UT creating non-profit to pay student-athletes in the future [Video]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – The University of Tennessee is in the process of creating a non-profit foundation to potentially pay student-athletes directly in the future.

College athletics rules would have to change before this, but Chancellor Plowman told the Board of Trustees they need to stay prepared.

“Everything is changing so quickly; I don’t need to say this here, in athletics. We need to be prepared for some of those changes,” Chancellor Plowman said.

The non-profit does not have a name yet and funding would come from revenue from UT Athletics, which brought in $200 million in 2023. Chancellor Plowman also said they need to catch up with other neighboring universities.

“Most of our peers in the SEC already have a non-profit that is associated with the athletics department,” Plowman said.

This all comes after Tennessee and Virginia were granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA stopping the current NIL …