NIL
Dan McDonnell embraces NIL amid resources fight
Prior to 2025, the Cardinals missed three of the last four NCAA Tournaments. Now they’re headed to the 10th super regional of head coach Dan McDonnell’s 19 years at the helm. Dan McDonnell’s voice trembled, and his eyes welled up with tears. “My wife will tell ya, I’m not easy to deal with,” McDonnell said, […]

Prior to 2025, the Cardinals missed three of the last four NCAA Tournaments. Now they’re headed to the 10th super regional of head coach Dan McDonnell’s 19 years at the helm.
Dan McDonnell’s voice trembled, and his eyes welled up with tears.
“My wife will tell ya, I’m not easy to deal with,” McDonnell said, scoffing, “when we’re losing.”
He paused in an attempt to regulate his emotions.
“And the last couple years were rough,” McDonnell continued, speaking from the podium during Louisville baseball’s postgame news conference Sunday. “I mean, they were.”
Prior to 2025, the Cardinals missed three of the last four NCAA Tournaments — a low point in McDonnell’s otherwise impressive 19 years as U of L head coach. College baseball, like most other sports in the name, image and likeness era, has become a high-speed arms race for resources and talent. McDonnell has expressed his dissatisfaction with Louisville’s support in that realm over the last few years, which has correlated with a downturn in results.
He described himself Sunday as having been trapped “in the valley.” But thanks to his wife, Julie, their faith in God and “super players,” McDonnell found a way out and into the NCAA super regionals after an impressive 6-0 win over Wright State in Nashville. McDonnell pulled out a pair of Cardinal-red reading glasses and read an excerpt from “The Path to Higher Life” by poet Andrew Murray
“Down, lower down! Just as water always seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds men abased and empty, His glory and power flow in to exalt and to bless.”
The battle for resources has been a tough one for McDonnell through nearly two decades and three athletics directors. Here’s a look at the current state of spending on Louisville baseball as the Cards prepare for the next phase of the postseason:
Dan Furman, president of the official collective of Louisville Athletics 502Circle, said McDonnell truly bought into NIL for the first time this last offseason after a timid embrace of it the year prior. 502Circle amped up spending for the 2025 roster (though Furman did not want to get into precise dollar amounts) to retain talented players including Zion Rose, Patrick Forbes and Tucker Biven. While the collective isn’t shelling out the same amount of cash as some of baseball’s biggest brands such as Tennessee or Ole Miss — where players could’ve gone and gotten six-figure NIL deals, Furman said — 502Circle’s budget is nothing to sniff at.
“I know he gets in it about resources,” Furman said of McDonnell, “but it’s like, I would be hard-pressed to find seven teams that spent more in the ACC. And the ACC was the most competitive baseball league in the country this year.”
Furman, who played college baseball at Pitt from 2014-17, also touted Louisville’s rich tradition and pro pedigree as a selling point for recruits. McDonnell has led U of L to a whopping 10 NCAA super regionals and five College World Series. Active Cards in MLB include Adam Duvall (Atlanta Braves), Henry Davis (Pittsburgh Pirates), Will Smith and Dalton Rushing (both with the Los Angeles Dodgers).
In Furman’s view, talent acquisition is the key to success. It’s not about the “extravagant facilities” or “flashing lights.” It’s about getting the players who can compete, win championships and develop into successful pros.
In June 2023, Louisville approved a $3 million upgrade to Jim Patterson Stadium. Since then, U of L baseball has renovated its locker room (using a six-figure donation from Davis), stadium entryway, ticket office, weight room/workout area, athletic training room and home and visitor dugouts. Louisville has also expanded the berm seating area and created a new third-base fan area inside the stadium.
These upgrades “accounted for the majority of the money that was approved,” U of L baseball spokesperson Stephen Williams told The Courier Journal.
U of L announced it had secured a $3 million donation from Kroger in April 2021 to build a new indoor practice facility, but that project has yet to break ground.
“Since we announced the indoor facility in the Spring of 2021, the college athletics landscape has changed dramatically,” Williams told The Courier Journal in an email. “With that in mind, we decided to pause on that and other capital projects throughout the department.
“As has been the norm with athletic departments around the country, with the constantly changing landscape around NIL, revenue sharing, etc., the University of Louisville is constantly evaluating how to best utilize the resources provided by our fans, donors, and sponsors so that all of our programs are well positioned to compete at the highest level and win championships.”
Below is a list of Louisville baseball spending based on the athletics department’s annual NCAA financial report.
The 2023-24 fiscal year roughly correlates to the 2023-24 school year, which encompassed the 2024 baseball season. The 2022-23 fiscal year roughly correlates to the 2022-23 school year, which encompassed the 2023 baseball season, and so on.
Of note: 2019 is the final fiscal year not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 baseball season ended in March, months short — meaning fewer games and less spending. Since then, athletics departments across the country have been recovering from the impact canceled and abbreviated seasons had on their annual budgets.
Louisville baseball spending:
- FY2019: $4,572,824 (3.02% of total athletics spending)
- FY2020: $4,164,385 (3%)
- FY2021: $3,593,067 (3.29%)
- FY2022: $5,204,574 (3.72%)
- FY2023: $4,995,016 (3.56%)
- FY2024: $5,591,981 (3.39%)
When comparing McDonnell’s reported compensation with that of coaches in the 2024 College World Series, he’s the second-highest paid by a wide margin. Head coaching compensation listed in NCAA financial reports includes “salaries, benefits and bonuses paid by the university and related entities.”
2024 College World Series schools head coach compensation vs. Louisville:
- Dan McDonnell, Louisville: $1,787,567 (31.97% of total baseball spending)
- Nick Mingione, Kentucky: $983,315 (20.07%)
- Link Jarrett, Florida State: $907,143 (17.15%)
- Elliott Avent, N.C. State: $735,838 (15.69%)
- Jim Schlossnagle, Texas A&M: $1,373,715 (14.99%)
- Tony Vitello, Tennessee: $1,916,592 (14.28%)
- Scott Forbes, North Carolina: $688,822 (14.12%)
Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com, and follow her on X @petitus25.