Virginia AD Carla Williams Releases Statement on Recent House Settlement

Jackson Caudell | Jun 12, 2025

Nov 15, 2022; Charlottesville, Virginia, US; Virginia Cavaliers athletic director Carla Williams speaks with the media during a press conference regarding the deaths of three Cavaliers football players from a shooting on the university grounds late Sunday night in Charlottesville. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY NETWORK / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY NETWORK

College athletics were forever changed last Friday night.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilkins granted approval to the NCAA's settlement of three antitrust cases and now schools are permitted to share revenue with athletes within a new enforcement structure led by the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12.

Today, University of Virginia Athletics Director Carla Williams issued the following statement:

Dear Wahoo Nation,  

"On Friday evening (June 6), the House vs. NCAA case was settled which officially begins a new era of college athletics.  In anticipation of the final approval of the settlement, our University and Athletics department have spent the last two years positioning Virginia Athletics for success in this transformative time of college sports. I’m excited and eager to share our plans and the progress we’ve already made.  

Investing in Excellence
With the formal approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement, we are now permitted to provide additional financial support for student-athletes in the form of revenue sharing (rev share) and scholarships. UVA will distribute the maximum allowable, $20.5 million, to our student-athletes.  

Competing at the highest levels of collegiate sports will require investments in four key areas: revenue sharing, scholarships, commercial NIL and operations. Fortunately, UVA strategically invested in key facility needs leading up to the settlement, particularly the opening of the Hardie Football Operations Center in June of 2024. Additionally, we will open the Harrison Family Olympic Sports Center in September. This strategic planning allows us to focus on the pressing needs of this new era. 

Revenue Sharing
We’ve already seen the positive impact of donor engagement for NIL and revenue share for football, having completed the most recent transfer portal class ranked in the top 25 in the country, along with critical donor support for enhanced nutrition and football recruiting needs. Donor support for talent acquisition and retention in basketball has yielded similar results. Revenue sharing for revenue producing sports will fuel the viability and success of athletic departments moving forward. At most athletic departments, including UVA, two sports (football and men’s basketball) produce revenue to support the rest of the department.  

From a fundraising standpoint, the Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF) closed $15.76M in contributions during May of 2025, marking the organization’s highest-ever production in the month of May.  Additionally, as we transition into the summer months, VAF donations through the end of May are up 71 percent year-over-year and rapidly approaching last year’s full-year fundraising total of $61.6M. While we’re encouraged by the incredible support we’ve received and proud of the progress being made, our work is far from finished. Now more than ever, we need your help to ensure a strong and sustainable future for Virginia Athletics. 

Scholarship Endowment
With the landscape of college athletics continuing to evolve, the VAF has made it a strategic priority to secure the long-term future of each sport through endowment fundraising. As of May, VAF has secured over $22.6 million in endowment commitments—an all-time high for a calendar year.

While we’ve been fortunate to see so many proud alumni and friends rise to the occasion, a leading example has come from men’s tennis. A recent gift to that program pioneered a creative solution for sustaining collegiate athletics, offering a model for programs navigating uncertainty, rapid change, and limited resources—particularly Olympic sports. This effort exemplifies how targeted philanthropy can lay the foundation for long-term, self-sustaining success across our sport programs.

Simply put, competing at the highest level requires a financial investment to secure the future of Virginia Athletics. Your generosity plays a critical role in our success.

College athletics is at an inflection point, and we have a unique opportunity to position Virginia in a place of strength by endowing our scholarships.

Forward Together
In the coming weeks, we’ll be launching a podcast which will include special guests and myself providing a behind-the-scenes look into our athletics department and exploring our path forward into the new era of college athletics. I hope you’ll tune in.  

Please know, everything we’ve accomplished so far – or will achieve in the weeks, months and years ahead – is made possible by your unwavering support. It is your pride, passion, and love for UVA Athletics that sustains our work, and we are grateful to have you with us for this exciting new journey.  

Go Hoos!"

With this settlement, UVA and other schools are now allowed to share $20.5 million of their revenues with players and the settlement will also include $2.8 billion in back payments for athletes who competed from 2016-2024. The new revenue-sharing cap will increase by at least 4% each year during the 10-year agreement.

Per Brandon Marcello at CBS Sports, "The power conferences are expected to soon announce the College Sports Commission, an organization tasked to oversee the settlement's terms and enforce new rules. The power conferences hired Deloitte and LBI, major players in revenue management for professional sports, to develop software to dissect NIL deals and track players' revenue-sharing contracts. The CSC will police NIL deals over $600 with a new clearinghouse called "NIL Go," sources told CBS Sports. Deloitte will use data from past endorsement deals with athletes to review boosters' NIL deals and determine whether an agreement exceeds an athlete's fair market value."