College Sports Rarity: Western Michigan Wins National Championship Without A Dime of NIL Money

The college sports world has seen a sea change with the introduction of NIL - name image and likeness - that allows college athletes to make money off of themselves and their performance and removes the thin veneer of 'amateurism' in the NCAA.

Major sports like football and basketball have seen the invention of the 'transfer portal' and massive amounts of money offered to players at the highest level and even modest sums for many athletes.

But something very different and unexpected was revealed after Western Michigan won the 2025 Frozen Four, the tournament that determines the NCAA men's hockey championship. The WMU Broncos captured the national championship - the first for the program and first for the school since a pair of cross country championships back in the 1960s. And they pulled off the feat without using any NIL money.

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The stat began to make the rounds on social media and was celebrated by outlets like Barstool Sports. One fan summing it up well:

Wild to see a team ballin' so hard w/o NIL. Just proves passion trumps $$ every time.

Even if there isn't the same level of money in college hockey the same way there is in basketball and football, it doesn't mean there's none.

READ MORE: Central vs Western Michigan is a Great Football Rivalry - Did MACtion Ruin It?

WMU is set to construct a new $515 million facility off-campus in downtown Kalamazoo for hockey and basketball replacing the venerable Lawson Arena.

Sportico, which reports on the business of sports, covered how WMU is optimistic the championship run will boost the school's profile and lead to higher enrollment and donor base.

WMU is spending about $300,000 on its first Frozen Four run, which includes charter seats and other team travel expenses. It also includes paying for 100 tickets for WMU students to support the Broncos against Boston University.

WMU doesn’t mind the cost if it means keeping eyeballs on the program long after this weekend. It makes sense, as the hockey team generates the second-most ticket sales on campus behind football, which reeled in $828,457 during the 2024 fiscal year according to documents submitted annually to the NCAA. WMU’s hockey team, meanwhile, reported $500,777 in ticket revenue—almost five times that of the Broncos men’s basketball team ($103,396).

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When college football and basketball seasons roll around again remember that many of the players you see on the field or court are raking in some NIL cash and playing perhaps without a level of pride and commitment to the school and uniform they're wearing, thinking only of a transfer if a better deal were out there.

Contrast that to the passionate athletes at the lower NCAA levels like the NIL-free WMU hockey team and their level of play done only for the love of the game.