MILTON OVERTON'S ART OF THE DEAL
Introducing the Owl Enhancement Fee.
Major headline of the week: Our fearless leader announced a blanket tariff, opening up serious questions about rising prices and our financial future in a new world economic order.
You’re talking about Milton Overton’s Notes from the Nest, too, right? On Friday, Kennesaw State’s athletic director emerged from his top-secret bunker underneath the Convocation Center with an open letter to (sort of) address the House vs. NCAA settlement and imminent changes to the industry:
KSU, along with our counterparts in Conference USA, have opted into the revenue-sharing model set forth by the NCAA-House Settlement. Our initial goal is to share over $1,000,000 in revenue through direct compensation with our student-athletes. We can only make this happen by identifying new revenue streams and maximizing those already available to us.
Friday’s release wasn’t the only time word’s gotten out that KSU plans to participate in revenue sharing, but it was the first update directly from the athletic department to that effect. A Teamworks press release in February announced that the university would use the software company’s General Manager product, essentially Workday for NCAA sports. CUSA commissioner Judy MacLeod also spoke for the entire league at the conference tourney when she announced all member schools would opt in.
Third time’s the charm, it appears. Kennesaw State’s opting in, and they’re finally comfortable talking about it as the settlement looks close to the finish line. What does that mean for Owls fans? I’m not qualified to break down the case and all potential downstream effects. On the bright side, a cottage industry of House explainers sprouted up from various sports outlets, like this one from Dennis Dodd at CBS Sports or NPR’s story this morning. Let’s narrow it down into three crucial changes: Athletes can earn a share of revenue (expected to be around $20.5 million) directly from the university, roster limits will be overhauled, and a half-baked clearinghouse will monitor outside marketing deals from businesses and NIL collectives meant to supplement institutional revenue.
Overton’s whole thesis in Notes from the Nest: KSU needs a lot more money to compete. A valid point, indeed. I like the idea of a business sending out a press release to signal they intend to make more and spend less. Broadly speaking, I think the post-House landscape should be a positive for a program that lacks history and struggles with fan engagement. The cumulative spending of every Owls team will never get anywhere near the proposed rev. share cap, but now they don’t have to rely on third-party donations through the Owls Collective for talent acquisition. Player salary is just another line item in the regular budget now.
Overton offered one solution, a gimmick that has a hilarious name and sounds a lot like a tariff on ticket sales. Another day, we can talk about his comedic timing in releasing this plan as the stock market craters based on a similar, slightly higher-profile idea causing chaos around the world. Take it away, Mr. Overton:
We are closely examining all our budgets, exploring sponsorship opportunities, discussing the Owls Fund structure, and more. As part of this effort, beginning with the 2025 football season, we are incorporating an Owl Enhancement Fee as part of our season ticket structures. This fee on all ticket purchases ensures that each time a ticket is purchased by one of our fans, it includes a direct benefit to our student-athletes.
Overton went on to say that “universities across the country are making similar adjustments.” The price of the brick’s going up everywhere, so to speak, for athletic departments and fans alike. Like most Kennesaw State ideas — the Flight runout (Baylor), the War Chant (VCU), Win the Day (Oregon), etc. — you can quickly track down the obvious influence. Jerry Mack’s last collegiate employer, Tennessee, was the most explicit in announcing a rev. share bump, adding a 10% “talent fee” for 2025, on top of a regular 4.5% increase. Stay tuned for Overton’s next letter about the new Owl Navy tailgating area in the pond by Fifth Third Stadium.
A few differences worth mentioning: Tennessee’s played 130+ seasons of football, and KSU would have to pack the Bank 10 times to sell as many tickets as the Vols do every Saturday. Danny White, Tennessee’s AD, made his announcement in September 2024 with a concrete plan, pricing, and an accompanying media rollout giving much deeper detail than Overton’s 500-word post. In his interview with on3, White claimed 15,000 fans were already on the existing waitlist and projected an extra $10 million in revenue from the changes.
You have to appreciate a level of transparency and explanation from Overton on the price increase, something we’ve not gotten in the past on changes like the 47% jump on all-in price for men’s basketball tickets during the first CUSA season. The idea is fine; the execution is typical for an athletic department that fundamentally misunderstands its own existence. In perfect Kennesaw fashion, though, Overton’s announcement set an unnecessary goal (less than 5% of the proposed rev. share cap), went long on business jargon, and lacked any substance — you know, minor details like how much those tickets actually cost. You’d think they could dust off the Owl Network studio for a patented state-run media interview with Nolan Alexander.
If KSU does an adequate job explaining the revenue sharing model, what’s the point in naming the charge and making it an extra line item? Once players are getting their deserved piece of the revenue, every price increase — on required donations, beer, tickets, parking, whatever else — is already an Owl Enhancement Fee. We’re probably smart enough as a fan base to comprehend that. I don’t really understand announcing an undefined price increase on season tickets when they aren’t even on sale yet. The only season ticket renewal page currently available on KSU Owls dot com features information about the 2020 season, one that didn’t even happen.
How much does the Natural Owl Enhancement really fix, anyway? Contributions ($795,806) and ticket sales ($605,033) didn’t come close to the money from the top revenue sources in Kennesaw’s most recent financial report to the NCAA. Here’s how a majority of the $33,921,493 in operating revenue came in:
Student fees: $16,276,320
Direct institutional support: $7,590,496
Royalties, licensing, and sponsorships: $2,598,060
Indirect institutional support: $2,364,355
NCAA distributions: $1,313,688
Following Tennessee’s lead, a 10% ticket fee would’ve netted the university an extra $60K in revenue, or 0.17% of the most recent revenue figure available. That’s from the 2023-2024 academic year, so we’d have to make some mental adjustments on price increases and both quality/quantity for the football games to get a more representative number. Either way, an extra $60K still leaves us miles away from Milton’s extra million. Kennesaw could quadruple ticket revenue from that year and still not even get a quarter of the way there.
A price bump on tickets, even if necessary based on external factors, does not solve the underlying demand-side issue for the Owls. Going back to the Tennessee example, Danny White can credibly tell fans how to spend money, because the Vols already have a massive customer base that cares enough to open their wallets. That’s not how it works in Kennesaw, which might as well be an expansion market in terms of interest and history. Asking for an Owl Enhancement Fee does not address KSU’s existential crisis: We lack the sense of place and connection that inspires regular fans to donate and spend money from the beginning.
“We want to make it a hard ticket to get,” Overton told the MDJ back in January, in his first real media appearance since going AWOL in the aftermath of the Brian Bohannon saga. Shouldn’t the main focus be on making it an easy ticket to want?
Overton’s administration has never made the pitch very well to casual fans or disengaged alumni, many of whom have other college football affiliations, about why they should care in the time between graduation and becoming multi-millionaires capable of six-figure donations. Unless you are the kind of person that can afford private fundraisers at Marietta Country Club or $420 tee times at the Dot Martin Classic, Kennesaw State does not have much use for you as a fan. Almost half of revenue comes from student fees, and the athletic department largely ignores them after they leave campus, except for annual calls to give money.
KSU’s prices will continue to rise without matching improvements in fan experience. Genuine question: Does the young alumni season ticket deal exist anymore? Kennesaw charges a criminal $50 for parking passes with tailgating privileges, and so few fans purchase them that Black Lot regulars can spot you from across a crowded room two years later. My own personal vendetta is about a lack of diaper bag exceptions in the clear bag policy, but we can take that minor complaint offline. Once you get in the stadium, you can choose between watching the game or going to the concession stand, but good luck doing both. They’ve punted on casual events like watch parties, and media outreach has been an abject failure. If you don’t already love the Owls, I’m not sure I have many reasons why you should start now. Neither does Overton.
Compare Kennesaw’s brief letter with Coastal Carolina’s announcement about free concessions during football season. You can bet on both schools hiking ticket prices this fall amid rising costs all over the place. One of the schools (somehow the one with a better athletics track record) decided that they’ll hand out free hot dogs, sodas, and nachos to improve the in-stadium experience. You’re more likely to see the Bohannon family manning the grills than that kind of season-long giveaway ever happening in Kennesaw.
The proverbial middle class, post-grad fan is just not Overton’s target demographic. By most public checkpoints — the CUSA invite, a decent batting average on hires in revenue sports, (some) facilities progress — he’s been successful enough in his role. I do wonder how much of that forward momentum is in spite of Overton, who functions more as a fundraiser than the front-facing politician this program probably needs at athletic director. How much can we buy in to a vision that mostly goes unspoken, especially when he’s reportedly been on a series of repeating one-year contracts? Transfer QB Dexter Williams II has been on campus for 3 months and already answered more questions from the media.
Overton’s understandable focus on potential power boosters extends to Jerry Mack’s contract as well. Jon Finer from the Owl Chat Podcast reported most of the top-line details in the five-year deal: $750,000 base salary, with plenty of performance incentives for on-field results. In an effort to track down Mack’s assistant coach salary pool, I obtained a copy of the full contract as well. ($1.4 million in case you were wondering.)
One other section caught my eye in the process: Mack will receive a $5,000 bonus for “participation in fundraising activities resulting in donations of $50,000 or more for the University or Athletic Association.” His very own Owl Enhancement Fee for glad-handing at a higher tax bracket.
Those big checks, buy-game guarantees, and sponsorship dollars may get KSU to the modest goal of $1 million revenue sharing. That’s probably the absolute floor for competing in CUSA and doesn’t guarantee anything more than staying afloat. Either way, I think the Owls might be in a serious economic bubble that’s waiting to burst, unless the Overton regime figures out how to cultivate an unconditional, sustainable fanbase.
As for ad deals, how does our AD plan on boosting revenue there? Wait, that’s your job, too.
Sponsorship: We'd love to connect you with our KSU Athletics' sponsorship team (Van Wagner College) if your, a friend's, or a family member's company is interested in sponsorship with KSU Athletics.
It’s not a pyramid scheme. It’s a reverse-funnel system. Like Invigaron.
