BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech Athletic Director Whit Babcock said in early December that the university wanted to not only survive but thrive in “this new paradigm” of college athletics with student-athletes set to receive a share of the university’s revenue on top of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.
Babcock said the challenge would be making it sustainable moving forward.
The university administration is now recommending an increase of $295 per student in intercollegiate athletic fees for the 2025-26 academic year to help with the rising costs of competing at the highest level of college athletics.
The fee increase is scheduled to be discussed during Tuesday’s board of visitors meeting.
Other student costs are expected to increase at Virginia Tech. The board will vote next week on a proposed 2.9% tuition increase.
Tuition this academic year was about $13,100 for an in-state freshman, according to an online cost calculator. That would be an approximately $381 tuition increase for the upcoming school year, before factoring in other proposed fee increases.
Also, the educational and general fee rate is proposed to increase by as much as 2.7%, according to university documents. For students living on campus, room and board is recommended for an average increase of 4.4%.
Tuition has increased — alongside various other fees — each year at Virginia Tech since 2021. In-state undergraduate tuition has increased 14% over the last five years, lower than a 23% national inflation rate, according to university documents.
Undergraduate students on the Blacksburg campus currently pay $437 in intercollegiate athletic fees. Virginia Tech is the only public college or university in Virginia with an intercollegiate athletic fee of less than $700 for the 2024-25 academic year, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s report on full-time undergraduate mandatory non-educational and general fees by auxiliary program.
Intercollegiate athletic fees bring in nearly $13.6 million to Virginia Tech, according to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database for the 2022-23 academic year.
The proposed increase to $732 for intercollegiate athletic fees is expected to bring in close to an additional $9 million.
Virginia Tech athletics reported $129.52 million in revenue, including a $12.57 million surplus, in fiscal year 2022-23, according to a 2024 report from the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database.
Intercollegiate athletic fees are one of five mandatory non-education and general fees at Virginia Tech. Those comprehensive fees include intercollegiate athletics, student activity, health service, recreational sports and student services.
The university administration is recommending “increases between $0 and $186 for mandatory non-E&G fees to support mandated cost increases, including employee compensation and benefits, support for intercollegiate athletics, and sustaining and enhancing student services including the transit system and student health and counseling services.”
The recommendation intends to lower the fees for student activities by $39 and student services by $107 to help offset the increase in intercollegiate athletic fees.
The proposed increase in intercollegiate athletic fees is expected to help fund revenue sharing, which will begin with the upcoming academic year.
Revenue sharing is part of a pending antitrust settlement in a court case called House v. NCAA, which is nearing a final approval deadline of April. The case lays the framework for college athletes to be paid directly by their schools. Those payments would be separate from NIL — name, image and likeness — deals.
Babcock said in early December that Tech “pieced together” the $20.5 million that will be shared with student-athletes beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2026. The revenue sharing amount is 22% of the average power conference school revenue from the previous year.
Babcock added Tech used “some one-time funds” and assistance from campus to come up with the $20.5 million that will go to revenue sharing, and he said at the time that the challenge will be making it sustainable.
Virginia Tech’s proposed increase to $732 for athletic fees would nearly match what University of Virginia students pay in athletic fees, and it would still be the lowest in the state according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s report.
UVa students are paying $763 in athletic fees for the 2024-25 academic year. The university is proposing to raise the athletic fees cost by $23 to $786 for the 2025-26 academic year, according to UVa’s components of mandatory fees.
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Virginia Tech student trainers jump to Virginia Tech’s “Enter Sandman” entrance prior to the start of a Miami at Virginia Tech football game.
The state’s two ACC programs have students pay far less for athletic fees than what the other two state public institutions that sponsor Football Bowl Subdivision programs have students pay.
James Madison’s comprehensive fee for the 2024-25 academic year is $5,816, according to the university’s tuition and comprehensive fee breakdown. More than 40% of the comprehensive fee — $2,388 — goes to an intercollegiate athletic fee.
Old Dominion’s comprehensive fee for the 2024-25 academic year is $4,914. The intercollegiate athletic fee makes up 43% of that total ($2,127).
JMU and Old Dominion have not had the revenue sources from which Virginia Tech and UVa can draw.
Virginia Tech isn’t the only school from a power conference (ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12) that is adjusting its business model to account for not only revenue sharing but pay in back damages to those who were denied previous money-making opportunities.
The House settlement also will call for the NCAA to pay $2.8 billion in back damages to those who were denied money-making opportunities dating back six years. Babcock said the back damages will be paid over the course of 10 years, and Virginia Tech’s impact will be $1 million annually over that span.
Babcock said the money for the back damages will “primarily be paid through March Madness.” Instead of teams being paid from the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, those payments will go toward the lawsuit.
Babcock said the back pay for former student-athletes who opt into the class action lawsuit will be distributed 75% to football players, 15% to men’s basketball players, 5% to women’s basketball players and 5% to Olympic sports athletes.
Clemson announced it will have students pay intercollegiate athletic fees for the first time during the 2025-26 academic year. Students will pay $150 per semester, and Clemson estimated it will raise between $7 million and $8 million.
Tennessee raised ticket prices 4.5% and then added a 10% “talent fee” for 2025 football ticket renewals.
Arkansas has added a 3% fee on concessions that Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek told fans will “maximize additional revenue opportunities.”
Luke Weir of The Roanoke Times and Associated Press contributed.