Scoggins: Mark Coyle could frustrate some Gophers coaches with revenue-sharing plan

Mark Coyle appeared calm sitting at his office desk this week in anticipation of gale-force turbulence arriving July 1, otherwise known as Transformation Tuesday — the first official day when schools can distribute salary payments into the bank accounts of college athletes.

This new era of college athletics brings stress, the Gophers athletic director said, but not panic.

“Minnesota is positioned in this new world in a really, really good spot,” Coyle said.

That spot requires financial gymnastics and a willingness to prioritize — and likely anger some subordinates — in committing fully to the $20.5 million revenue-sharing system under the House v. NCAA settlement.

Coyle intends to spend to the cap and says he explained his strategy to head coaches of his 22 programs with honesty and transparency.

In an interview, Coyle confirmed publicly for the first time five teams that will receive revenue-sharing payments: football, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and men’s hockey.

Additionally, Coyle revealed he is adding 11 new scholarships — six for women’s programs and five for football. The costs of those scholarships will be deducted from the $20.5 million cap under House settlement rules.

P.J. Fleck’s football roster will grow to 90 scholarship players. The women’s programs that will receive at least one additional scholarship are volleyball (two), hockey (one), gymnastics (one), softball (one) and soccer (one).

Coyle declined to reveal what percentage of the $20.5 million each of the five designated sports will receive, citing competitive reasons. But he acknowledged that football, the two basketball teams and volleyball will get the “lion’s share” of the pie. A reasonable guess is that football will be allocated 75%.

Based on conversations with colleagues around the Big Ten, Coyle believes conference members will follow a similar plan and devote most of their revenue-share cap to those four sports. The Gophers men’s hockey team also will receive a percentage of the funds because that is a revenue-generating sport.

Make no mistake, this is now professional sports and must be treated as such. The university has an office that will manage the cap. Gophers athletes will get paid monthly, the highest earners well into six figures.

That $20.5 million cap increases annually, which puts a strain on athletic departments nationwide, even the richest ones.

The process of covering this new massive expense becomes easier when a school’s most high-profile teams flourish in competition. That’s why Coyle is adhering to the “spend money to make money” principle.

Attendance in men’s basketball has been lagging in recent years, which likely factored heavily in Coyle’s decision to make a coaching change after the season. The department desperately needs that program to generate more revenue. Selling more tickets is an obvious start.

“I have told [coaches] from Day 1, we feel like we have to be relevant in those five sports,” Coyle said. “Whatever this [revenue-sharing model] looks like, those sports, we’ve got to be relevant. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to be relevant in all our other sports.”

It’s absurd to think any Big Ten school will divide a piece of revenue sharing with every program in the department. Name, image and likeness (NIL) deals are still available to all athletes on campus.

Coyle said he told head coaches who aren’t receiving revenue share that if they find evidence they are an “outlier” within the Big Ten, he will react.

“If everybody is giving money to women’s soccer except Minnesota, then we’ll fix that,” he said.

Coyle said he understands some of his coaches might be frustrated by being left off the list but added, “They’ve been understanding, and I think that we have a good enough relationship where they trust me.”

In 2020, Coyle eliminated three sports — men’s gymnastics, men’s tennis and men’s indoor track and field. That decision came with much criticism, but Coyle said expenses saved since then are among different measures that have been necessary to address this new cost.

He said his revenue-sharing plan doesn’t include cutting additional sports.

“We’ve had zero conversations about that,” he said. “I don’t want to go through that again. I think we’re at the right sports offerings right now.”

The hope across the industry is that revenue sharing and new guardrails tied to NIL will create more parity and eliminate some of the shenanigans that have thrown college sports into chaos. Enforcement of rules will be critical, but at least there is some structure and order now.

Though NIL collectives vary in size and financial backing, schools that opt into revenue sharing are bound by a cap. The Gophers can spend as much of that $20.5 million on their football team as Alabama, Ohio State or Notre Dame. Or spend more. Totally their choice.

“I say it every day: Being in the Big Ten is a blessing, not a burden,” Coyle said. “We need to take advantage of that.”

The Gophers have long beamed with pride at the success of their Olympic sports and overall strength as a broad-based program. Coyle wants that to continue, but he also understands he’s stepping into professionalism next week. That requires him to make business priorities.