By Ella Grady, Staff Writer 

On July 1, 2021, the NCAA allowed students to profit from their publicity rights for the very first time, thus entering the name, image and likeness (NIL) era of college athletics.

With a new way to support athletic programming and its student athletes, collegiate athletic staff now face a new challenge: the House v. NCAA settlement that went into effect in July 2025. 

The settlement allows Division I schools to share revenue directly with student athletes. In power conferences such as the Big East, this can account for up to 22% of a university’s average revenue. 

“This sets the cap at $20.5 million,” Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations, Brian Hicks said. “We’re not coming close to that cap, but it still represents a major new obligation for us. And since Big East schools don’t have football programs absorbing most of those dollars, the shared revenue at Xavier—like at our conference peers—primarily supports men’s and women’s basketball.”

By watching expenses and reallocating when necessary, Xavier Athletics found a new creative revenue stream for its programming: Muskie Lager.

Muskie Lager builds on its standing partnership with Cincinnati Beverage Company. It also brings back Burger Beer, a Cincinnati staple that became almost synonymous with Cincinnati sports over 90 years ago. 

According to its website, the Burger Brewing Company began as a malt operation and evolved into a full-scale brewery after Prohibition.

Simply put, fans have always wanted a Xavier-themed beer. Hicks and his team responded by keeping everything local. This includes brewing the beer in Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine district, and creating the branding with local creative firm, Dewhaus. 

“This partnership lets us celebrate a piece of Cincinnati brewing history while also generating new support for our student‑athletes,” Hicks said. “We did consider names with broader appeal, but in the end, leaning into our “Muskies” nickname just felt right. Muskie Lager was the clear favorite.” 

The beer, launched on Oct. 18, 2025, raised early concerns about a revenue-sharing product. As news spread, production increased and distribution expanded to over 75 locations throughout Greater Cincinnati. 

The first priority was to get this beverage in the hands of those living in the surrounding campus neighborhood. This highlights distribution to Dana Garden’s, Cappy’s, Quick-Pick, United Dairy Farmers (UDF) and Stone Lanes Bowling Alley. At Cintas Center alone, over 800 units of beer were sold per game. 

“Xavier Athletics and its student‑athletes benefit from sponsorship revenue tied to the use of Xavier trademarks, plus a portion of every sale goes to the All For One Fund. We expect the program to bring in close to $40,000 each year,” Hicks said.

To support Xavier Athletics in another format this year, fans were invited to take part in the Xavier Athletics Round-up for Excellence initiative, which allows them to round up totals to the nearest dollar. This ran at all home men’s and women’s basketball games, bringing $850 per men’s game. 

The All-For-One mentality is at the center of Xavier University as its revenue strategy is crafted to support Xavier student-athletes on their respective playing fields and in the classroom across all 19 programs. The tip-off of Muskie Lager is on track to do just that.