The Iowa Hawkeyes Athletics Department is responding quickly to the House v. NCAA Settlement. On Friday, Judge Claudia Wilken approved the settlement, allowing schools to pay athletes directly.
The settlement allows schools to access a revenue-sharing pool of $20.5 million and to dictate rules and guidelines for Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals and booster payments.
In response to the settlement, Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz and the athletic department created the "Flight Funds" program to boost funding. The program is a new "charitable avenue" that allows donors to invest in revenue-sharing programs that directly benefit athletes.
Iowa Football, Men's and Women's Basketball, and Men's Wrestling have established "Flight Funds" programs, alongside a general "Flight Funds" program.
On Monday, the University of Iowa continued its preparation for the new revenue-sharing program by hiring a former NFL general manager as a consultant for the Athletics Department.
Iowa hired former Chiefs GM/Patriots executive Scott Pioli as preparation for revenue sharing and will continue to work with all of Iowa's programs. Pioli has been at Iowa's football practices previously and is close with football coach Kirk Ferentz.
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) June 9, 2025
Goetz and the University of Iowa are attempting to get ahead of the curve by hiring Scott Pioli, the former general manager of the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. The Athletic's Scott Dochterman initially reported the news.
Dochterman reported that Pioli will be a consultant for Iowa programs and is close with Iowa Football Head Coach Kirk Ferentz. Pioli has had a long relationship with Ferentz and has attended Iowa Football practices.
Pioli has multiple years of NFL experience, having worked in the league since 1992. He joined Iowa after serving as the Assistant Manager for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons from 2014 to 2019.