Clemson Board of Trustees unanimously approves per-semester athletics fee

The Clemson Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $150 per semester athletics fee per student at its quarterly meeting Friday. The fee is to be used “solely for athletic operations expenses directly associated with student-athlete services and student experiences” and is not related to NIL, athletics director Graham Neff said.

Clemson will implement the fee next fall as the school searches for additional revenue streams. The university expects to raise between $7 million and $8 million for the athletics department.

In his presentation, Neff noted the other FBS schools in South Carolina charge an athletics fee to its students. That includes South Carolina, which charges an “optional” $86 per semester per student, per the university website.

Clemson is the latest Power Four school to search for new revenue streams following preliminary approval of the House v. NCAA settlement, which would effectively usher in the revenue-sharing era in college athletics. As part of the settlement, schools would be able to directly pay athletes up to $22 million through an opt-in program.

In September, Tennessee athletics director Danny White announced plans to add a 10% “talent fee” to all single-game and season tickets to pass along to its players. The hope would be to recoup about $10 million through the surcharge.

“It’s a talent fee, and it’s going directly to the talent,” White told On3’s Andy Staples. “It’s going to our student athletes as part of this new world order in college sports. So I know our fans will embrace it.”

The NCAA also opened the door for schools to find more revenue streams this year. Corporate logos are now allowed in the middle of football fields, according to a June policy change. Multiple schools have announced sponsorships in the time since – most recently Arkansas, which debuted sponsorships with Walmart and Tyson Foods.

Industry sources previously told On3’s Pete Nakos athletic departments could net $2 to $6 million annually from advertisements. Major Power 4 college football programs could see sponsorship deals north of $8 to $10 million annually.