Big Ten Coaches, Student-Athletes Work Through Challenges Post-House Settlement

With a new school year comes a new landscape for college sports.

Earlier this summer, the federal courts settled the class-action lawsuit, House v. NCAA, that will have massive implications in the college volleyball world. In addition to providing back-pay to former student athletes, it also triggered the start of revenue sharing, updated the Name-Image-Likeness regulations, and implemented new scholarship and roster limits.

While football, men’s and women’s basketball will receive most of the $20.5 million allotted to student-athletes, volleyball coaches, including Nebraska’s Dani Busboom Kelly, are fighting for their share of the money, and several schools have publicly announced their intention to include the sport in revenue sharing.

At the Big Ten Media Days last month, many of the coaches and student-athletes were asked about their approach to revenue sharing and the evolving college volleyball landscape.

Here are their responses and takes on the new world as the House settlement begins to be implemented into the college volleyball world.

The team wall at 2025 Big Ten Volleyball Media Days in Chicago. | Ryan Kuttler

How does the House settlement impact your work as a head coach?

Dani Busboom Kelly, Nebraska coach: Hopefully, we get a (general manager). As volleyball gets bigger and bigger, we'll probably have to where the coaches can be out of the money conversation. I hope we add one. I haven't even talked to (Nebraska athletic director) Troy (Dannen) about it, but it feels like sports are going to need one eventually.

Chris Tamas, Illinois coach: We've always been supported by Illinois, and the fact that we have the capability to do this, you start to become a little bit more like a general manager now and how do you design your rosters based on what you're given.

Brad Keller, USC coach: It takes the majority of my day now. I've become a manager. You're trying to fill up every kid's basket as best you can. There's a lot to that, and it's not just volleyball anymore, and it's not just -- it's all these different components. It used to be you're recruiting, you're training, culture, there's certain things, but now you're adding a whole another level of agents and rev share and NIL opportunities and what does that look like. Honestly, one of the biggest things that we need to do is I'd like to get away from getting your bag or whatever. You get an NIL deal. This needs to be about brand building.

Katie Schumacher Cawley, Penn State coach: It doesn't change what we're doing as a team and as a program and as a culture of our players. It's exciting that they can be rewarded and do some NIL activities and have some more shopping money or nail money, whatever it is they're doing. It's a really unique time in college athletics, and I'm happy that the women can get a piece of it.

Adam Hughes, Maryland coach: We're trying to limit it as much as possible while also participating. I'm thankful for Jim Smith, our new AD, continuing to support volleyball… The reality is we want to make sure we don't lose sight of the people that are in there, the culture. We don't want to get stuck into dollars and cents as much as we possibly can, and so far I think we've done a pretty good job of that.

Leslie Gabriel, Washington coach: It doesn't change anything. Volleyball is still volleyball. We have to come in every day, work hard. We have to be disciplined. We have to do all these things. I think the House settlement brings just blessings to people, and we just have to remember that because I think if you don't, it can end up being a distraction, and then we lose sight of why we play this game and what is really important in my eyes.

Caitlin Schweihofer, Rutgers coach: The House settlement is interesting. Obviously I followed along the whole process for the past several years… The reality is it's going to be tough for pretty much 98 percent of institutions. How that translates, Rutgers is doing a wonderful job of trying to keep the experience the same for all of our athletes regardless of what sport they play. We've been able to be at a point where I have fought for the past several years when I took over this program so make sure that we were operationally funded the same way other teams in the Big Ten were, because in the past the volleyball program was not.

Keegan Cook, Minnesota coach: What we really came to is we're still coaching these athletes and advocating for them. We are still trying to give them skills in volleyball and professionally that they will be successful with professionally and in the future. But they're just now being rewarded for that a little bit sooner. So the job hasn't changed as much.

Wisconsin outside hitter Mimi Colyer at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. The former Oregon Duck said revenue sharing was not pa — Wisconsin outside hitter Mimi Colyer speaks at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. The former Oregon Duck said revenue sharing was not part of her consideration when she transferred to Wisconsin. | Ryan Kuttler

For the student-athletes, is revenue sharing on your radar? Do you talk about it a lot?

Julia Hanson, Minnesota outside hitter: I had a conversation about revenue sharing back in January, and I know it's coming, but that's not why I play college sports. I play college sports to represent Minnesota and represent my home state and wear that M across my chest all the time. It's awesome. It helps us a lot. But at the end of the day, I'm still an athlete and I'm still a human being. It's not really on my radar.

Kenzie Dyrstad, Rutgers libero: I see a lot of it, especially on Twitter. I'll see people post about it. Most of my conversations have just been asking (coach) Caitlin (Schweihofer), what does this mean, what is this?

Mimi Colyer, Wisconsin outside hitter and Oregon transfer: That was not on my list of priorities when looking at schools to come to. I got on the phone with (coach) Kelly (Sheffield) and we talked about Wisconsin and the history of it. When you say Wisconsin volleyball people know what that means. I've been excited to get in here and be a part of that program and just really lean into the historic greatness that this program is. But that hasn't been a huge factor at all.

Illinois volleyball coach Chris Tamas speaks next to his players at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. The Illinois athletic director said earlier this year that volleyball will be one of the sports that receives some of the school's revenue sharing distribution. | Ryan Kuttler

How do you make the case to the administration to include volleyball in receiving some of the revenue share funds?

Tim Nollan, Northwestern coach: The settlement is changing the landscape of college athletics. It allows us to invest in players and to help players showcase their talents and set them up for later. In terms of Northwestern and how we're handling it, I think Northwestern supports it 100 percent. Northwestern supports revenue share, it's participating in revenue share.

Jen Flynn Oldenburg, Ohio State coach: We're one of four out of 36 sports, and I think that says a lot for the support of our administration to give it to us, to compete obviously in the Big Ten but also nationally. We're very fortunate and grateful, and we're going to be able to use it. There's always pressure. If you don't have money, there's pressure. If there's money, there's pressure. But that's part of being at Ohio State. All of our programs are elite and we continue to strive to be. Yeah, maybe there's some pressure but I don't want to look at it that way. I think there's an opportunity.

Trent Kersten, Oregon coach: I try not to go in and ask the question without earning it… I try to focus on the process a lot and say, hey, going into year two, this is how we've grown in a year, and see how the conversation goes with our administration. They're navigating a ton, and I've been so grateful to be a part of the vision of Rob and Lisa and Val and really just excited to be a part of this era. I think there's no better time to be playing college volleyball than right now with the opportunities that are here.

Tamas, whose AD announced volleyball will be among sports to receive money: They came to me and just said this is something we're invested in and obviously they've been invested in us for several years, since my whole time there. The fact that we're considered for that, and I know several other schools in the conference, if not all of us, are in line for that, as well. It shows where the sport is at. Going back to the amount of eyeballs that are on the sport and you all that are helping push that, as well, I just think it's the right thing to do… It's a fun new challenge that we're facing, but it's great for these players because I do think they deserve it, and we're happy to be a part of it.

Schumacher Cawley: Penn State has always been forward thinking. They are ahead of the game and know what's going on. I think they do the right thing for our athletes and they put our athletes first. A school like Penn State, our alum are the best and they want to see us be successful.

Hughes: I think the market is still trying to figure itself out. It's one of the things that's a little bit tricky. There's a lot of unknowns. I wouldn't call it hearsay but you're not sure what's real and what's not. I would say two or three weeks ago I had a great chat with our new AD, and he's coming from the Atlanta Braves and has worked in professional sports for a very long time. He had a great conversation just talking about how in the end, culture will still matter. The best organizations still have great cultures. So we put our attention to that.

Schweihofer: We've had wonderful interim athletic directors in the meantime, but whoever full-time leads the charge, they know that volleyball needs to be a priority sport because it is in this conference.

USC volleyball players Leah Ford and Adonia Faumuina and coach Brad Keller at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. Ford and Faumuina said they are excited about the possibilities of the new earning potential post-House settlement. | Ryan Kuttler

What opportunities excite you as a student-athlete about revenue sharing and NIL?

Kierstyn Barton, Washington outside hitter: It only propels women's sports in an upward trajectory. I think that's really cool. Not everyone can say that they played Big Ten volleyball, and I think for those people that have done that, the House settlement does help with the exposure and being able to talk about it and also representing people of color, white people and different races, different ethnicities, being able to share your experience through that is really important.

Julia Hunt, Washington middle blocker: This is a great opportunity for all student-athletes, but it doesn't really affect me or the team. I always put the team first, so anything below that or any outside distractions, I just like to focus on the team and trying to win games for the program.

Leah Ford, USC middle blocker: It's becoming a big part of women's sports, and I think it's a great avenue, great connections in NIL, revenue sharing. It's great for us to be able to put ourselves out there and represent ourselves and be ourselves.

Adonia Faumuina, USC opposite: It's kind of cool to be able to brand yourself and represent yourself in the world and just basically show who you are and then you get to make money off of it, and it gets to waterfall into your life.

Sophia Meyers, Oregon outside hitter: Being my last year in college volleyball, being at a place that is big on NIL and has a big fan base, I think it's just really cool to take advantage of those opportunities and how we can build the program even more as players. So I just think it's really cool to be a part of.

Minnesota volleyball coach Keegan Cook at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. The Gophers added a general manager to help with roster management. | Ryan Kuttler

How are you working with student-athletes to prepare them for new opportunities?

Steve Aird, Indiana coach: Indiana cares. They're supporting us. We're going to be able to take care of our players. I want the players to make money… In a lot of ways some of the programs in our conference might be more like the Yankees and we might be a little bit more like Toronto or a little bit more like Milwaukee, but it doesn't mean you can't win the whole damned thing. I think it's about doing it the right way, taking care of people. It comes back to we want to take care of them as people. They're going to make money, but I want them to make money for 40 years and I want to set them up.

Alfee Reft, UCLA coach: Our athletes do a lot on their own. We don't have to do a lot. They're handling their own socials, they're networking in LA, and it's a tremendous credit to them. But we also understand as a program, we have an opportunity to really have a further reach in LA, so we've utilized the networks, I think, that we have currently and also the networks that we're trying to create and billed to give them more opportunities in the NIL space.

Cook: We're the last place for them before they become professional athletes. So again, they're going to leave us, and when they leave us they enter a whole new world where we can't really help them. But we want to give them skills to be successful professionals, and part of that includes conversations with representatives who then advocate for you to get you the best possible situation as a professional athlete.

Hughes: The one thing that we've gotten more comfortable with is change is going to keep happening. A lot of times coaches talk about have we finally hit a stabilization point; have we finally hit somewhere we can figure out how to build. I don't foresee that happening anytime soon anyway. I feel like we learned our lessons during the COVID season of hey, adapt, keep adapting, keep changing. I feel like college athletics is going to continue to do that for a number of years. The one thing that is nice for us is that we don't have a ton of traditions that we have to hold on to, so we can keep adapting and trying to catch up to what those norms are.

Schweihofer: It's really important to me that I treat my players as if they are professional athletes because they basically are professional athletes. I want to make sure that they're part of their own process and that I'm as transparent as possible with the decisions I have to make and how it affects them. I don't want to hide anything from them. Obviously there's things they don't need to be privy to that don't affect them immediately, but I think it's important that they're aware of decisions that not only the NCAA is making, not only the AVCA is making, but also that Rutgers is making and I am making that will affect them in the near future.

Team volleyballs on display at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. | Ryan Kuttler

How has roster management changed post-House?

Busboom Kelly: (The House settlement) is still coming into volleyball, but it is a little bit tricky because I like a little bit bigger roster, but you don't want to get so big that it's taking away from getting the great players. It's just going to be evaluating it year by year. It's really a lot more thinking three years down the road versus even next year… When we have conversations about redshirting, it's like, why wouldn't you? You're getting paid now. It seems silly to not want to redshirt unless you're having a big impact, but we don't talk about it a ton, since it's money.

Tamas: A new challenge that us coaches have to weigh out and figure out how to construct those rosters. Maybe it's a little bit more on a yearly basis or, two-year basis. Obviously we still have long-term plans, visions, everything else. You want kids that really fit your values, your culture. That's the first thing we look for. Then if we can aid that with some rev share or NIL, that's what we're trying to do. It's a great option to have, and we're happy to be a part of it.

Aird: If you go back to five to 10 years ago, how you think about building a program, the transfer portal, the House settlement, rev share, all of these things for a lot of coaches, and kind of my nod to the coaches before us, many of them didn't get into this for that. So I understand that. I really like it. I have a business law degree. I wanted to be an agent. I'd like to be in a front office one day. For me this makes a lot of sense. I want all of my players to feel valued… You're trying to get them to be aligned and figure it out and there will be challenges, especially developing retention. Players will have opportunities and I think that's also good. I want players who want to play at Indiana, and the players who want to be at Indiana, I want to do everything I can to take care of them.

Keller: we need to really change the dialogue of that and work towards what that looks like. Then on top of that, we need to figure out how to put guardrails in there, too, so we're not all over the place. It's chaos right now. You're navigating chaos and you're navigating what you can do the best way for your kids, and you're trying to make sure that your dialogue is correct towards your kids and the fact that hey, this is a bigger thing, you're trying to build a brand, you're not just trying to grab some money and you're done.

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