ORLANDO, Fla. – Being competitive in this new age of college sports comes at a price, and it seems UCF is willing to foot the bill.
UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir announced on Tuesday that the school will fully participate in a new revenue-sharing model on July 1 that can commit up to $20.5 million annually to support student-athletes.
Recommended Videos
“At UCF, our priority has always been the academic and competitive success of our student-athletes,” Mohajir said in a statement. “And we continue to remain committed to adapting to the new structures that have emerged.”
The move comes after a federal judge, Claudia Wilken, approved a $2.8 billion settlement in an NCAA lawsuit on Friday. The case began five years ago when Arizona State swimmer Grant House sued the NCAA and its five biggest conferences — including the Big 12, which UCF joined on July 1, 2023 — to lift restrictions on revenue sharing.
Wilken’s decision has cleared the way for schools to begin paying their athletes millions, with terms allowing each school in the country to share up to $20.5 million with athletes over the next year.
In the new model, UCF is investing $3 million to add 74 new scholarships, 60% of which the school will direct toward women’s sports programs, according to the release.
The NCAA is set to pay $2.8 billion in back damages to compensate current and former student-athletes who were unable to profit from Name, Image and Likeness activities between 2016 to 2025. This payout will be funded by reduced revenue distributions to schools like UCF over the next decade.
“Our entrance as a full-share Big 12 member in 2025–26 will unlock new resources to help offset settlement impacts and maintain our upward trajectory,” the statement read. “UCF anticipates an annual financial impact and is proactively developing strategies to offset this reduction through enhanced revenue generation.”