Katie Albertson

Q & A with Titan A.D., Jim Donovan – Subject: The House Settlement

7/8/2025 8:30:00 AM | By: Kirk San Roman

By Kirk San Roman

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Cal State Fullerton's Director of Athletics, Jim Donovan. The conversation centered on the recent far-reaching House Settlement and should be of interest to Titan fans, boosters, and student-athletes.

A little background: The lawsuit against the NCAA was brought about by former Arizona State swimmer Grant House and former TCU basketball player Sedona Prince, seeking name, image, and likeness (NIL) damages and an injunction to force the NCAA and affiliated athletic conferences to lift restrictions on revenue sharing.

The settlement, which includes the Big West Conference, was approved in June by a federal judge, took effect on July 1, 2025, and will change the way that college sports have operated for over a century. Some of the changes, culled from the internet, will include:

Scholarship limits have been eliminated, but roster sizes have been capped, allowing for the possibility of every student-athlete on a roster to receive all or some portion of a scholarship.

Back damages may be paid over the next 10 years to student-athletes who competed between 2016 to the present.

Revenue may now be shared with student-athletes through various approved avenues.

Alston awards are education-related benefits that universities can provide to student-athletes, distinct from NIL deals, and are meant to recognize academic achievement and cover educational expenses.

NIL programs may now be managed in-house rather than exclusively by outside entities.

A NIL oversight group, known as the College Sports Commission, will ensure that NIL deals with student-athletes are within the rules and are of fair market value.

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SAN ROMAN: Jim, going back to 2024, there have been many questions and concerns related to the House case. I appreciate you meeting with me to provide some clarity for the Titan family.

First of all, is there a sense of relief that the House settlement has finally been approved?

DONOVAN: I don't know if I would describe it as relief. More as informed. I wish I could say excited, but the truth of the matter is that I'm a bit concerned for the future of intercollegiate athletics as we've known it for decades.

The House settlement just seems to increase the cost of being a Division I athletics program, although I'm grateful that student-athletes can now receive NIL compensation directly from the institution.

SAN ROMAN: I'd love to get your thoughts on what this decision will mean for Titan Athletics?

DONOVAN: They say the only constant is change, and this will be a big change going forward. My draft plan is to approach the House case settlement as four pillars:

1. Roster Limits and Scholarships – Now, every student-athlete on a roster can receive what for years has been described as a full scholarship. Titan Athletics will not be able to get to full scholarships for all, quickly, because the total incremental cost would be more than $6 million annually. However, by targeting a handful of high-profile sports, that number could go down significantly.

We intend to come up with a plan to make progress in this area. Donors will also be asked to provide scholarship support to their favorite Titan program.

2. Distributed NIL – The intention is to take a percentage of our self-generated revenue and provide it to our student-athletes that sign a non-exclusive NIL waiver with CSUF. If we were to use the 22% amount cited in the House case settlement of our self-generated funds, we would have between $200k-$300k annually available to distribute equally to all student-athletes that sign the CSUF non-exclusive NIL agreement. As our self-generated revenue increases, the amount paid to student-athletes would also increase.

3. Directed NIL – Having donor funds directed to specific sports programs, head coaches could decide which student-athletes would receive additional NIL compensation in addition to the Distributed NIL.

4. Outside NIL Opportunities – Outside entities can still provide NIL compensation to our student-athletes, but agreements will have to be disclosed and reviewed for "fair market value."

SAN ROMAN: Is CSUF Athletics now obligated to fully fund scholarships for all programs at the new roster limits?

DONOVAN: It is not required to provide everyone on a roster with a full scholarship, but rather, it is now permissible. Titan Athletics will be working to increase the number of scholarships provided.

SAN ROMAN: The former NCAA rules had some odd scholarship limits, like 11.7 for baseball and 14 for women's soccer. Now, up to 34 baseball players and 28 women's soccer players could potentially receive full scholarships. With our obvious budget limitations, what does Athletics plan to do in the 2025-2026 school year?

DONOVAN: We plan to have at least last year's funding in place for scholarships being carried forward to this upcoming school year. In addition, if we create additional revenue and/or we receive donor support, these additional funds will be made available for scholarship support.

SAN ROMAN: Will partial scholarships be permissible?

DONOVAN: Partial scholarships will now be possible in all sports. Before the House case settlement, some sports were required to provide a full scholarship. After the House settlement, all sports can provide each student-athlete on a roster up to the value of a full scholarship, but it is not required to provide a full scholarship.

SAN ROMAN: Can individual Titan sports increase their own scholarship sizes by utilizing their distinct program budgets and by increasing fundraising?

DONOVAN: Each of our sports programs have quite a bit of flexibility with their budgets, with prior administrative approval. The reality is that most of our sports programs don't have a budget to increase everyone to full scholarships at this time. Certainly, donors will be able to supplement a program's scholarship budget, and I expect that some coaches will be very active in soliciting scholarship donations.

SAN ROMAN: With NIL being a brand-new challenge for Titan Athletics, do you envision having one "NIL Czar," or perhaps breaking down some of those responsibilities among upper staff and head coaches?

DONOVAN: Actually, I envision NIL being handled more effectively by a team. Our ticket sales, corporate sponsorship sales, licensing, and donations all may be utilized for NIL. Our Advancement team would work on soliciting donations and operating fundraisers. Our Senior Associate A.D. and three of our Assistant A.D.'s, with their direct reports, will be working on increasing self-generated revenue, to increase our Distributed NIL paid to student-athletes.

SAN ROMAN: Can you explain how Athletics will distribute revenue-sharing funds to our student-athletes going forward? Will our student-athletes be considered CSUF employees?

DONOVAN: First and foremost, student-athletes will not be considered university employees. The federal judge stated as much in the settlement. Congress has several bills moving through the legislative process reiterating that student-athletes are not employees.

There are numerous reasons not to have student-athletes classified as employees, and generally speaking, the student athlete governance organization, the NCAA and its member institutions don't want student-athletes classified as employees.

I'm assuming they (student-athletes) will receive an electronic payment with a 1099 issued, but we're still working through the actual process. This is a system-wide issue for all CSU members in Division I athletics.

SAN ROMAN: What can Titan fans and boosters do to get involved?

DONOVAN: Any Titan supporter, right now, can contact our Director of Development, Jeff Gilstrap (jgilstrap@fullerton.edu) or our Associate Director of Development, Erin Carpenter (ercarpenter@fullerton.edu) to make a donation for scholarship support. The donation can be made for general scholarship support or directed to a specific program, and the head coach will decide who receives the scholarship support.

We're still working through logistical details, but eventually donors may able to donate for NIL support – Either general NIL support or directed to a specific program. There are issues still being clarified, but I believe within the next few months, donors will be able to provide NIL support, in addition to program and scholarship support.

SAN ROMAN: Thanks for your time, Jim.

New Allowable NCAA D1 Roster Size Limits by CSUF Sport