Today marks a new era in college sports.
The multi-billion-dollar House settlement is expected to take effect on July 1, and it resolves three antitrust lawsuits at the federal level, although pundits anticipate further legal battles moving forward.
In any event, beginning today, schools around the country can begin paying their athletes directly, and SU Athletics has said it will commit the maximum allowed, $20.5 million, in revenue-sharing during the 2025-26 sports season. There are numerous other components to the House settlement, such as new roster limits and regulations on third-party name, image and likeness deals.
Syracuse Orange athletics director John Wildhack is hopeful that the House settlement can "create a degree of competitive equity" among the big boys - namely, the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten Conference - and other leagues, including the Atlantic Coast Conference.
That would be good for Syracuse and college sports in general, Wildhack said in an interview on Monday with Steve Infanti and Paulie Scibilia on their ESPN Radio Syracuse program, "Orange Nation."
"It's a new era, and it's a new day in college athletics," Wildhack said, adding that SU Athletics has been preparing for revenue-sharing for a long time. "We're ready to go."
More from John Wildhack on Syracuse Orange sports.
Amid revenue-sharing, two hot-button topics are whether athletes will sign multi-year contracts, and whether there will be a collective bargaining agreement in the future. Wildhack says that he has to see how things shake out with revenue-sharing for a bit before knowing whether multi-year contracts and/or collective bargaining make sense for athletes and their schools.
"I think we need to live this out a little bit.... And not rush to make decisions that might not be the right decisions."
— Cuse Sports Talk (@CuseSportsTalk_) June 30, 2025
John Wildhack on whether or not Syracuse University is actively signing athletes to multi-year contracts. pic.twitter.com/lLzWAvtEEw
Third-party NIL deals, Wildhack has said, will remain important for the Syracuse Orange moving forward to supplement revenue-sharing. Currently, there are three third-party NIL collectives supporting 'Cuse players, Orange United, SU Football NIL and Athletes Who Care.
Wildhack had previously said that, come July 1, he would be streamlining the third-party NIL entities supporting Syracuse Orange athletes. However, as of today, the three NIL collectives remain in operation, I'm told, as these entities and SU Athletics continue to figure out what things will look like moving forward amid revenue-sharing and new enforcements surrounding third-party NIL deals.
Wildhack, on Monday during his radio interview, continues to reiterate the importance of getting more NIL support from the business community in Syracuse, Central New York, Upstate New York and New York City, too.
Businesses and "legitimate" third-party NIL opportunities will be "incredibly important moving forward," he said, noting that earlier this year, SU Athletics announced the launch of a three-year, $50 million fundraising campaign to help with player attraction and retention.
Wildhack discussed Syracuse men's basketball and Syracuse football as well. He said on the hoops side, "we had some donors step up quietly and in a significant way" to increase the Orange's NIL budget, and that has helped in terms of the 'Cuse landing, at least on paper, a talented and intriguing transfer class.
"I think they've had a really, really good offseason," Wildhack said, praising the portal recruiting efforts of Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry, his assistants and general manager Alex Kline. Wildhack added that the Orange's 2025-26 roster is "better constructed" than a season ago.
Wildhack was asked if there's a specific benchmark that he has in 2025-26 for Autry, as it relates to him being on the hot seat or potentially let go if he has a bad term for the second straight stanza. Wildhack didn't provide many specifics, but he did say that the goal every year for Syracuse basketball is to make the NCAA Tournament "and then see what happens."
The 'Cuse AD says he 100 percent supports the decision by ACC officials to increase the number of non-conference games for league members from 11 to 13, while decreasing the number of conference clashes from 20 to 18. Wildhack says this will give the Orange more flexibility to schedule some marquee non-conference contests.
Switching over to football, Wildhack says that the ACC has made a concerted effort to have a greater focus on supporting this sport. "I think ACC football is dramatically underrated," he said.
'Cuse fans, lately, have wondered whether SU Athletics should look to sign Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown to a long-term contract extension sooner rather than later, to avoid a bigger school snatching him up, assuming the Orange has a successful 2025 after going 10-3 in 2024.
Wildhack didn't say too much on this topic, other than saying SU Athletics "continues to strategically invest in the program" during the offseason. He stressed that fans need to pack the JMA Wireless Dome for home games, and the 'Cuse needs to win a lot of games. "Then we'll be in a really good position," Wildhack said.
Syracuse football opens its 2025 season by playing SEC powerhouse Tennessee in late August in Atlanta. Wildhack says it's "critical" that 'Cuse fans show up in droves at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to make a statement about the Syracuse football program.
Playing the Volunteers in a highly anticipated non-conference affair to open the 2025 campaign is a "tremendous showcase for our brand on the field," he said, ending with, "If you're going to compete at the elite level, then you need to play the best."