The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees is considering a $110 million loan to athletics as it plans for revenue sharing in college sports.
LEXINGTON — The University of Kentucky Athletics Committee considered a litany of items Thursday regarding UK Athletics as the department looks to navigate the revenue-sharing era of college sports, which officially begins July 1.
Chief among those items is a $110 million loan from the university to the athletics department over the next few years. This loan is intended to help fund several multimillion-dollar projects to help UK Athletics generate more revenue with the new expense of directly paying players in accordance with the House v. NCAA settlement. The projects include:
- $15 million for maintenance at Kroger Field
- $13 million to renovate corner suites and elevators
- $5 million to make improvements to the soccer and softball facilities, as UK will host the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament
- $8 million for initial design of a West End Zone Club space and Wi-Fi improvements at Kroger Field
- A Requisition For Information to develop an entertainment district on UK’s campus (this could include restaurants, hotels, etc.).
- An additional $31 million operating loan, which will also be repaid at an interest rate of 4% to 5% beginning in fiscal year 2028.
In April, the University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees approved the creation of Champions Blue LLC, a holding company containing UK Athletics. This change was intended to give the department more flexibility to move like a private company rather than a public university, which is bound by bureaucracy and specific state regulations. The proposed $110 million loan and investment projects along with a 3.5-year financial plan for UK Athletics and Champions Blue LLC’s Board of Governors were reviewed Thursday as part of this new organizational structure. These matters will go before the full Board of Trustees on Friday.
“These investments and the new operating model represented by Champions Blue underscore that we are embracing change and rising to the challenges posed by this dynamic landscape,” UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart said in a statement. “At a time when many are searching for answers, our administration has built on the strong partnership we have enjoyed for more than 20 years here on the UK campus. We look forward to continuing that into the future. We will remain focused on education and competition, putting championship rings on fingers and diplomas in hands.”
UK created Champions Blue in anticipation of the House v. NCAA settlement, which Judge Claudia Wilken approved June 6. The agreement ushers in a new era of college sports in which schools can pay athletes directly with a $20.5 million cap per institution. The settlement also did away with traditional scholarship limits, instead establishing roster limits with the option of awarding full scholarships to every athlete. UK will add scholarships in accordance with these roster limits (with the university committing $1.6 million in FY26, $3.1 million in FY27 and $4.6 million in FY28 to help fund non-resident scholarship costs for athletes) but discontinue Alston payments, for a net increase of about $2.5 million in spending.
This $2.5 million will be deducted from the $20.5 million revenue-sharing cap. Additional expenses including medical, game officials, insurance, facilities payments and service assessments, a UK spokesperson said, leave UK with $16.9 million to distribute among its varsity sports. Barnhart will be in charge of working with coaches to decide on the appropriate percentages for each program every year. He then will present a budget to the board of Champions Blue for approval. Dr. Eric Monday did not answer a question regarding when these numbers would be determined.
The proposed seven-person Champions Blue Board of Governors includes four internal university employees and three external members with ties to the commonwealth and/or the school:
- UK President Dr. Eli Capilouto
- UK Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration Dr. Eric Monday
- UK Vice President/Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Dr. Rob Edwards
- Senior Adviser to the President Dr. George Wright
- Former UK football player and NFL tight end Jacob Tamme
- President and CEO of Keeneland Shannon Arvin
- Senior Vice President at Fanatics Chris Prindiville
They’ll meet monthly from July 2025 to June 2026. From July 2026 onward, the board will meet as needed but no less than quarterly.
The 3.5-year financial forecast portion of Thursday’s presentation projected a $15 million loss for UK Athletics in FY25 (which ends June 30) and a $15.7 million loss in FY26. In FY27, UK Athletics is projected to break even, and then FY28 should see a net gain of $15 million.
Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at [email protected], and follow her on X @petitus25.
