photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World photo

Athletic Director Travis Goff speaks at the press conference following KU's release of new plans to renovate David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Aug. 15, 2023.

The University of Kansas athletic department will bring in some outside help as it looks to secure its place in the college sports landscape.

KU Athletics announced on Thursday morning that it is partnering with business management consulting firm Deloitte in order to “best be prepared to navigate this transformational time.”

Athletic director Travis Goff called it “a unique opportunity to chart a path forward as a national leader.”

“Effective leadership requires humility and a willingness to bring in outside perspective and vantage points,” he said in a press release. “That approach has served us well to date and it is even more imperative at this time to work with a strategic firm like Deloitte. We are excited to launch this collaboration to help ensure Kansas Athletics’ ability to thrive in the days ahead.”

Deloitte increased its presence in college athletics over the summer, including with a booth at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention in Las Vegas in June and a webinar featuring a panel of industry leaders in July. The press release describes its association with KU as a “first-of-its-kind collaboration.”

Senior Manager Caitlin Jacklin is the leader of Deloitte’s College Athletics practice, according to the company’s website; the practice is a recently established subdivision of its Higher Education field.

As for what exactly Deloitte will do to help KU, the press release lists seven distinct areas in which it can provide input, including partnerships, branding, revenue generation, financial planning and perhaps most importantly “managing a potential revenue share and commercial NIL environment.”

In June, KU Athletics held its typical summer board meeting but did not present or approve a budget for the fiscal year 2025, with leaders citing “unknowns” and “variables” in college athletics.

The proposed settlement in the House v. NCAA case (and associated cases), which had laid out a plan for future revenue sharing between universities and their athletes, encountered significant obstacles at a recent hearing when the judge overseeing the case expressed concerns with several provisions. That cast doubt on the precise future of compensation for college athletes.