Dear A-State Nation:

What a great week for A-State Athletics! Volleyball has clinched a Sun Belt regular-season championship and is playing in the league tournament as the West Division's No. 1 seed, football recently won game number six to become bowl eligible for a second straight year, and both of our basketball teams have had some big wins early. Congratulations to our student-athletes and coaches on those outstanding accomplishments.

We aren't able to have that success without your support, which is more important now than it has ever been. Thanks to the incredible commitment by our fans, donors, alumni and corporate partners, we have been able to reinvest revenues into our athletics programs to help drive unprecedented achievement. That investment directly correlates to our athletics success as we had a school-record 10 teams earn postseason opportunities last year.

As many of you know, we are living through a period of rapid change across all of collegiate athletics. Arkansas State Athletics and the Sun Belt Conference are no exception. The inception of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), the transfer portal, conference realignment, and ongoing legal challenges are reshaping the landscape of intercollegiate sports in dramatic ways.

Our goal is to begin to explain how we move forward during such a critical time in college athletics. Ultimately, we want to continue to build on the history of A-State Athletics while adapting to the changing demands of college sports. At A-State, we are committed to figuring out the best path forward in order to thrive in this new environment.  One thing is for certain – we have no plans to reduce the number of sports we currently offer.  In fact, we want to be in a position to offer more.

The growth and enhancement of our Red Wolves Foundation remains a top priority, as well as philanthropic giving through various avenues such as our Scarlet Society.  If you're not already a Red Wolves Foundation member, you can join for as little as $100 annually to begin receiving associated benefits while helping support our sports programs and student-athletes through your membership.
Our Scarlet Society (minimum donation of $25,000 payable over five years) has increased to 34 members, with our goal to expand that total 50 percent by this time next year. Those dollars help fund our teams as well as ongoing facility enhancements and capital projects.  You can visit RedWolvesFoundation.com to obtain contact information for our development staff and learn more about our fundraising initiatives.

In terms of NIL, we appreciate the hard work and dedication of the Impackt Club to make sure we stay competitive with our peers while creating opportunities for our student-athletes. With some of the changes we will talk about below, there will still be an important need to have a presence in the NIL space through our collective. We are developing a plan to provide Red Wolves Foundation priority points based on Impackt Club gifts that we use to determine the order of assigning benefits such as postseason tickets and away games (e.g., football vs. Arkansas in 2025). We will communicate more details on that in the coming weeks.

A significant development in the ongoing evolution of intercollegiate athletics occurred with the preliminary approval by the U.S. District Court in Northern California of the House vs. NCAA class action lawsuit. This ruling could set the stage for a new framework for NCAA athletics, with the final approval hearing scheduled for spring 2025. If this settlement is approved, there are many changes that could influence programs across the country.

• Revenue-Sharing
  Schools will be allowed to compensate student-athletes for the use of their Name, Image and Likeness directly from Department of Athletics-generated revenues. Depending on how much support we receive from local industries and the community, this could result in substantial new streams of revenue that will allow A-State Athletics to remain competitive with other Sun Belt teams. We will be working with industry and community leaders to explore these possibilities in the coming months.
• Roster Caps and Scholarship Numbers
  Under the settlement, sport-by-sport scholarship limits will be eliminated and they will be replaced by new roster caps for each sport. We will actively fundraise to create new scholarships for student-athletes and hope to raise sufficient funding to support those new scholarships. 
• NIL Retroactive Compensation
  A major part of the settlement is the inclusion of back payments to student-athletes who participated in NCAA Division I sports from 2016-2024. The total costs will amount to nearly $2.8 billion, which will be spread over the next 10 years. To help cover our share of these expenses, Sun Belt schools will each need to identify approximately $350,000 in annual payments for the next decade. We are currently working with coaches, athletics staff and the A-State campus to identify additional revenue to cover these costs, as well as exploring potential cost-saving measures.

These changes present significant financial challenges to college sports and universities across the nation. Many universities in the country do not have budgets that will easily manage the anticipated increases in expenses.

We are preparing for these changes by considering new revenue opportunities, maximizing current revenue streams and identifying areas where operational costs must be cut. Some of these efforts are visible, while others are happening behind the scenes.

• Extensive Budget Evaluation
  Our department has initiated a thorough budget review to identify any new sources of revenue and opportunities to streamline operations. The goal of this review is to generate an increase in savings and identify potentially new revenue sources to help meet the financial demands of this new era in college athletics. We are applying similar strategies at the conference level.
• Corporate Branding and Naming Opportunities:
  With recent NCAA rule changes, we're now able to seek corporate branding opportunities on our playing surfaces. We are exploring additional possibilities to generate revenue through sponsorships, corporate partnerships, and family naming opportunities throughout our athletics facilities.
• "Round Up" purchase options applied to Student-Athlete Scholarships
  As you may have seen with other entities as you make purchases, there may be avenues to work with businesses in our community to partner and "round up" the sale.
• Corporate Partnership Services
  We are exploring the possibility of partnering with industries to use their services across campus and, in return, using some of the revenue to assist with costs associated with our new realities.
• Concerts and Additional Event Opportunities
  Following the success of concerts and events at our venues, we are exploring opportunities to bring high-profile entertainment to our campus, including at Centennial Bank Stadium and First National Bank Arena. These events not only bring excitement to our community but can also generate revenue for our programs. We will be strategic to ensure that these events complement our athletic calendar and are financially beneficial for A-State Athletics.

While these initiatives are steps in the right direction, they won't be enough. In addition to taking a proactive approach and implementing our own strategies, we will continue to monitor the national landscape to determine best practices and other potential options for the future.  The long-term success of A-State Athletics will require the continued backing of everyone who proudly supports our student-athletes.

It is because of you that our student-athletes have the resources and opportunities to compete at the highest levels of intercollegiate athletics. Together, we can meet the challenges ahead and continue to excel in the Sun Belt and on the national stage. We look forward to seeing everyone this weekend in Jonesboro for men's basketball Friday night and football Saturday afternoon.

Wolves Up!

Jeff Purinton
Vice Chancellor
Director of Athletics