Tech introduces comprehensive plan to lead in revenue share era - Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech will usher in a new era of intercollegiate athletics this July with a comprehensive plan that further demonstrates its commitment to competing at ...
As part of its revenue share commitment, Texas Tech will integrate The Matador Club under the Red Raider Club umbrella
By: Texas Tech Athletics Communications
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech will usher in a new era of intercollegiate athletics this July with a comprehensive plan that further demonstrates its commitment to competing at the highest levels and its investment in its student-athletes.
As Texas Tech enters a new era of college athletics, the Red Raider Club will integrate the Matador Club under its umbrella. The Matador Club name reflects bold and forward-thinking support for Texas Tech's student-athletes. The Matador Club had previously served as the official NIL collective of the athletics department the last three-plus years, positioning Texas Tech as a national leader in supporting its student-athletes through NIL.
By integrating the Matador Club under its banner, the Red Raider Club will lead the effort to provide annual funding for revenue sharing, student-athlete scholarships and a comprehensive range of programs that elevate the student-athlete experience – both on and off the field. This transformation represents a commitment to adapt, to lead and to invest in championship-caliber programs and student-athletes.
"As we transition to a new model, know that we are ready," Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt said. "Over the past year, we have studied various impacts of the House settlement on our department and have been ready for this new era in college athletics. Texas Tech will continue to be a leader nationally in this era. Our donors and supporters will have the ability to impact our success like never before, but it will take all of us. Gifts to the Red Raider Club – both small and large – help provide opportunities to the best prospective student-athletes and provide the necessary resources to build championship rosters like we are experiencing right now with many of our programs."
As part of the NCAA House settlement finalized this past Friday, Texas Tech is now permitted to share up to $20.5 million of its departmental-generated revenue directly with student-athletes beginning in the 2025–26 academic year. To support this transformational change, the Red Raider Club will be responsible for generating $14 million annually to help fund Texas Tech Athletics' new revenue-sharing model. This funding will also support student-athlete scholarships, academic resources, professional development, leadership programming, nutritional offerings and more. The remaining portion of the revenue-sharing commitment will be supported by University investment and additional athletics-generated revenue streams.
Inheriting The Matador Club will assist in this effort, providing donors one primary organization to contribute either on an annual basis or via monthly payments. Current members of The Matador Club will be able to continue monthly payments without disruption as part of the merger.
"The Red Raider Club is proud to be preparing for the next era of college athletics. We will be leaders in this space and will provide our fans and donors innovative opportunities to support our student-athletes" said Andrea Tirey, Senior Associate Athletics Director. "By bringing the Matador Club under our umbrella as the revenue share fund of the Red Raider Club, we're giving fans and donors a single, unified place to give — one that directly impacts the recruitment and retention of our student-athletes and helps us build championship-caliber student-athletes and teams. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who continues to step up, at every level, and invest in our future."
In addition to the Matador Club and Red Raider Club merger, Texas Tech has implemented the following in preparation for the July 1 implementation of the House Settlement. The Red Raider Club will share further information this summer on several new steps it is taking to enhance its fundraising operation to reach new goals.
Creation of Revenue Share Administration Unit: Texas Tech has created a dedicated Revenue Share Administration unit within the Internal Affairs and Compliance area of the athletics department. This team will be responsible for the execution of university NIL agreements with student-athletes, the monitoring of the annual revenue share cap and third-party NIL reporting. These efforts will be led by Justin Opperman, a longtime member of the athletics department and attorney. Opperman most recently served as the Associate Athletics Director for Compliance up until accepting this new position.
Partnership with AthletiQ: As college athletics shifts from a collective-focused NIL model to a university-led revenue share structure, Texas Tech has partnered with AthletiQ Media to help lead the way into this next chapter. AthletiQ Media, a brand of Primitive – a digital marketing firm - has been instrumental in the creation, execution, fundraising and management of The Matador Club. AthletiQ Media will now expand its role to support Texas Tech Athletics in maximizing outreach, driving donor engagement and building sustainable funding models under the new revenue share framework. Through targeted storytelling, innovative digital campaigns, and NIL-specific donor tiering strategies, AthletiQ Media will help Texas Tech stay ahead of the ever-evolving college sports landscape and continue to build championship-level programs on and off the field.
Red Raider NIL Exchange: Texas Tech launched this fall the Red Raider ExchangeNIL marketplace through an expanded partnership with Teamworks and INFLCR. The marketplace is a student-athlete NIL business registry, custom-designed for businesses, donors, alumni and any others interested in connecting with student-athletes. Registered businesses can search, filter and initiate conversations with Texas Tech student-athletes to discuss an NIL deal. Once the NIL deal between a registered business and student-athlete is completed, the business will use the Red Raider Exchange to create a transaction that will produce a direct payment to the student-athlete and automate a disclosure to Texas Tech Athletics for NCAA compliance purposes.
Financial Literacy Education: Texas Tech will provide additional financial literacy education to its student-athletes through various courses and programs following the implementation of the House Settlement. This expansion of programming will fall under the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Department for Student-Athlete Development and will include both fundamental curriculum to all Texas Tech student-athletes as well as advanced financial strategies for certain high-earners.
For information on the Red Raider Club or how to support Texas Tech's efforts to compete at the highest levels, please visit RedRaiderClub.com or MatadorClub.org.
