TCU is reshaping its college sports model through NIL, revenue sharing, and roster strategy as Ryan Peck works to keep the Horned Frogs competitive.
TCU athletics is trying to win in a college sports world that barely resembles the one it knew a few years ago.
The Horned Frogs reached the College Football Playoff National Championship only three seasons ago, but in 2026 the challenge isn’t just recruiting, coaching, or development.
As Ben Swanger presented in D Magazine, it’s NIL, revenue sharing, roster construction, and the financial structure behind all of it.
That changing reality is landing on the desk of senior deputy athletics director Ryan Peck, who is helping direct TCU’s response through the school’s new LEAP Agency.
The in-house model is designed to manage NIL opportunities, revenue-sharing strategy, and student-athlete support in a system that’s becoming more professional by the month.
Peck didn’t dance around the scope of the shift.
“We’re living in what I call the great modernization and the great commercialization of college sports,” he said.
That’s the backdrop for everything TCU is building now, from football roster planning to brand partnerships and long-term athlete services.
The university’s approach is to create one central structure that connects business partners, school branding, and athlete opportunities.
Peck said LEAP is meant to be “the sole source for anything related to revenue sharing and NIL above the cap,” while also functioning like a marketing agency for companies that want to work with TCU athletes.
The pressure points are everywhere. Football still drives most of the money, but TCU has to think bigger than one sport. Peck made clear he doesn’t want football’s ballooning economy to crush opportunities elsewhere.
“I don’t want the dollars associated with it nationwide to negatively impact other sports,” he said, pointing to programs such as tennis, golf, triathlon, and volleyball.
The football side, though, remains central.
Peck described modern roster building as a balancing act between high school recruiting, retaining current players, and attacking the transfer portal.
He compared the portal to “free agency with fewer rules,” a line that captures just how unstable the market still feels across college football.
TCU is also trying to separate real NIL deals from the booster-driven pay-for-play model that dominated the early years of this era.
Peck noted that true endorsements still exist, highlighting national partnerships involving women’s basketball star Olivia Miles, including a deal with PayPal.
READ MORE: TCU Baseball Hopes to Stay Hot Against Lamar
The bigger concern may be what all this movement does to players over time. Peck believes an “identity crisis” could be coming for athletes who bounce from school to school and later wonder where they truly belong.
For TCU, that’s why this moment is about more than money. It’s about building a sustainable model that can keep the Horned Frogs competitive without losing the broader purpose of college athletics.
Join our ROUNDTABLE community for FREE! Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable App to stay even more connected!