What MTSU athletic director Chris Massaro likes and doesn't like about agreement to pay athletes

Middle Tennessee State athletic director Chris Massaro said he feels as "bullish" about the future of Blue Raider athletics as ever before.

That comes in the wake of recent developments with the NCAA that would allow schools to pay athletes and also would create a damages pool from which former players from as far back as 2016 could be compensated.

The NCAA, power conferences and lawyers for the plaintiffs in three antitrust lawsuits concerning the compensation of college athletes recently approved proposals of a settlement.

The proposed agreement, which must be approved by a federal judge, would include a nearly $2.8 billion damages pool for current and former athletes and fundamentally alter how current and future athletes are paid for playing their sports.

How does this affect MTSU and its fellow Group of Five schools?

The Daily News Journal's Cecil Joyce sat down with Massaro to get his thoughts on the changing landscape of college athletics and its impact on the Blue Raiders.

MTSU AD Chris Massaro is a proponent of revenue sharing for all athletes

With the amount of money being made by universities for athletics, Massaro understands why compensating players is important, not just for the top male players in the biggest sports, but for all.

While specifically paying players like the power conference schools doesn't affect MTSU, the 2021 NCAA vs. Alston ruling has already had Massaro and his department prepared for finding the funds for non-cash compensation (up to nearly $6,000 per player annually).

"When we went to weekday (television) football games, that was about a $200,000 increase to each school (in Conference USA)," Massaro said. "What I did was take about half of that increase and put it toward Alston. Every student-athlete here gets at least $1,000 in Alston money, and most of that is driven off the increase of TV. We would put academic requirements on it ... you have to have this or that to qualify.

"It's for all of our student-athletes. Our scholarships provide grant, housing, meals, cost of attendance, things that are separate from Alston. Now we're giving them a little bit of Alston. We'll just have to be mindful of how we spend expenses. We'll inherit expenses as the issues come up. We'll have to readjust budgets and our way of thinking."

He said equally compensating athletes was a big priority at MTSU.

"(Title IX) is very much a part of the equation here at MTSU," Massaro said. "We have very strong women's programs, particularly basketball. That's a growth sport. We would like to capitalize on that as an institution and athletic department more than we've done. We need to be mindful of that."

In the 2022-23 fiscal year, MTSU reported athletic department operating expenses of $41 million.

What concerns Chris Massaro about impending changes?

The NCAA has said 41% of the $2.8 billion will come from the NCAA generating new revenue, finding cost savings and using existing reserve funds.

One thing Massaro is concerned about is the percentage breakdown in the reductions to distributions given by the NCAA to each conference to offset the remaining 59%.

That includes 24% of the $2.8 billion coming from reductions to power conference members, 10% from Group of Five, 13% from FCS members and 12% from members who don't participate in football.

"I didn't think it was fair, in terms of who pays," Massaro said. "In essence, the rest of us are funding some of the Power Five athletes from the last 10 years. That is up to the plaintiffs, but it's interesting to see their formulas.

"Our runs in the NCAA (basketball) tournament and extra shares, those will be dinged. Starting next summer we won't get as much NCAA distribution to pay for this. Everybody will have to pay that for the next 10 years of a reduced income from the NCAA."

What MTSU AD Chris Massaro thinks about a 'positive' future

Massaro said he didn't think the new settlement would affect recruiting at the Group of Five level.

He also doesn't feel there will be any more separation than what there already is between power and Group of Five conferences, although he said separation within power conferences could be affected, considering resources among the schools.

MORE: Former MTSU football standouts are among those on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot for 2025

Massaro said that the biggest positive that has come from the settlements is a more clear understanding and direction for all schools.

"We have a bit of a path, a bit of a direction," Massaro said. "We're not just some rudderless ship out there just riding the current, which is what I felt like we were doing over the last four or five years. I think there is a direction that we can go, and that is a positive.

"The positive for MTSU is our location, our economics and our resources. What we've accomplished and those things, and where we've positioned ourselves. We're in good shape. I'm not scared of our future. It will just look a little different. I think the future at MTSU is going to be great."

Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU athletic director Chris Massaro speaks about NCAA, paying players