Graham Neff: Letter to Clemson Fans
Dear IPTAY Members,
Thank you for supporting IPTAY and Clemson Athletics. You continue to be the foundation of our department, and we are incredibly grateful for your passion and steadfast encouragement for all 600 student-athletes.
The landscape of college athletics is undergoing a significant transformation, and I want to share with all of you how Clemson Athletics is navigating these changes while upholding our unwavering commitment to competitive excellence and our core mission of providing a world-class student-athlete experience. We recognize the role that we play on our campus and in our community and with integrity we are taking decisive action to best position ourselves for long-term success.
Let me be clear: there is no one “solve” for the transition to the future structure of college athletics. It will take multiple approaches and continued alignment throughout our University, and we believe Clemson is well-positioned to excel in this new paradigm.
You may have heard the term “House case” thrown around in recent months. While the FAQs provide additional detail, in short, the House vs. NCAA proposed settlement opens the door for change by:
Removing scholarship limits in favor of roster limits
Allowing institutions to provide a national-standard revenue share to student-athletes
Requiring third-party NIL deals to be legitimate and for fair market value
Eliminating the cap on scholarships within the new roster limit model will enable us to invest further in our student-athletes across all of our programs. We plan to add 150 new full scholarships across all sports, reinforcing our commitment to providing educational opportunities for our talented student-athletes. These additional scholarships come with a cost and will require increased fundraising efforts, and your continued support is crucial.
Revenue sharing is a monumental shift, and Clemson is All In. We intend to share the maximum allowable amount of revenue with our student-athletes, up to approximately $20.5 million in 2025-26. This cap is outlined in the House settlement and is the same for all schools nationally. These payments will supplement student-athlete scholarships. In order to effectively manage this process, we are establishing a centralized “Front Office” to oversee contract details, compliance, and allocation strategy. As we build out our staff for this new unit, we have retained expertise with professional sports backgrounds and negotiation skillsets.
We are excited about the potential of regulated commercial name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities for our student-athletes. We have created an in-house agency by partnering with Everett Sports Marketing (ESM) to provide expert guidance to our staff and student-athletes, and to connect our students with businesses seeking brand ambassadors. This partnership, along with the previously announced Clemson Ventures, will empower our student-athletes to maximize their NIL potential. The settlement’s call for new oversight of legitimate “fair market value” deals is a necessary piece of the future state.
As a leadership group, we are looking at every possible opportunity to generate revenue while we evaluate expenses to be good stewards of the support we receive. We are pursuing new revenue streams via Clemson Ventures, including hosting special events, unlocking new partnership categories, and further developing original content, while seeking to better capture our media value in the marketplace. In addition, the recently implemented student fee reflects the institution’s commitment to a healthy and vibrant varsity athletic program and an investment in the student experience.
IPTAY’s support has long been central to the Athletic Department’s success and role in creating the number-one student experience. It is important for us to recognize needs where and when they arise, as we’ve done for the past 90 years. The proposed settlement has provided guidance and interpretation, while also helping us lay out a roadmap until it goes into effect, once approved.
There are, however, two distinct phases of the transformation – the phase where we are currently, and the post-House implementation (July 1, 2025). We are currently in a transitional state, which falls at a critical time from a roster management perspective for our programs.
About two years ago, NCAA rules and State legislation paved the way for “collectives” to exist and thrive, and connecting interested donors has been a critical part of our strategy for the past two years. These collectives – at Clemson, the 110 Society – provide meaningful NIL opportunities to student-athletes. Healthy collectives have been an important piece of the college sports landscape in recent years, and will continue to play a role, particularly until June 30, 2025.
With this in mind, all contributions to the 110 Society made between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025 will be eligible to earn IPTAY Priority Points. More information on how this will work will be communicated in the near future, and this is a significant step.
Additionally, an anonymous donor has pledged an initial $3 million contribution to emphasize the IPTAY and 110 Society points program. This incredible generosity is emblematic of the way so many of you have stepped up.
Over the next seven months, before revenue sharing and NIL rules are implemented to stabilize the landscape, it is critical we fully support the efforts of the 110 Society. Your engagement with this organization continues to resonate as our programs look to strive for competitive excellence, and do so in a compliant manner.
Make no mistake – we’re approaching this new landscape competitively – but we’re doing it in a way that holds true to our core principles. Clemson Athletics remains steadfast in its mission to provide a world-class education and a first-class student-athlete experience. We are confident that, with your support, we will continue to thrive and compete at the highest level.
Thank you for your unwavering dedication to Clemson Athletics. Your partnership is invaluable as we shape the future of our programs.
Go Tigers!
Sincerely,
Graham Neff
Director of Athletics