CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — Student-athletes at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will begin to receive their share of $20.5 million from a federal settlement in July, officials said Monday.
The $20.5 million was made available through the House v. NCAA settlement, which was approved on June 6. Through the settlement, schools are permitted to share revenue with student-athletes, among other benefits.
In a letter, UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham said the university would begin providing student-athletes with their share of the $20.5 million on July 1. Most of the funds will be given to football and men’s basketball players, with some funding provided to women’s basketball and baseball players.
According to Cunningham, the revenue share will increase by 4% annually. The athletics department will evaluate how to divide the funds each year.
Since the settlement also eliminated scholarship limits, UNC will increase the amount of scholarships among its 28 sports programs from 338 to 532, according to Cunningham.
“The ability to have more Tar Heels on full scholarship will greatly strengthen our athletics program and the student-athlete experience at Carolina,” Cunningham said in a statement. “This is a great opportunity to support additional student-athletes financially, outside of revenue share, and we want to keep building our Rams Club Scholarship Endowment in the hope of increasing scholarships even more in the future.”
Outside of the revenue share, according to Cunningham, student-athletes will remain permitted to receive NIL opportunities from third parties. A national clearinghouse must review and approve deals of more than $600.
Cunningham said the newly-formed College Sports Commission will oversee the enforcement of revenue share and third-party deals.
According to Cunningham, UNC will receive about $2 million each year from a $2.7 billion payout funded by the NCAA to student-athletes who were not allowed to participate in NIL activities from 2016 to 2024.
Cunningham said he expects the $150 million budget from the 2024-25 school year to increase by about $30 million the following school year. In preparation, the athletic department has hired a chief revenue officer to investigate and initiate opportunities for revenue. Additional funding may be provided by ACC Success initiatives and gambling revenue allocated by the state.
“We appreciate the university’s support as we navigate these financial changes,” Cunningham said in a statement. “We are also thankful to Rams Club donors, who have contributed more than $25 million to the Excellence Fund and Excellence Endowment—two initiatives launched in November 2024 to provide unrestricted dollars—as well as through generous gifts through annual memberships and critical special projects.”