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 $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 a dwindling number of universities to not have third-party signage inside Michigan Stadium, 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 remains steadfast that the school does not plan to cut any sports 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 in 2016-21 are eligible for nearly $3 billion in back pay. To cover that, U-M will be docked $1.5 million from its NCAA revenue distribution for a decade. Additionally, schools will be allowed to pay athletes from a pool of an estimated $22-23 million annually. Roster sizes will be capped under the new model, but departments will be allowed to issue scholarships to all players on all teams.

The lack of scholarship limits, Manuel estimates, could cost 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" — 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 has been "well-received," and that U-M is always looking for ways to generate additional revenue.

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

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