HIGHER EDUCATION · FOCUS AREA
Building
Athletics
Athletics carries more scrutiny and more financial pressure than any other part of campus.
We work alongside athletic directors, presidents, and boards to address the strategic and financial challenges facing college athletics. Together, we examine the cost of competing, long-term sustainability, and the changing landscape of NIL and revenue sharing. We help leaders make informed decisions, strengthen the connection between athletics and the broader institution, and develop practical strategies that support both departmental success and the university’s mission.
ON A CAMPUS
What does this look like on a campus?
A subsidy the board is no longer willing to approve without a plan behind it.
An athletics department and an academic campus that talk past each other.
Realignment and NIL changing the economics faster than the budget model can follow.
ACROSS THE INSTITUTION
What this work looks like for the institution.
Athletics inside institutional strategy: the subsidy, the mission fit, and the governance around both.
INSIDE A DIVISION OR UNIT
What it looks like for a single division.
The department’s own strategic plan, leadership team, and operating decisions.
HOW WE WORK
We listen, evaluate, and build.
01
Listen
We begin by understanding the institution’s athletics philosophy, financial realities, competitive environment, and expectations for how athletics contributes to the university.
02
Evaluate
Athletics decisions have implications well beyond the department. We examine how financial commitments, competitive expectations, and institutional priorities intersect to understand the challenges and opportunities facing the program.
03
Build
We work collaboratively with athletics and institutional leaders to evaluate options, establish priorities, and develop strategies that reflect both the department’s ambitions and the university’s broader mission.
04
Support
We help translate strategic decisions into practical actions and measures of progress so athletics leaders can adapt to a changing environment while maintaining institutional alignment.
FROM THE RESOURCE HUB
Advancing Higher Education
Turning strategy into an integrated way of operating
University of Montana
Advancing Higher Education
From institutional strategy to execution
Montana State University + University of Montana
Advancing Higher Education
Building strategy through university-wide engagement and alignment
Montana State University + Northern Arizona University