In yet another sign of the changing times in college athletics, the Michigan athletic department will soon seek advice from fans and season ticket holders by sending out a survey on ways to generate additional revenue.

This comes from Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, who addressed a number of topics on a recent episode of "Conqu'ring Heroes," U-M's in-house podcast, given that revenue sharing is now on the doorstep after a recent settlement in the House vs. NCAA lawsuit.

The long and the short of it: Michigan intends to distribute somewhere between $22-23 million among student-athletes annually, the most amount schools are allowed to pay, beginning in the 2025-26 academic year when the settlement takes effect.

“There’s actually a lot of things we’ve left on the table,” Manuel said. “We look forward to (sending out) that (survey) and hearing back. Not that we are looking to implement all of what we’re surveying them on, but just to get a sense of where our fans are and to get their feedback."

Perhaps the most notable among those options is in-stadium signage. Michigan is one of the dwindling number of universities to not have third-party signage inside the Big House, Crisler Center or any of U-M's athletic facilities, nor are there corporate logos or sponsors with affiliations to the stadium or field name.

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Even with the increasing costs, Manuel remained steadfast that the school did not play to cut a single sport after revenue sharing goes into place.

“We are firm in our commitment not to eliminate any sports or reduce the number of scholarships we currently offer,” Manuel wrote in a letter published last Wednesday. "We plan to continue an approach that was established when Michigan started competing in intercollegiate athletics in 1865: providing championship-level support to each of our NCAA varsity sports.”

Among the changes coming next year, athletes who played between 2016-2021 are eligible for nearly $3 billion in backpay. As a result, U-M will lose $1.5 million from NCAA's revenue distribution for a decade. Additionally, schools will be allowed to pay athletes an estimated $22-23 million annually and while roster sizes would be capped under the new model, it would also allow departments to issue scholarships to all players on all teams.

This would mean no more scholarship limits, but Manuel estimates that could cost be an additional $30 million draw from the scholarship fund. It's also perhaps the main reason he's looking into the "source that’s untapped at this time" that is advertising in the largest stadium in America.

"There's no commitment to doing it — but one of the things that stands out is in our stadium, in Michigan Stadium," Manuel said. "We have prided ourselves, we've had a history of no signage, no advertising in Michigan Stadium. As our fans go to other locations, they'll see how people have utilized their stadiums to bring in revenue. Now, the good news is, we have a source that is untapped at this point in time.

"Not that we have plans right now to do that, but that's one of the sense of questions that we want to get our fans to say: How would you like to see us develop revenue streams that would support our student-athletes? Is it ticket price increases? Is it through corporate sponsorship? Is it through looking at other premium options that others have, those kind of things?"

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Michigan already this year began a premium pregame lounge experience inside Michigan Stadium at the Mortenson Plaza called the 'All-Star Lounge' which requires a separate ticket to enter. Manuel said it's been "well received" and U-M is always looking for ways to generate additional revenue.

In their most recent projections, the U-M athletic department estimated a revenue of $255.7 million with $253.6 million in operating expenses in the 2024-25 athletic year.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan athletics to poll fans for their revenue raising opinions