LAS VEGAS — There’s never a dull moment for Utah athletic director Mark Harlan.
In his seven years as athletic director at the University of Utah, Harlan has overseen periods of great change — and success.
He guided Utah into the Big 12 Conference amid the Pac-12′s collapse, hired skiing coach Fredrik Landstedt, who coached the Utes to four national titles, promoted Carly Dockendorf to gymnastics head coach after the university parted ways with Tom Farden, and hired Gary Henderson (baseball) and Andrew McMinn (lacrosse), both of whom have improved their respective programs.
Other hires include men’s basketball coach Craig Smith, women’s soccer coach Hideki Nakada, swim and dive coach Jonas Persson and women’s tennis coach RuthAnn Allen.
Harlan has also inked intriguing nonconference football games, including Florida, Arkansas, LSU, Wisconsin, a series against old Pac-12 foe UCLA, and a recently-announced neutral-site game in Las Vegas against Miami in 2027.
Now, Utah’s athletic director is navigating the aftermath of a court settlement that could change college athletics as we know it.
While the settlement has not been officially finalized, according to reports, the NCAA settled with former Arizona State swimmer Grant House in “House vs. NCAA,” and agreed to pay back damages in a nearly $2.8 billion settlement to athletes from 2016 to 2021 that covers back damages for the athletes who were unable to earn money from their name, image and likeness.
Power conferences will have about $664 million of distributions withheld over 10 years, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, which could work out to a reduction of 0.61% of the average Power Five school’s budget, according to Dellenger.
The real change from the settlement is the approval of a new revenue-sharing model.
The NCAA settlement opened up the ability for schools to share revenue with players, with the maximum amount topping out at around $20-22 million, according to reports.
Harlan’s athletic department had a budget surplus of $1,802,807 in the 2023 fiscal year, and while it has a ways to go to get to the reported $20-22 million maximum — which is yet to be officially determined — Utah plans on reaching it.
“We are all-in on wherever the settlement falls. We certainly have a straw man of what it’s going to look like, but until it’s ratified … but we’re all-in, we’ve been preparing for that. We’re blessed to have an incredible fan base, donors, corporate program. We’ll get there and we plan on carrying our sports,” Harlan said Tuesday at Big 12 media days in Las Vegas.
“I think that how we’re going to get there is just a lot of really good work in the community, continued work to explain how important that is for our student-athletes to continue to move forward in that way. And again, we’re just very lucky. We have some amazing supporters that really get it and want to help us.”
There’s still more questions than answers as the settlement still gets finalized, like if money must be split equally among genders if Title IX applies.
“We don’t know how it’s all going to be divided up. We’ve got time to figure all that out,” Harlan said. “I’m excited about some of the clarity that’s in the settlement so we can now use our own operating funds pursuant to the settlement, which by the way has to be ratified and go through all the motions of that. But we’re preparing for it.”
One thing that is not up for debate is cutting any sports at Utah to free up money in the budget.
Any discussion of cutting sports was always going to be a nonstarter, as NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision rules require each institution to sponsor a minimum of 16 varsity sports — including eight women’s teams — and Utah currently has 20 varsity sports. Even if Utah cut four sports, it was not going to get them close enough to make up the $20-$22 million maximum revenue sharing cap.
“We’re not cutting funding at the University of Utah. We’re all-in,” Harlan said.
“We have a president that’s all-in. We have a board of trustees that’s all-in, and we have a fan base that has proven time and time again they’re all-in. We’re going to learn, we’re studying Title IX as it relates to the settlement … We cannot have any of our Olympic sports do anything else but go forward.”
Everything is on the table to generate more revenue, and Harlan just posted a job listing on Tuesday for a new position — chief revenue officer.
“I want somebody every day they wake up, he or she is thinking about revenue generation in new ways. I think we do a great job in fundraising, corporate marketing, but I think there’s more,” Harlan said.
At the conference level, the Big 12 lags in revenue compared to the Big Ten and SEC, and commissioner Brett Yormark is trying to generate revenue any way he can to improve distributions for Big 12 member schools. There were reports he was looking into selling the naming rights for the league, though he said Tuesday that nothing is imminent, and he’s been a proponent of sponsorship patches on referees’ uniforms — something he’s confident will happen soon.
The Big 12 is also exploring private equity investments.
Back in June, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd reported on a “possible cash infusion of $800 million to $1 billion from Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners in exchange for a 15% to 20% stake in the league.”
According to The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel and Justin Williams, “CVC would not be taking a controlling stake in the conference, and, according to a person briefed on the discussions, would be prohibited from involvement in any sports decisions.”
“From a conference perspective, we are exploring all options. Two years later, I guess you could say we’re still open for business. Naming rights is one, private equity is another,” Yormark said, later in the press conference adding that “I do believe that given where we are, the industry, having a capital resource as a partner, makes a ton of sense.”
Harlan says you have to at least look at everything, including private equity, right now.
“Here’s what I envision is you got to look at everything. I think you can’t just dismiss something because you’ve got a feeling about it or you’ve read something about it,” Harlan said about private equity. “I think it’s incumbent on the commissioner, which he’s done a great job of bringing opportunities and being thoughtful about it, and I kind of feel the same way. I think we need to look at every possibility. It does not mean it’s the right thing to do, but you’re derelict in duty if you don’t look into these things.”
Utah is also planning to ramp up its corporate sponsorships, partnering with media rights and venue development company JMI.
“Corporate sponsorship, I think there’s more we can do there. We just switched companies that do that for us,” Harlan said.
“We’re going to JMI, they just took over on July 1 in a seven-year relationship. They’re dynamic in terms of what they’ve been able to do, and they already have been helpful in the NIL space to us. So excited about working with ‘em. So we got a lot of changes going on and the sports business side that I think is going to continue to propel.”
Here’s some other topics Harlan touched on in a one-on-one interview with the Deseret News and a wide-ranging press conference with Salt Lake City media, including Morgan Scalley’s “head coach in waiting” title, how football is set up to compete in the Big 12, the job men’s basketball coach Craig Smith has done, women’s basketball coach Lynne Roberts’ contract extension, and Utah gymnastics under Carly Dockendorf.
On how he feels like the football program is set up to compete in the Big 12:
“I think we’re ready to roll. I think we’re really excited about it … We’ve got an incredible veteran team, I think that’s seen it all. It’s done it all. Triumph, tragedy, everything in between.
“But what I’ve really appreciated, particularly flying with the guys yesterday and really digging in with them is how excited they are. They’re always excited to compete, but just new teams, new faces, watching them hang out in the lounge over there, meeting new people.
“… But I think we’re ready to go, by the way, not just in football. I think all our sports are really excited about this year ahead.”
On Morgan Scalley’s “head coach in waiting” title:
“Just really excited for the University of Utah to have somebody like Coach Scalley on the staff. This will be my seventh football season here, and I’ve had a chance to watch Morgan day-in and day-out, as a person, as a coach, and his leadership is extraordinary.
“So it just made perfect sense for us to formalize what had been really in my mind for a while. I probably made the decision definitively in the fall. We got it all done in November, December, and obviously we just announced it. So again, it’s a blessing for the University of Utah to have somebody like that, as (Kyle Whittingham) just described very well, who can continue on the culture and the ethos of the program.”
On Kyle Whittingham:
“I mean, listen, he’s arguably the best to ever do it, and whenever he’s ready, he’ll let me know. And I think he’s very authentic and honest when he says it’s day-to-day. But I can just tell you he’s having a lot of fun despite all the challenges and the changes, he just continues to roll through it. And what a credit to a leader to have mentored someone on his staff that’s ready to go.”
On nonconference scheduling approach with new College Football Playoff format:
“That’s going to be a real interesting thing to do. You battle a couple of things there. One, we don’t have the data to really suggest. We’ve looked at a lot of different things about what it takes to get in. Being on the CFP (selection committee) this last year, learned a lot about what’s important, what’s not important, those kind of things.
“But at the same time, very committed to having top opponents come to Rice-Eccles or opportunities like in this stadium in a couple of years (vs. Miami). So you have to find that balance. But I think over these next couple of years, we’ll have enough data, but we’re not going to back away from challenging schedules.”
On upgrades to Rice-Eccles Stadium:
“Well, we have one in particular that I don’t think I’m allowed to talk about … but one, I think people will be a lot more connected going forward,” Harlan said with a smile. Rice-Eccles Stadium has struggled with Wi-Fi connectivity working well over the past few years.
On neutral site football games:
“I’m real sensitive about Rice-Eccles, and we got to make sure we have the very best possible opportunities. Periodically, like we’re doing with Miami, that made sense. But personally, the BYU-Utah game needs to be on those campuses, but we’re always going to look for opportunities to be in Vegas and also other footprints that are so important in the West. We got to look at maybe playing something in Los Angeles. We’ll see if we can’t figure out something there as well.”
On the job men’s basketball coach Craig Smith has done, and what Utah needs to do to get back to the NCAA Tournament:
“Craig has built the program year-by-year. I thought we reclaimed home court last year going 14-2, obviously that triple-overtime loss to Arizona was rough. Obviously our challenges were on the road and our challenges were we fell back, as he’s accustomed to, on some defense stats that just kind of masked the fact that we were scoring 10 to 12 more points a game. So we got to get our defense tightened up, and he’s proven that he can do that over and over again. It’s a real focus.
“I love the fact that Huntsman was starting to come back a little bit. I think we averaged over 8,000 fans, which was second in the Pac-12 last year. And so we’re just going to continue to build and grow and provide the resources necessary and get after this new adventure.”
On the men’s basketball team embarking on first season in the Big 12:
“Challenging basketball conference, both on the men and the women’s side, certainly the men … I love what Craig has said about it, like competitors want to compete. And so looking at the schedule, we’re going to be at a lot of tough places. We’re going to have incredible teams coming in like Kansas. I think that’s really exciting for our roster.
“I love how our roster’s come together. I think over 50% now of student-athletes in basketball are transferring. We’re not immune to it. At the same time, you get an opportunity to get great students to come in. I’ve had a chance to go watch them work out. They’re flying around, they’re breaking our backboards and our rim, I got to talk to them about that, but they’re doing great.
“I love the staff that he’s put together. Really accomplished group of men that I think will do a great job leading a program. But we talk about excitement. I mean, listen, the fans will feel certain things about certain opponents and count wins and losses, but when you’re a competitor, that’s what you want to do. You want to compete in those venues and against those teams and they’re excited.”
On teams like Kansas coming to the Huntsman Center:
“Listen, I want our fans to come because of the Utah on the chest of the jerseys, but it’s hard to not get excited when you see a team like Kansas. I’ve had a chance to visit with coach (Bill) Self in some Big 12 meetings, and he’s fired up about the ‘Four Corners’ coming in as well, and some of the other coaches that are so accomplished there. And so listen, it’s going to be great for our fan base, just like our students, to see new teams.”
On Lynne Roberts, who recently got a contract extension, and Utah’s women’s basketball team:
“She’s incredible. Just watching her build this team through the years, always been impressed. And then like all the good coaches do, they’re rewarded. And she just nailed that recruiting class with Gianna (Kneepkens) and Jenna (Johnson) and a few others that just came in and took over the program, and then you got Alissa (Pili) to transfer and come to Utah.
“Just to watch that team, when you’re in the second round and you’re disappointed when you lost coming off the Sweet 16 prior, that’s the kind of coach you want.
“One thing I know that’s my job is to keep our ‘A’ players in place. So it made perfect sense to us to extend her. Thrilled that she … will continue to be with us and that staff, just incredible leaders in that program. I was really fired up about it.”
On Carly Dockendorf and Utah gymnastics:
“She’s great and I’m just so appreciative of what she did. At the same time, retaining No. 1 recruiting class, at least top five, just an incredible group that are already here. They’ve actually come back and already started working out.
“Yeah, she’s great and her staff is terrific. I just love the vibe around that program. They just had camp with little ones and watching them interact, especially with the Olympics coming up, you think about all the gymnasts and what they’ve accomplished.
“But Carly’s really excited, excited that the (Big 12) championship event will be in Salt Lake, which is really a testament to all the fans that show up. Commissioner noticed that real quick when that contract was up, moved it into Salt Lake. So that’s great for the Red Rocks. And again, I think they’ll love competing against these new teams as well.”
On bringing TV production for events that were formerly televised by the Pac-12 Network in-house:
“I would say of all the changes that we’re managing, that one is probably the most awesome in terms of what it can be and will be, but also one of the most challenging.
“And to your point, for 12 years, the Pac-12 Network produced games, they produced content, shows, all of that. That’s not the case here. We have an opportunity now and an expectation to do 50 live events Year 1, and that doubles in Year 2 and going forward. So we’ve got an interim plan. We’ve got some trucks that we’re going to have, they’re going to have the Utes marked on it. Bill (Riley), along with other great individuals have been recruited in to generate content, do these games.
“Everything ESPN+, which is so easy to find on Big 12 Now there. It’ll be a great exposure mechanism and we get to do some more storytelling — coming from us, who know the stories the best. So it’s been fun. Paul Kirk leading that initiative and his team, a lot of work ahead, a lot of deep breaths ahead, but we’re really excited about it.”
On the Utah-BYU rivalry:
“It’s awesome. I mean, listen, college football and frankly, college sports, the one very unique thing is true rivalries. I remember growing up in California, in Los Angeles, and watching BYU-Utah back in the, dare I say, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, all the way through. It’s one of the reasons I was really excited to come here almost seven years ago now.
“So it’s great and it’s just meaningful, and that’s what Tom and I talked about. It’s just meaningful. It’s going to count, whoever wins and loses that game, walk out of that stadium, just another step forward to a conference championship, and that means a lot.”
On playing football games in Los Angeles:
“It’s a priority of mine, personally. We have a lot of student-athletes that are from that area. I still think we’re going to still continue to have athletes from that area. I mean, it’s just such an incredible place. So yeah, I’ve been in conversations with colleagues there, ESPN events. I just think it’s important for us, when we can, to play there.”
On Wednesday, it was announced that the Utes will travel to the Rose Bowl to play UCLA to open the 2025 season, and the Bruins will play in Salt Lake City in 2030.
On the response from athletes as Utah enters the Big 12:
“Excited and enthusiastic about new faces, new places. When the fall coaches ended their campaigns last year, they immediately went to work in studying the teams. And I think the students did the same.
“And I think that, although we’ve seen some of these schools in nonconference opportunities across the platform of sports, this is different. These are accountable, real games. And so I’ve sensed a real excitement about it.
“One thing that’s really true about the Big 12, the commissioner alluded to it in the football space, is you got full venues in almost every sport. And that wasn’t always the case where we’re coming from. And so I think any student at this level wants to compete, even if it’s on the road.”
On what Ryan Smith is doing for downtown Salt Lake City with NHL and NBA and the university’s plans for downtown:
“It’s all good for the city. It’s all good for the state. My conversations with Ryan have been productive. They’ve been helpful. He’s just a phenomenal, fascinating guy. His family, they’re great people. He loves our program too. I don’t know if I just outed him on that, but I think anybody that leans into college athletics as he’s done, I’m supportive of. I mean, where it goes, I just appreciate the fact that they’re doing that.
“But I do think what’s happening downtown will only lift Utah. I mean, I bet you in 10 years we’ll have dorms down there and we’ll have a bunch of stuff down there. We’re already having more of a presence. So I think anything that goes on in downtown is good for the Utes.”
On the impact having the Olympics back in Salt Lake City will have on Rice-Eccles Stadium:
“I think as it was in 2002, I mean, it will be a game-changer. And we’re all looking forward to the final announcement here, coming up on Pioneer Day.
“… What was really, really cool for us at the University of Utah is when they brought the IOC here some months ago and they got to see what we did in the south (end zone) and that kind of space, that entertainment space, locker room space, they were just overwhelmed.
“And that was real gratifying for all of us that worked on that project. And so the Olympics gave then, we gave back a little bit with that expansion, and I’m sure that the organizing committee was so great and cooperative working with us. We’ll come up with different plans ahead.”