By Brian Murphy, WRAL

The search for additional revenue in college athletics never ends.

And with the advent of direct revenue sharing with athletes expected to begin this fall, necessitating the need for tens of millions more, the need has only grown more acute.

NC State, which is already exploring selling the naming rights to its football stadium, will soon have a title for its athletic director position.

The NC State Board of Trustees approved the naming opportunity at its meeting on Feb. 7. The board also approved six other naming opportunities on campus, including one for $20 million to name a joint department of biomedical engineering at NC State and UNC. The schools announced that Ross W. Lampe Jr. committed the money for the project and the department will be named for him.

It costs $5 million with $3 million of the gift directed into an endowment to support the position and the remaining millions headed for an existing athletics enhancement fund.

Unlike naming rights for stadiums or arenas, which are often bought by corporations, Boo Corrigan’s position at NC State won’t have a corporate name. It’ll likely be a family or an individual.

NC State is not alone in naming positions.

Fellow ACC members Stanford and Notre Dame have titled the athletic director position. Pete Bevacqua, for example, is Notre Dame’s James E. Rohr Director of Athletics.

Some programs, including Duke, have endowed positions for head coaches and assistant coaches. The Blue Devils have two titled positions on its football staff, both named for families.

It’s hardly a new phenomenon. More than a decade ago, ESPN wrote about “endowed titles” in college coaching, calling it a “new trend.”

NC State is seeking to hold concerts at Cater-Finley Stadium and the school previously increased prices on tickets and parking as college athletics enters a new era. Under the terms of a court settlement that is expected to be approved in April, schools will be permitted to share up to $20.5 million with athletes. That figure is expected to rise yearly.

“It’s tough to be an athletic director now,” said NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson of the need to generate additional athletic revenue.

“If the settlement passes, the rule doesn’t say you have to do that. The rule says you are able to do it. Within the ACC, we’re pushing hard and looking at the way revenue is distributed for that very reason. We’ll work hard on the NIL side of it because that would, if the settlement is approved, come in house or could come in house.”

The Department of Education on Wednesday rescinded guidance issued last month under the Biden administration that the money shared be proportionately distributed between male and female athletes under Title IX. Schools are expected to distribute the vast majority of the money to football and men’s basketball players.

Woodson is retiring at the end of June. When asked if he meant that NC State might not distribute the full amount of revenue-sharing dollars, Woodson said there will be pressure to keep up.

“I’m confident that Boo and every other athletic director in the ACC is going to want to compete,” he said. “So I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

Source: wralsportsfan.com