NILNewsstand and NILnomics Extend Data and Research Partnership Through August 2027
Expanded 12-month partnership will continue bringing original data, research and analysis on the evolving business of college athletics to NILNewsstand Pro.
September 2026 — NILNewsstand and NILnomics today announced a 12-month extension of their content and research partnership, continuing the NILNewsstand Data Series, Powered by NILnomics, through August 2027.
Led by NILnomics founder Greg Chick, the Data Series provides NILNewsstand Pro members with original research, data analysis and conversations examining the structural and economic changes reshaping college athletics.
The partnership originally launched in April 2026 with a focus on moving beyond headlines and providing college athletics professionals with data that helps explain how the industry is actually changing.
Over its first several months, Chick and NILnomics have examined topics ranging from multimedia rights and the growth of athletic department front offices to staffing levels, revenue sharing and the relationship between athletic department social media accounts.
Research and analysis produced through the partnership has included:
- “Multimedia Rights, Explained: The Most Important Business in College Sports” — An examination of the multimedia rights ecosystem and why MMR relationships have become increasingly important as athletic departments navigate the revenue-sharing era.
- “The Front Office Has Arrived on Campus” — An analysis of the growing influence of general managers and front-office structures across college athletics, including how NIL, revenue sharing and the transfer portal are accelerating the professionalization of roster management.
- “We Scraped Every Division I Staff Directory. Here’s What 68,000 Athletic Department Employees Tell Us About the Arms Race” — A large-scale analysis of more than 68,000 employees across 368 Division I athletic departments that revealed major differences in staffing, administration, fundraising and football infrastructure across conferences and institutions.
- “The Cap Is $21.3 Million. The Bill Is $40 Million.” — An examination of the broader financial reality facing athletic departments as the costs associated with operating in the new era extend well beyond the formal revenue-sharing cap.
- “Two Front Doors” — Research examining the two major social media brands operated by Power 4 athletic departments — institutional athletic accounts and football accounts — and what their audience growth reveals about winning, investment, cross-sport promotion and the way departments build their digital audiences.
The partnership has also included live NILNewsstand Data Series discussions, giving NILNewsstand Pro members an opportunity to hear Chick explain the research, methodology and implications behind the findings and ask questions about what the data means for college athletics operators.
Under the new 12-month agreement, NILnomics will continue producing original written research and participating in Data Series discussions for NILNewsstand, supported by custom data visualizations and analysis.
“Greg has brought exactly what I hoped this partnership would bring to NILNewsstand — original research that helps our members better understand where college athletics is going,” said Kyle Ems, Founder of NILNewsstand. “There is no shortage of news about the changes happening across the industry. What Greg does exceptionally well is step back, find the data and show us what those changes actually look like at scale. Extending this partnership for another year was an easy decision, and I’m excited about how much further we can take the Data Series.”
For NILnomics, the continued partnership provides a platform to explore some of the biggest structural questions facing the industry and put original data directly in front of the professionals navigating those changes.
“College athletics is changing so quickly that conventional wisdom can become outdated almost overnight,” said Greg Chick, Founder of NILnomics. “The goal of NILnomics is to use data to test those assumptions and give people a clearer picture of what is actually happening. NILNewsstand has built a community of professionals who want to understand the business behind these changes, which makes it an ideal home for this work. I’m excited to continue the partnership with Kyle and dig into an even broader set of questions over the next year.”
The extended partnership comes as NILNewsstand continues expanding its coverage beyond traditional NIL into the broader transformation of college athletics, including revenue sharing, roster management, athletic department infrastructure, multimedia rights, commercial strategy and the emerging professionalization of the industry.
Together, NILNewsstand and NILnomics will continue using original research to help industry professionals understand not simply what is changing in college athletics, but why it is changing and what the data says may come next.
About NILNewsstand
Founded by Kyle Ems in 2021, NILNewsstand covers the business and infrastructure shaping the new era of college athletics. NILNewsstand provides industry news, original research, professional resources, data trackers, interviews and NILNewsstand Pro, a professional community connecting people working across college athletics, NIL and the broader athlete economy.
About NILnomics
Founded by Greg Chick, NILnomics uses data and original research to examine the economics, organizational structures and emerging business models shaping modern college athletics. Its work focuses on turning complex industry data into practical insights for the professionals operating within the changing college sports landscape.
Founder, NILNewsstand
NILNewsstand.com
Explore the Research
Original research and data analysis from Greg Chick of NILnomics examining the economics, infrastructure and structural changes reshaping college athletics.
The Seventeen: What Seven Years of Athletic Director Turnover Reveals
Greg built a census of every athletic director at all 68 Power Four programs dating back to January 2020. The research examines 62 hires and 63 departures to uncover how turnover, hiring pipelines, career backgrounds and the profile of the Power Four athletic director are changing.
Read in NILNewsstand Pro →From Scholarship Cap to Roster Limit — The Hidden Economics Coming This Season
The House settlement replaced scholarship limits with roster limits, creating very different financial consequences across sports and institutions. Greg uses EADA and IPEDS data to estimate what fully funding the newly available scholarships could actually cost FBS athletic departments — and why the burden varies dramatically by school.
Read in NILNewsstand Pro →Two Front Doors
Every Power 4 athletic department operates two major social media brands: its institutional athletics account and its football account. This research examines what the growth of those audiences reveals about winning, investment, cross-sport promotion and how departments are building their digital reach.
Read the Research →The Cap Is $21.3 Million. The Bill Is $40 Million.
Revenue sharing created a highly visible cap on direct athlete payments, but that figure represents only part of the financial impact facing athletic departments. Greg examines the additional costs surrounding the new model and what the full operating bill can look like beyond the formal revenue-sharing number.
Read in NILNewsstand Pro →The Only Scoreboard in Town: Five Years of Opendorse Annual Reports, Audited
NIL market-size estimates are cited throughout the industry, but how have those numbers changed over time? Greg puts five years of Opendorse annual reports side by side to examine how estimates, definitions, forecasts and reported metrics have evolved across the NIL era.
Read in NILNewsstand Pro →The CSC's Paper Trail
Greg examines the College Sports Commission's NIL Deal Flow Reports as a dataset — tracking which metrics have appeared, disappeared or changed as NIL Go has developed. The analysis looks beyond the headline totals to examine what the reports reveal about deal flow, associated-entity activity and the evolving NIL market.
Read in NILNewsstand Pro →We Scraped Every Division I Staff Directory. Here's What 68,000 Athletic Department Employees Tell Us About the Arms Race.
A large-scale analysis of more than 68,000 employees across 368 Division I athletic departments. The research compares how schools and conferences allocate people across administration, fundraising, football and other functions to show what the staffing arms race actually looks like at scale.
Read the Research →The Front Office Has Arrived on Campus
General managers and new front-office structures are becoming increasingly visible across college athletics. Greg examines how NIL, revenue sharing and the transfer portal are changing roster management — and why athletic departments are increasingly adopting organizational structures associated with professional sports.
Read in NILNewsstand Pro →Multimedia Rights, Explained: The Most Important Business in College Sports
Multimedia rights companies sit at the center of the commercial relationships connecting athletic departments, brands, media inventory and sponsorship revenue. This research breaks down the MMR ecosystem and examines why these partnerships are becoming even more important in the revenue-sharing era.
Read in NILNewsstand Pro →More Research Is Coming.
The NILNewsstand Data Series, Powered by NILnomics, will continue with new original research, data analysis and live discussions examining the changing business of college athletics.
Join NILNewsstand Pro to get access to Greg Chick's upcoming research and the complete library of Pro-exclusive Data Series analysis.
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