College sports now includes the opportunity for Villanova student-athlete money to come pouring in from sponsors promoting their name, image, and likeness (NIL), and Villanova’s history of success makes the new arrangement particularly lucrative for its players, writes Mike Jensen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

It’s a balancing act as the university adapts to the changes while keeping the culture that gave them 2016 and 2018 NCAA titles.

The university has created an NIL collective.

The collective operates independently of the school, funding NIL opportunities for the student-athletes.

Sources report the total payout to the men’s team this season is $3 million, with scholarship players receiving at least $75,000 apiece on top of the scholarships.

Villanova also leads in creating a general manager position for Baker Dunleavy, a former Villanova player.

The changes mean more complexity. Schools with stronger NIL collectives have a recruiting advantage over those that don’t, a key point for Villanova, which greatly values its retention and fit of players.

“We’ve always recruited a specific way,” said head coach Kyle Neptune. “We still try to find people who find value in what Villanova is.”

Read more about how Villanova student-athlete money is making the university adjust to a new college sports landscape in The Philadelphia Inquirer.