It has been an incredible year watching so many of our Auburn programs reach historic milestones and create memories we will long cherish.
Like each of you, I have relished the opportunities we have had to watch our teams succeed – seeing Bruce Pearl and Auburn’s men’s basketball earn historic victories and claim another SEC championship on the road to the Final Four, Auburn baseball clinching the No. 4 National Seed and hosting their first Super Regional at Plainsman Park, women's tennis reaching the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in program history, and our men's golf team again excelling on the national stage, among others. These moments have given me even more excitement for what we are building together.
As I think back to our run to San Antonio, I know that Coach Pearl’s 2024-25 Auburn Tigers are the perfect illustration of how championships are won in the modern era. With talent, tenacity and toughness — the same building blocks winning teams have always had; but also with evaluation, recruiting, player development, retention and resources unique to the NIL era of the past four years.
Now the rules are set to change again with the final approval of the House v. NCAA settlement last night.
Support from the Auburn Family will continue to be the engine that drives our quest for championships – in traditional ways such as ticket purchases and gifts to Tigers Unlimited and in new ways that will continually evolve.
The commitment I made to you while standing at the podium from my first day at Auburn, which still holds true today, will be to ensure that Auburn is positioned to compete at a championship level.
Many of you have been following the litigation during the past several years and know that college athletics is anticipated to go through a monumental change effective July 1 once the House v. NCAA settlement officially becomes effective. This settlement will eliminate scholarship caps and enable athletic departments to share revenue directly with student-athletes, while leveling the playing field through the implementation of an annual cap on the funds which may be directly distributed.
Auburn student-athletes will benefit tremendously with revenue sharing and additional scholarships. Living out our championship-level commitment, Auburn is fully funding revenue sharing, a $20.5 million investment. Auburn will also allocate 113.8 additional scholarships year-over-year, at a projected cost of $5.49 million.
To pay for these investments, every member of our department has rolled up their sleeves and gone to work, identifying budget efficiencies and implementing strategic reduction, while creatively growing revenues – both current and new.
At the same time, even with increased costs and asks in earnest to give more, the Auburn Family has steadfastly supported our department and student-athletes at record levels and helped Auburn thrive in this new environment. For that, I say thank you. By supporting On To Victory (OTV) and continuing to set season ticket sales records in numerous sports, you are turning championship dreams into reality.
Despite the changes ahead, On To Victory remains a critical component to support Auburn student-athletes. Donations to OTV provide Auburn with a competitive edge both in recruiting and retaining elite student-athletes.
Resources committed to On To Victory will continue to put Auburn in a position of strength with new NCAA revenue cap regulations to be implemented on July 1. For those OTV members with pledges extending beyond June 30, your fulfillment of those pledges remains critical to sustaining Auburn's success.
