Kentucky’s New Model: A Wake-Up Call for the Future of NCAA Athletics

Image Credit: Tommy Quarles | Courtesy of University of Kentucky Athletics, via UKNow

For years, I’ve said that at the Division I level, if a collegiate sport doesn’t generate revenue, it must adapt—or risk being left behind.

This week, the University of Kentucky made headlines by doing exactly what many insiders have quietly predicted: they reorganized their entire athletics department under a new, independent corporate structure—Champions Blue LLC—a first-of-its-kind holding company designed to operate their athletics program as a standalone business.

In a statement released by UK Athletics, the university described the move as “an innovative approach to the future of college athletics,” aligning its structure with the realities of the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) era and the looming shift toward employment rights for student-athletes.

Here’s what this new model allows Kentucky to do:

• Accept private capital and investment

• Operate outside public university red tape

• Directly employ athletes, if needed

• Join new leagues (think: future Super League for college football if it breaks away from NCAA)

• Remain agile in an increasingly professionalized sports ecosystem

Sports attorney Mit Winter, who’s been at the forefront of NIL and employment law issues, commented on LinkedIn that this model “shows us how high-level college athletics programs will be legally structured and operated in the new world of college athletics.” He’s right. It’s a seismic shift—and not just for Power 5 football.

Programs that generate revenue will now have a blueprint to scale like businesses. The ones that don’t? They’re on the clock.

As a coach working with collegiate-bound triathletes, and as someone who used to cover NCAA triathlon in depth, and also as former collegiate swimmer and track runner, I know how fragile the ecosystem is for non-revenue sports. Court cases are ongoing. Change is coming. But make no mistake: this kind of structural realignment is a signal.

In a decade, my prediction is the NCAA as we know it will be unrecognizable. Sports that fail to evolve their operational models—or to demonstrate tangible ROI—may not survive in the new landscape.

And it won’t be enough to just perform well on the field (or in the water, or on the course). Programs will need to justify their existence through new revenue strategies, alignment with university branding, or direct contributions to institutional goals.

For Olympic sports, that might mean:

• Many get left behind, but a select few Olympic Development teams stay (e.g. Texas Swimming, University of Virginia Swimming)

• Adapting the format to one that can generate revenue (if that is even possible)

• Seeking strategic partnerships with sponsors

None of this is simple. But it is necessary.

Whether you're an athlete, coach, administrator, or parent, the takeaway is the same: we all need to start thinking like this is a business—because it is. An emotional argument or saying 'this isn't fair' will not cut it.

Kentucky isn’t just making a move for itself. It’s setting the stage for the future of NCAA athletics that all programs, not just revenue sports, must pay attention to. The question is: who’s ready to follow, and what dominoes will fall in the process?

By JT Rodgers

Head Coach, Wave1 Performance