenue distributions — estimated at around $1.5 million annually for 10 years.
The settlement also introduces new, sport-specific roster limits for all NCAA teams — expanding what was previously only applied to certain sports. At the same time, it removes previous scholarship caps, allowing schools to offer scholarships for every spot on a team’s official roster.
This change will increase the number of scholarships across many sports, offering more opportunities to student-athletes, while also adding new financial and operational considerations for athletics departments.
Tech anticipates increasing the number of scholarships its offer by 45 in order to remain competitive across the board.
