Villanova Debuts Basketball Strategic Excellence Fund

The landmark House v. NCAA settlement paved the way for universities to pay their student-athletes directly for their services in addition to tuition benefits and Name, Image and Likeness deals, and the Villanova Wildcats’ athletic department plans to take a novel approach to make the most of that change.

During the 2025-26 academic year, the first of the settlement arrangement, Division I programs can contribute up to $20.5 million to their athletes across all programs. Villanova will debut the new Villanova Athletics Strategic Excellence (VASE) fund in order to help generate resources for the men’s and women’s basketball programs. The fund is tax deductible, giving Wildcats fans a bonus if they want to help fund their favorite athletics programs.

It will largely supplant the university’s existing NIL collective, Friends of Nova: per villanova.com/nil, which holds announcements regarding the VASE fund, “Friends of Nova will no longer accept gifts to support student-athletes, as all gifts will now be directed to the University through the VASE Fund. However, Friends of Nova will continue to play an integral role in supporting our student-athletes by providing centralized NIL coordination across all sports; will help student-athletes connect with NIL opportunities; will oversee student-athlete contracting, activation, and education; and will support student-athletes through alumni, fan, and sponsorship-driven events, exclusive experiences, and more.”

The VASE initiative marks one of new Athletic Director Eric Roedl’s first major contributions to the university. During his previous stint at Oregon, Roedl helped make a name for himself with successful fundraising efforts and relationships with boosters, and this is an example of his savvy.