NILnomics Data Series
Original research and data-driven analysis from Greg Chick of NILnomics, examining the economics, infrastructure, leadership, commercial operations, and financial systems reshaping college athletics.
Explore the Research
Go beyond the headlines with original analysis of the business of college athletics. Most research is exclusive to NILNewsstand Pro members, with select articles available free. Explore the full collection below.
The Stadium Dividend: Do Big Football Stadiums Pay for the Other Sports?
Do larger football stadiums help finance success across college athletics? Using financial data from 109 public FBS schools and nine seasons of NCAA championships, Greg Chick examines how stadium capacity relates to ticket revenue, spending on non-football sports, and national titles. The findings reveal that only a modest share of additional revenue reaches other sports, raising important questions as athlete revenue sharing begins.
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The Broker's Scorecard: Four Years of Learfield NIL Reporting
Greg Chick examines four years of Learfield's NIL reporting, revealing how its metrics shifted from athlete earnings toward brand activity, where reported figures do not reconcile, and what the latest report no longer discloses.
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Two Front Doors
Every Power 4 athletic department operates two major social media brands. Using data from Student Athlete Score, Greg examines why football dominates audience reach, how department accounts outperform on engagement, and what the gap reveals about resource allocation.
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The Student Subsidy: Who Pays for Public College Athletics
Using nine years of NCAA financial reports from 228 public Division I schools, Greg investigates student-fee reliance, institutional subsidies, and how the financial burden differs dramatically between Power Four schools and the rest of Division I.
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Spending What They Raise
Does college athletics spending increase because costs are rising, or because departments spend the revenue available to them? Greg examines two decades of school-level financial data and major media-rights windfalls.
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The Seventeen
Only 17 of the 68 Power Four programs still have the athletic director they employed at the start of 2020. Greg analyzes leadership turnover, hiring pipelines, internal promotions, and the changing profile of the modern athletic director.
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From Scholarship Cap to Roster Limit: The Hidden Economics Coming This Season
The transition from scholarship caps to roster limits creates a new economic framework for athletic departments. Greg examines the financial consequences for scholarships, roster construction, and resource allocation.
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The Cap Is $21.3 Million. The Bill Is $40 Million.
The revenue-sharing cap is only part of the financial commitment facing major athletic departments. Greg breaks down the additional costs of competing in the new era and explains why the true annual bill can be considerably higher.
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The Only Scoreboard in Town: Five Years of Opendorse Annual Reports, Audited
Greg reviews five years of Opendorse annual reports to examine how NIL market estimates became widely accepted, how reporting metrics changed, and what the numbers actually tell us about the industry.
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The Front Office Has Arrived on Campus
The General Manager role has emerged as a defining feature of modern college athletics. Greg examines the growth of the position, its connection to NIL and roster management, and the evolving organizational structure of athletic departments.
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Multimedia Rights, Explained
Multimedia rights companies are becoming essential commercial partners in college athletics. Greg explains how the business works, why companies like Learfield and Playfly matter, and how their role is expanding alongside NIL and revenue sharing.
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The CSC's Paper Trail
The College Sports Commission's NIL Deal Flow Reports offer a rare look into the emerging enforcement system. Greg examines the reported numbers, changing metrics, associated-entity oversight, and transparency questions.
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We Scraped Every Division I Staff Directory.
NILnomics analyzed more than 68,000 staff records from 368 Division I athletic departments, revealing differences in staffing models, administrative growth, and the organizational structures reshaping college athletics.
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