How Power 4 Universities' Investments in Athlete Recruitment and Engagement Can Be Turned Toward Fans: a Blueprint for Revenue Growth

In the revenue share era of college athletics—ushered in by the landmark House settlement, where Power 4 (P4) conferences the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, and ACC must now allocate a portion of their earnings directly to athletes—the financial landscape has shifted dramatically. Universities are grappling with mandates to initially distribute up to $20.5 million annually per school in athlete compensation, compounding existing pressures from NIL deals and the transfer portal.

Yet, amid the scramble for sustainable funding, a parallel opportunity emerges: repurposing the robust recruitment infrastructure and mindset built for athletes to "recruit" alumni and fans into loyalty-driven revenue generating offerings. By channeling these efforts into white-label travel experiences, for instance, schools can unlock crowd commerce—where fans access discounted bookings while generating shared revenue that directly supports athletic department budgets, athlete payouts, making passive fandom into active, revenue-generating participation.

Drawing from NCAA financial reports, athletic department disclosures, and industry analyses, let's examine P4 investments in recruitment, marketing, and donor cultivation. These figures underscore a powerful organizational DNA that, in this revenue share era, can pivot toward mobilizing fan bases for economic impact without relying solely on donations or ticket hikes. The following table illustrates average budget allocations across the P5, including the previous version of the Pac 12.

In the revenue share era, recruiting elite athletes isn't just about building winning teams—it's about securing talent that drives the media and sponsorship dollars now partially earmarked for player compensation. P4 universities invest heavily here, with average annual football recruiting budgets ranging from $2 million to $5 million per school, according to various reports. SEC frontrunners like Georgia spent $4.5 million in fiscal year 2022, funding coach travel, prospect evaluations, and digital scouting tools. Across all sports, total recruiting, department marketing, and NIL spends can be significantly larger, and now the $20.5 M spending on athlete revenue share is all part of ensuring rosters that maximize success and therefore department revenue generation.

This meticulous and increasingly complex ecosystem—scouting high schools, engaging with agents, watching hours of recruit video, connecting with coaches, conducting background checks, hosting immersive visits, and crafting personalized pitches—demonstrates acumen that could be channeled to help "recruit" fan personas into free white-label loyalty programs. In addition to the machinery used to market the program in pursuit of a five-star quarterback, imagine deploying athletic department social media and direct to fan networks and data analytics to invite alumni to a university-branded travel platform where they bring their "A" game of booking one or more trip a year. Fans join at no cost, stretch their budgets with members-only discounts on hotels and other experiences, and automatically contribute to athletic department revenue via commercial behavior. Athletic department leaderships can then allocate funds for athlete pay, fostering a sense of "team membership" among fans where everyday travel supports the roster. This leverages the university's proven recruitment muscle—relationship-building, passion-building and persuasion—to create recurring income, helping schools meet revenue share obligations without budget cuts.

Marketing in the revenue share era is a $5 million to $15 million annual commitment per P4 school, essential for boosting attendance and sponsorships that feed into athlete payouts. Big Ten leaders tend to invest over $10 million in digital campaigns, social media blitzes, and fan activations for experiences and ticket sales, while SEC programs average similar figures to capitalize on program success to drive viral content among fans. Big 12 and ACC schools reportedly hover around $6-8 million, emphasizing novel media creation and sharing as well as targeted ads to sustain engagement amid rising costs.

These investments cultivate unparalleled and unbreakable brand loyalty: massive followings (e.g., LSU's $ multi-million media value) and data-rich content that converts fan engagement into revenue generation. The revenue share era demands even more from this infrastructure—why not redirect it toward fan recruitment? Marketing teams could promote white-label platforms with the same fervor as game hype: "Book through [University] Travel, save big, and directly support our athletes." Social media cultivation and targeted emails, already honed for broad reach, drive sign-ups effortlessly. Fans benefit from perks like discounted anniversary trips, away-game deals, while bookings generate shared profits—directly fuel revenue share mandates and amplifying the unifying spirit that defines college sports.

P4 universities' recruitment playbook—scouting, marketing, and cultivation—represents a vibrant DNA primed for adaptation. In the revenue share era, this muscle isn't a sunk cost; it's a launchpad for innovation. By recruiting fans as "teammates" into white-label travel platforms, schools create self-funding loops: free membership, budget-stretching discounts, and automatic contributions to athlete shares. At modest adoption (e.g., 3% of alumni shifting $1,000 in travel), a single school could generate $2 M+ annually—scaling with better recruitment of fans!

Crowd commerce isn't just revenue; it's a movement aligning loyalty with financial reality. Universities lead by example, using proven strategies to build sustainable models while strengthening fan bonds. The groundwork is laid—now it's time to expand the team.