When K.C. Keeler told CBS Sports in October 2024 that Sam Houston probably had “the least amount of NIL money in the country,” he wasn’t complaining. He was describing a strategy. While Power Four programs were spending tens of millions to assemble rosters through the transfer portal, the Bearkats were sitting in the tens of thousands and winning anyway — going 10-3 that season and capping it with a New Orleans Bowl victory over Georgia Southern in their first FBS bowl appearance.
A lot has changed since then. Keeler left for Temple after the 2024 regular season, with offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen serving as acting head coach for the bowl game itself. Phil Longo, the former Wisconsin offensive coordinator with previous OC stints at North Carolina and Ole Miss, was named Sam Houston’s 16th head football coach on December 18, 2024. His first season at the helm was difficult — the Bearkats finished 2-10 in 2025, a significant step back from the Keeler era’s bowl run. Texas has expanded its NIL framework through three separate pieces of legislation. The House v. NCAA settlement has reshaped what every program in the country can do. The KatFund collective has matured. And new fan-funding tools have emerged that let supporters back individual athletes directly.
What hasn’t changed is the budget reality. Sam Houston still operates in Conference USA — a Group of Six league competing for relevance against richer Power Four programs — and the Moneyball discipline Keeler built is the playbook that Longo, GM Clayton Barnes, and Athletic Director Bobby Williams are working to extend through what’s now a clear rebuilding cycle.
Here’s how Sam Houston State NIL deals actually work in 2026 — what’s been built, who runs it, and where athletes, fans, and local businesses fit in.
A Department of 18 Sports, Not Just a Football Program
Sam Houston fields 18 varsity teams as of 2025, after adding beach volleyball to the lineup. The department covers football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, beach volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s track and field (indoor and outdoor), women’s tennis, and women’s bowling. That breadth matters for NIL because the platforms and policies that govern athlete compensation apply across every sport, not just the ones with bowl games.
The athletic department has won the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Cup seven times — the most in that league’s history — including three consecutive years (2005–2007) and again in 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2019. That track record speaks to a department that performs across sports rather than relying on one or two programs to carry the brand. For fans, that means there are athletes worth backing in just about every season of the year.
The Moneyball Foundation
Sam Houston’s 2023 athletic revenue was $23.6 million, the lowest in Conference USA according to the Knight Commission. That number is the context for everything else. The Bearkats aren’t outspending anyone. They’re trying to be smarter than everyone in a sport where smart is in short supply.
The philosophy that built the program is worth understanding because it still shapes how NIL money flows in Huntsville. Keeler, who won FCS national championships at two different schools (Delaware in 2003, Sam Houston in 2020) and is the all-time leader in FCS playoff wins, was explicit about what he did with the limited NIL money he had. It didn’t go to transfers trying to negotiate up. As he told CBS Sports about three portal transfers who wanted to talk money during their visits: “You’re at the wrong place.” The NIL dollars went to roster leaders who met academic and social requirements — players already inside the program who reflected its culture. Fans who want to track player movement across the country can follow it in real time on the RallyFuel Transfer Tracker.
GM Clayton Barnes, who was 29 when he took over personnel decisions and remains in the role under Longo, put it differently: “If you’re all of a sudden putting all your chips on one or two guys, the guys are all of a sudden looking around saying, ‘He’s not producing, why is he getting paid?’ You don’t have that problem when you’re a lot more equal across the board.”
That principle — retention over splashy acquisition — shaped the program’s NIL philosophy long before the formal infrastructure caught up. Sam Houston also got creative about generating money. Barnes built an auction in 2024 featuring 25 items, including all-access passes that let fans shadow the team during away trips to Rice and Texas State. A few thousand dollars went straight into retention.
That’s not a Power Four playbook. It’s the right playbook for the budget.
The Texas NIL Framework
Texas has built one of the most comprehensive state-level NIL frameworks in the country through three pieces of legislation. The Bearkats operate under all three.
Senate Bill 1385 (2021). The foundation. Effective September 1, 2021, SB 1385 established NIL rights for Texas college athletes, protected scholarships from NIL earnings, and required mandatory financial literacy workshops. SHSU’s institutional NIL policy is built directly on this statute.
House Bill 2804 (2023). Institutional empowerment. HB 2804 allows Texas schools to assist athletes with NIL opportunities, provides a legal safe harbor protecting schools from NCAA sanctions, and allows athletes to use university facilities and trademarks at market rate compensation. It also makes NIL contract terms confidential under Texas law.
House Bill 126 (2025). Direct compensation. Effective June 5, 2025, HB 126 authorized direct institutional payments to athletes — up to roughly $20.5 million annually per school — and allowed 17-year-old high school seniors to sign NIL agreements with colleges. Crucially, it states that student-athletes are not classified as employees of the institution.
Together, those three bills give SHSU and its athletes one of the strongest NIL legal environments in the country.
The Current SHSU NIL Stack
The infrastructure has caught up to the law. In 2026, the program runs on a layered system.
KatFund. The SHSU-affiliated collective. Launched September 3, 2022 as the official NIL collective of the Sam Houston Bearkats, KatFund is an independent organization registered as an LLC seeking 501(c)(3) status. Organized by Bearkat alumni, boosters, and former athletes, it pools fan and booster money to fund deals for Sam Houston student-athletes. KatFund runs endorsement opportunities, meet-and-greets, charity events, and golf tournaments — and lists community partners including the Boys & Girls Club of Walker County and Trinity River Food Bank. Fans can subscribe directly through kat-fund.com.
Bearkat Competitive Excellence (NIL) Fund. Run through the SHSU athletics donation portal at gobearkats.com, this is the school’s own giving channel for NIL-related support. It sits alongside general athletic giving as part of the broader Competitive Excellence Funds the department has built out.
RallyFuel. The Bearkats also have a school page on RallyFuel, where individual fans can fuel specific athletes through Conditional NIL Engagement Rights. When a fan purchases Fan Fuel, they’re purchasing a conditional right — if conditions are met, an NIL Agreement is offered to the athlete; if conditions aren’t met (for example, if the athlete transfers), the fan receives an automatic refund. Ninety percent of every dollar reaches the athlete, and payments process through Stripe. Browse Bearkat athletes on the Sam Houston RallyFuel page.
The three channels do different things. KatFund pools fan and booster money into broader programming. The Excellence Fund is the institutional channel. RallyFuel is fan-to-athlete fueling at any contribution level, with conditional protection built in.
The National Regulatory Layer
A lot of older NIL guides are out of date. Here’s what’s actually current.
The House v. NCAA settlement took effect July 1, 2025. It allows schools to share revenue directly with athletes — up to roughly $20.5 million per school for 2025–26, rising annually. That cap applies to Conference USA programs as well as Power Four ones. What SHSU actually distributes depends on revenue, sport-level allocation decisions, and Title IX considerations, all of which CUSA schools are working through in real time.
A new enforcement body, the College Sports Commission, oversees compliance. Third-party NIL deals above $600 have to be reported through NIL Go, a clearinghouse that checks whether deals reflect fair market value rather than disguised pay-for-play. An April 2026 executive order — “Urgent National Action to Save College Sports” — tied federal funding eligibility to NIL compliance, raising the stakes further.
The era of loose paperwork is over.
What SHSU Actually Requires of Its Athletes
SHSU’s institutional NIL policy (last reviewed October 2024) spells out several obligations every Bearkat athlete needs to know.
Disclosure is required for every deal. Before accepting any NIL compensation, athletes must submit the “Name, Image, Likeness Approval” workflow in ARMS Software. The compliance office reviews the proposed contract and flags any conflict with institutional contracts or policy. If a conflict is identified, the athlete has 10 days from the date of disclosure to resolve it. Deals of $600 or more also have to be reported through NIL Go within 5 business days.
Specific endorsement categories are off-limits. Per Texas law and SHSU policy, athletes can’t take NIL compensation for endorsing alcohol or tobacco products (including e-cigarettes and nicotine delivery devices), gambling or sports betting, adult-oriented businesses, firearms the athlete can’t legally purchase, or controlled substances and performance-enhancing drugs. These aren’t gray areas — they’re prohibited by statute.
Institutional property is licensed separately. Under HB 2804, athletes can use SHSU facilities, uniforms, logos, and marks in NIL activities, but only with the right agreements in place and at market rate compensation. A business that wants Bearkat IP in the ad needs that licensing handled separately from the athlete contract.
No pay-for-play or compensation tied to enrollment. NIL compensation can’t be provided in exchange for athletic performance, attendance at SHSU, or by SHSU staff using SHSU property. HB 126 also makes clear that student-athletes are not employees of the institution.
Contracts can’t extend past athletic eligibility. Per SB 1385, NIL agreements terminate when the athlete’s participation at SHSU ends.
International student-athletes face visa restrictions. Earning NIL income can violate certain visa terms. International athletes have to check with both compliance and the Office of International Programs before signing anything.
Financial literacy workshops are required. Texas law requires student-athletes to complete at least 5 hours of financial literacy programming, covering financial aid, debt management, time management, budgeting, and academic resources.
Agents must be registered. Texas law requires all athlete agents to register with the Secretary of State under the Texas Athlete Agent Act. Contracts negotiated by unregistered agents are legally void.
Beyond Football: NIL Across the Bearkat Roster
Football gets the headlines and the largest revenue-share allocation at most schools, but NIL doesn’t stop at the gridiron. Every athlete in Sam Houston’s 18-sport department is eligible to sign deals, build a brand, and receive fan support — and several sports offer opportunities that football simply can’t.
Men’s basketball, under third-year head coach Chris Mudge, finished 2025-26 at 22-12 (13-7 Conference USA) and earned an NIT First Round appearance — a significant step forward from the previous season’s 13-19 record. The Bearkats play their home games at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. Hoops content travels well on social media, and engagement rates on player highlights regularly outpace football’s reach-per-post.
Women’s basketball has earned postseason berths in recent years. Women’s college basketball has been one of the fastest-growing categories in NIL nationally — brands have noticed, and so have fans.
Baseball plays at Don Sanders Stadium and has sent players to MLB, including former Bearkat outfielder Bryce Johnson, currently with the San Diego Padres after his earlier career with the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates. Bearkat baseball draws strong regional interest and gives athletes a long season window to build engaged audiences.
Softball plays at the Bearkat Softball Complex. Women’s softball has emerged as one of the most marketable college sports outside football and basketball, with athletes building national audiences through highlight content and personality-driven posts.
Beach volleyball, which debuted in 2025, gives Sam Houston a presence in one of the most visually engaging sports in college athletics. Beach volleyball content performs exceptionally well on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and the sport’s emerging college status means early athletes can carve out outsized followings.
Soccer, volleyball, tennis, golf, cross country, track and field, and bowling round out the department. Olympic-pathway sports in particular — track, swimming, golf, tennis — have growing NIL appeal as the LA28 Games approach.
For fans, this means there are athletes worth fueling in almost every season. Football fall, basketball winter, baseball and softball spring, beach volleyball spring, track in spring and summer. The platforms that support NIL at SHSU don’t restrict by sport.
The Battle of the Piney Woods: A Built-In Fan-Engagement Engine
If there’s a single moment that captures the passion of Bearkat fans, it’s the Battle of the Piney Woods — Sam Houston’s annual rivalry against Stephen F. Austin. The football version of the rivalry was played at NRG Stadium in Houston since 2010 and routinely drew one of the largest crowds of the FCS calendar.
The football rivalry has been dormant since the last meeting on October 1, 2022, after SHSU’s move to FBS Conference USA while SFA remained in the Southland Conference. But the broader Battle of the Piney Woods rivalry continues across other sports — including a men’s basketball exhibition matchup in October 2025 and women’s soccer competition in 2025.
The rivalry’s intensity is a structural advantage for NIL. Fan bases that show up for rivalry games also show up to support athletes the rest of the year. The same energy that fills stadium seats translates into KatFund subscriptions, Excellence Fund donations, and fans fueling individual players on RallyFuel. The platform’s RallyFuel Battleground feature — where fans of competing fan bases compete in real time to fuel the same athlete — fits naturally with rivalry-driven engagement.
That energy is the asset NIL platforms are designed to channel.
For Athletes: How to Actually Build NIL at SHSU
The fundamentals apply at any school. The SHSU-specific angles:
Build the audience before you need it. Engagement rate matters more than raw follower count, especially for local and regional deals. Authentic content beats polished content. Post consistently.
Disclose every deal through ARMS. Not optional. Not a formality. This is the step that protects eligibility.
Lean into the Houston market. This is genuinely a competitive advantage. Houston’s energy, healthcare, real estate, hospitality, and restaurant industries are all within an hour’s drive. Local brands often want regional athlete partnerships at price points that work for both sides, and there are far more of them than in isolated college towns. The Bearkats are also playing 2025 home football games at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston during Bowers Stadium renovations, which puts the program in front of an even larger metropolitan audience.
Build a one-page media kit. Sport, school, social handles, follower counts, engagement rate, past partnerships, contact email. Most athletes don’t have one. Having one lets you pitch local businesses proactively rather than waiting for them to call.
Plan for taxes. NIL income is taxable. Texas has no state income tax, but federal taxes still apply, and athletes who compete in other states may owe income tax in those states too. Set aside roughly 25 to 30 percent of every check until you’ve talked to a CPA. Expect a 1099 from any payer that sends $600 or more.
Verify your agent. If you’re working with an athlete agent, confirm they’re registered with the Texas Secretary of State under the Athlete Agent Act. An unregistered agent’s contract is unenforceable.
For Fans: Three Real Ways to Support Bearkat Athletes
Join KatFund. Subscribing supports the collective’s broader programming — events, group deals, retention initiatives. Your money goes into a pool that benefits multiple athletes.
Donate to the Bearkat Competitive Excellence (NIL) Fund. This is the school’s official institutional channel, accessible through the athletics donation portal at gobearkats.com.
Fuel an athlete directly through RallyFuel. If you want to back a specific player by name — a softball pitcher, a defensive back, a beach volleyball duo, a track athlete — the Sam Houston RallyFuel page lets you do it with conditional protection. When you purchase Fan Fuel, you’re purchasing a Conditional NIL Engagement Right. If conditions are met, an NIL Agreement is offered to the athlete. If conditions aren’t met (the athlete transfers, the conditions otherwise fail), you receive an automatic refund to your original payment method. No manual request required.
The three channels aren’t mutually exclusive. Plenty of fans use more than one.
A note on what fueling is and isn’t: Fan support through RallyFuel is voluntary and conditional. Fuel purchases are not charitable donations. Purchasing Fan Fuel does not guarantee athletic performance, playing time, or any specific outcome, and RallyFuel is not a guarantor that any athlete will accept an NIL Agreement.
For Local Businesses
Houston-area businesses have real opportunities, but a few things have to be right.
You’re licensing the athlete. SHSU IP is separate. An NIL contract grants rights to the athlete’s name, image, and likeness. If you want the logo or uniform in the ad, that’s a separate licensing transaction with the university under HB 2804. Handle it as two agreements.
Watch the prohibited categories. If your business is in alcohol, tobacco, gambling, adult content, or any of the other restricted categories, an NIL deal is off the table. Pick a different channel.
Document deliverables. Specific posts, specific platforms, specific dates, specific compensation, specific cancellation terms. Vague contracts cause compliance headaches and damaged relationships.
Build in measurement. Promo codes attributable to the athlete, engagement comparisons against your standard content, foot traffic counts on appearance days. Measurable ROI is how the next deal gets approved.
Look beyond football. A basketball player, softball pitcher, or beach volleyball athlete with strong local engagement can deliver better ROI than a third-string football player. Sport breadth is an advantage Houston-area brands often overlook.
The Bottom Line
Sam Houston State has spent the past several years proving that NIL doesn’t have to be a spending arms race to be effective. The program built that approach under Keeler, won a New Orleans Bowl with it in December 2024, and is now testing whether the same discipline translates through Phil Longo’s rebuilding cycle. Longo’s first season produced a 2-10 record — a painful but not unusual transition year as a new staff installs its system and identifies which players fit the program’s standard. The Bearkats still have the lowest revenue in Conference USA. The roster math hasn’t fundamentally changed.
What’s changed in 2026 is the legal and financial infrastructure underneath that approach. Texas has built a three-bill NIL framework that gives Bearkat athletes some of the strongest protections in the country. KatFund pools collective money for broader programs. The Excellence Fund gives the school its own institutional channel. RallyFuel lets individual fans back individual athletes directly, with conditional protection that refunds them if conditions aren’t met. And the Houston market continues to give Bearkat athletes — across all 18 sports — a corporate sponsor pool that smaller-town programs simply don’t have.
For athletes, that’s a real path to NIL income that doesn’t require being a five-star recruit or a football starter. For fans, it’s more than one way to participate, in more than one season of the year. For local businesses, it’s regional talent at workable prices, inside a compliance framework that protects everyone.
The Bearkats are rebuilding. The football program has a long climb back to bowl contention after the 2-10 reset. But the underlying NIL infrastructure — backed by AD Bobby Williams and GM Clayton Barnes — is sturdier than the budget would suggest, and the multi-sport breadth means there are 18 sports’ worth of athletes worth supporting regardless of where football sits in the standings.
Ready to back a Bearkat? Browse Bearkat athletes on the Sam Houston RallyFuel page, get the RallyFuel app to fuel athletes from your phone, or follow RallyFuel TV on YouTube for athlete features and NIL coverage.
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