In early April 2007, the Western Kentucky University Foundation received a $5 million gift to support the renovation and enhancement of Western Kentucky's L.T. Smith Stadium, which was named after one of the school's former football and basketball coaches in the 1920s. The gift came from Houchens Industries, Inc. – once a small grocery store-turned-conglomerate of neighborhood market stores that's now worth more than $2 billion and listed by Forbes as one of the largest 100-percent employee-owned companies in the world.
Houchens Industries' subsidiary companies include Food Giant and IGA, and its website lists Ace Hardware, Cinnabon, Shell, Sonic and Subway among its franchises.
The $5 million gift from Houchens to Western Kentucky was no secret, as the fund agreement included naming options and recognition that turned L.T. Smith Stadium into Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium. Houchens Industries received 20 club seats at half price as part of the agreement, plus the entire scoreboard end zone area was to be reserved for the company.
Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium is roughly a seven-minute drive from Houchens Industries' headquarters in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
But the $5 million gift to improve Western Kentucky's football stadium wasn't the only investment Houchens Industries agreed to provide the school's athletic department in the spring of 2007.
On the same day that members of Western Kentucky and Houchens Industries' leadership signed the fund agreement for the $5 million gift, they also signed two addendums with the stated purpose of turning the Hilltoppers' men's basketball program into one of the top 25 nationally.
"One of [Houchens Industries CEO Jimmie Gipson's] contentions was WKU had been to a Final Four, had been to a Sweet 16, we were going to hang our hat on basketball, ultimately," said a person familiar with the fund agreement, "and he was concerned that every time we had a successful team...we would lose our coach. And inevitably, they would go to Georgia, in one case, and other Power Five schools."
In 1980, Gene Keady left Western Kentucky for Purdue, where he led the Boilermakers to 17 NCAA tournament appearances in 25 years. Keady's successor at Western Kentucky, Clem Haskins, moved on to Minnesota after a six-year tenure that included two NCAA tournament berths and a transition for the Hilltoppers from the Ohio Valley Conference to the Sun Belt.
Ralph Willard left Western Kentucky for Pittsburgh in 1994 and Dennis Felton was hired by Georgia in 2003.
"[Gipson] believed we had to pay a more aggressive salary to keep (our coaches) and be one of those few teams like a Gonzaga or a few other 'mid-majors' that make the Sweet 16 or the Final Four on a regular basis," said the person familiar with the fund agreement.
Part of the agreement reads:
"The purpose of this annual leadership gift to Western Kentucky University Foundation will be to support the WKU Men's Basketball Program and lead the way for the program to be consistently ranked in the top 25 of Division I collegiate basketball programs in the NCAA.
"The agreement includes the following terms, and is operative only during the contract term of a men's head basketball coach, with such contract having been approved by Houchens."
Gipson, who was named Houchens' CEO in 1993, was inducted into Western Kentucky's Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2008, a year after his corporation made the $5 million gift for the football stadium as well as the further commitment to the Hilltoppers' future on the hardwood.
"Very early on, Western Kentucky University was a part of my life experience," Gipson told Chain Store Age. "Growing up in the area, and as a graduate of WKU, I became aware of the value that a university can have on its community, and how important it was for the community to reciprocate.
"Strengthening the university through whatever support Houchens Industries can offer as a corporate citizen leads to a stronger geographic region both economically and socially, and should ultimately lead to a stronger pool of talent for everyone to pull from."
An interview request for Gipson and Houchens President Spencer Coates that was sent to Houchens Industries was not answered. Multiple phone calls and a text message sent to Wood Selig, who was Western Kentucky's AD at the time the fund agreement was signed and who has been Old Dominion's athletic director since 2010, were not returned.
For the stated "Houchens Industries' approved men's basketball head coach position" described in the fund agreement, the company agreed to commit up to $100,000 annually for the 2008 and 2009 seasons if the university committed to a base salary of at least $250,000. Houchens agreed to commit up to $350,000 annually in future years if the university committed to a total base salary of at least $350,000.
So the corporation agreed to commit to paying up to 50 percent of Western Kentucky's head men's basketball coach's base salary.
If the coach's contract was worth more than $700,000, the additional cost would be split 50/50 between Western Kentucky and Houchens.
"The privately funded portion of the salary will be held and paid by the WKU Foundation in the form of a salary supplement through the standard WKU payroll procedure to include all required deductions."
Here's a timeline of recent Western Kentucky men's basketball head coaches and their annual base salaries, according to signed contracts and emails obtained via public records requests:
The two parties agreed that "the gift will be credited to the development program of Western Kentucky University, but will only be announced to the media if approved by Houchens."
So the privately-held corporation got to decide if the public learned that potentially half of the head coach's salary was being paid by the private corporation. That was arguably fitting with Houchens' profile as a company, even among locals in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
"Houchens was originally a grocery chain and then most of their revenue were off other companies. They were like the holding company," said the person familiar with the fund agreement. "A lot of people in Bowling Green didn’t know that much about them. They saw their name on sponsorships but I would say they were more under the radar.”
A story published by the local Bowling Green Daily News in July 2007, titled "Growing stadium gets new name," didn't mention Houchens' contributions to the Western Kentucky's men's basketball program until the 16th paragraph.
"Houchens has also committed to supporting the basketball program, giving $1.5 million each year in support," the Daily News wrote without any specific mentions of where Houchens' financial investment into the program was going.
The fund agreement signed in 2007 didn't include a contract term so the language of the contract suggests Houchens Industries' commitment to Western Kentucky men's basketball was indefinite.
"If circumstances arise or exist wherein there is no signed Athletic Employment Contract between Western Kentucky University and a Head Men's Basketball Coach (i.e. temporary vacancy in the position, appointment of an interim head coach), the parties agree and understand that this Fund Agreement will not become void nor shall it lapse..."
Email inquiries sent to Western Kentucky Athletic Director Todd Stewart and a Western Kentucky media relations representative asking if the university has an active relationship with Houchens Industries were not answered.
As part of the agreement, Western Kentucky agreed that prior to each season, it would present an overall business plan for the cost to broadcast all of its men's basketball games for the season. Houchens agreed it would pay 50 percent of that cost.
"[Gipson] also contended that we needed to be on TV," said the person familiar with the fund agreement. "And so WKU, I think, was one of the first to create their own network."
The two sides agreed that any unsold television advertising spots during game broadcasts would be used "to promote WKU men's basketball as a Division I top 25 program."
Western Kentucky also agreed to provide naming options and recognition in Diddle Arena to Houchens for its consideration.
Furthermore, Western Kentucky and Houchens didn't just agree to a financial investment into WKU's men's basketball program but a third addendum to the fund agreement suggested that Houchens was granted a seat at the table in determining the overall business plan for the Hilltoppers' future in men's basketball.
Western Kentucky and Houchens agreed that each spring, one or more representatives from Houchens would meet with WKU's president, athletic director and men's basketball coach, who would collectively determine the "supplemental funds needed for WKU Men's basketball to achieve in the following year a Division I top 25 status."
When that amount was determined, Houchens agreed to pay 50 percent of it as a matching incentive to Western Kentucky and its donors.
Houchens' influence stretched to potentially influencing hiring and firing decisions as Houchens agreed to share half of the increased base salary and benefits for each Western Kentucky assistant coach "if Houchens Industries and Western Kentucky University agree that hiring replacement assistant coaches are necessary."
The company's influence also included consideration regarding potential conference realignment.
"If during the term of a Houchens approved signed Western Kentucky University Men's head basketball coaching contract, Houchens Industries will pay 50 percent of the cost to enter a new conference should WKU and Houchens mutually agree that a new conference is a good move to reach a top 25 status for men's basketball."
In 2014, Western Kentucky moved from the Sun Belt, which it had been a member of since the 1982-83 school year, to Conference USA.
Western Kentucky's initiation fee to join Conference USA was $2 million, according to a copy of the membership agreement obtained via public records request. If the relationship between Western Kentucky and Houchens was still active in 2014, then Houchens paid $1 million of the initiation fee.
Western Kentucky didn't have to pay the Sun Belt to leave the conference, according to the school.
The university additionally agreed to commit 50 percent of the revenue from additional ticket sales over and above its 2006-07 season ticket sales "to fund a Division I top 25 men's basketball program," as well as to benchmark itself against peer top 25 programs – as determined annually by Houchens and Western Kentucky – and determine a competitive operating budget for team operations and scholarships.
A text message and phone calls to former Western Kentucky President Gary Ransdell, who retired on December 31, 2017 and took over as president and CEO for the Institute for Shipboard Education, were not answered or returned.
In the two pages of addendums related to Houchens' investment towards Western Kentucky men's basketball, the phrase "top 25" is listed six times so while college basketball fans can argue about the tangible value, or lack thereof, of the AP Top 25 poll and similar top 25 rankings, being ranked in the top 25 can simultaneously not mean much, but also mean everything, depending on which college basketball program you're examining.
A top-25 ranking provides an easy cut-off point for establishing what a successful college basketball program, season or tenure looks like, especially for a mid-major program from a one-bid league that's looking to improve its standing in the sport.
But what does it mean for Western Kentucky and Houchens Industries if the Hilltoppers haven't been ranked since the fund agreement was signed?
Western Kentucky hasn't been ranked in the AP poll since November 25, 2002, so Houchens' investment into the men's basketball program hasn't met its stated goal and many of the high school prospects that it's currently recruiting weren't alive when the Hilltoppers were last ranked in the top 25.
Remember, the stated purpose of the second addendum of the fund agreement was to "lead the way for the program to be consistently ranked in the top 25 of Division I collegiate basketball programs in the NCAA."
Forget consistently, Western Kentucky hasn't been ranked, period, since the ink dried on the 2007 fund agreement with Houchens Industries.
The AP poll has been in place for 70 full college basketball seasons and Western Kentucky has been ranked in just 21 seasons, or 30 percent of the time during the AP poll era, and 14 of those seasons were between the 1949 and 1971 seasons.
The Hilltoppers haven't been ranked better than No. 17 in the AP poll since 1987 and Conference USA hasn't had a school ranked in the AP Top 25 poll since the final poll released in February 2018, when Middle Tennessee was ranked No. 24 two weeks in a row.
So cracking the AP Top 25 is a challenge for Western Kentucky's peers, too.
Even the individuals involved in the fund agreement between Western Kentucky and Houchens would probably admit that achieving a consistent top-25 ranking was a lofty goal.
"I think it was always going to be aspirational," said the person familiar with the fund agreement, "because even (bigger) schools...are struggling to get into the top 25 sometimes but I think what you can say is it was definitely a building block towards having a successful Division I program."
It was part of an optimistic, holistic approach to try to improve Western Kentucky's men's basketball program, as the person familiar with the fund agreement recalled the pitch that Western Kentucky made to Houchens.
"'Let’s not just talk to donors and corporations about we need a better locker room or we need more scholarships,'" the person said. "'Let’s talk holistically about what it would take to build a consistent top-25 program that graduates their players, et cetera, et cetera.' And that was a business plan we put together that Jimmie (Gipson) really bought in to, he just supported a certain piece of that."
Ultimately, the investment Houchens made to Western Kentucky was one piece of the university's effort to revive its athletic department. The university's budget and facilities were sub-par in the late 1990s but former president Gary Ransdell was able to renovate Diddle Arena and L.T. Smith Stadium, according to the person familiar with the fund agreement.
The locker rooms and facilities are now up to competitive standards, especially compared to Western Kentucky's Conference USA peers.
"I think if you look at the transformation that (Randsell) had, the impact that he had on athletics," the person familiar with the agreement said, "the Houchens deal was just one small piece of it."
There was enough success in Western Kentucky's past that made Gipson believe the Hilltoppers could climb in the sport's hierarchy once again.
Western Kentucky made the Final Four in 1971 (and beat Kansas in the third-place game) amid a historic season in which they started five African-American players despite opposition from members of the school's own Board of Regents, but its Final Four appearance was later vacated after the NCAA discovered player Jim McDaniels had signed a professional basketball contract and accepted money that season.
But that Final Four appearance still resonated with Houchens CEO Jimmie Gipson, who was "a very big basketball fan," according to the person familiar with the fund agreement.
Since the 1971 season, Western Kentucky's best NCAA tournament finish is the Sweet 16, something it has achieved three times (1978, 1993, 2008) on a consistent 15-year cycle (so go ahead and pencil the Hilltoppers down for a Sweet 16 run in 2023).
Since seeds were officially added to the NCAA tournament selection process in 1978, Western Kentucky has never earned better than a No. 7 seed.
Western Kentucky has received commitments from some elite players in recent years, especially compared to its Conference USA brethren, but that talent has failed to yield a top-25 ranking and in some cases, even see the floor for the Hilltoppers.
In 2017, they landed top-10 recruit Mitchell Robinson, who ultimately never played for Western Kentucky, and last offseason the Hilltoppers received a commitment from St. John's transfer Eli Wright, a former four-star recruit who then left the program in October.
Former four-star point guard Dalano Banton transferred last spring following his freshman season, while sophomore center Charles Bassey, another former top-10 recruit, returned to school for his sophomore year as Western Kentucky chases its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013 and its first top-25 ranking since 2003.
At least on paper, that group of players was theoretically the assemblage of blue-chip talent that could finally turn Western Kentucky into a top-25 team, especially while competing in a conference whose highest-rated 2019 recruiting class was Charlotte at No. 72, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
But 12 full seasons after Houchens Industries signed its commitment to turn the Hilltoppers into one of the top programs nationally, that goal has not been reached.
***
Given the current groundswell of name, image and likeness advocates and state-specific proposed legislation across the country, you could make the case that the 2007 fund agreement signed between Western Kentucky and Houchens Industries is the type of relationship between an aspirational Division I school and a local, willing investor that could allow college athletes, and their athletic department at large, to benefit in the near future when name, image and likeness payments are allowed because of some combination of state and national legislation, and NCAA rules.
In October, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that Kentucky Sen. Morgan McGarvey (D-Louisville) drafted a bill that would allow athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness, and that the bill was modeled after California Senate Bill 206, also known as the Fair Pay to Play Act.
The bill signed in California will go into effect in 2023 and depending on your perspective, you could argue Houchens Industries' investment into Western Kentucky athletics might have come 15 years too early. Or conversely (or additionally), the fund agreement was a necessary step to set up Western Kentucky for greater success as its football program transitioned to the FBS level in 2007 and its conference affiliation changed in 2014.
Of course, these hypothetical third-party sponsorships and endorsements will be paid directly to college athletes in the future and not through the schools, which opens Pandora's Box as it relates to the future frequency and size of gifts that schools, their university foundations and athletic departments receive from donors.
But if Houchens Industries was willing to invest millions into Western Kentucky's football and men's basketball programs, it's not a stretch to think the company would hypothetically be willing to sponsor local athletes directly in the future if permissible.
So when critics of name, image and likeness legislation argue that liberalized rules regarding NIL payments will only allow the rich (both metaphorically and literally) to get richer in the current NCAA structure, consider Western Kentucky and schools like it – mid-majors or schools on the fringes of the power structure in college athletics that have a committed fan and donor base, and just enough of a history of past success to make potential donors believe that such heights can be reached once again with the right investment.
Houchens Industries' subsidiary companies include Food Giant and IGA, and its website lists Ace Hardware, Cinnabon, Shell, Sonic and Subway among its franchises.
The $5 million gift from Houchens to Western Kentucky was no secret, as the fund agreement included naming options and recognition that turned L.T. Smith Stadium into Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium. Houchens Industries received 20 club seats at half price as part of the agreement, plus the entire scoreboard end zone area was to be reserved for the company.
Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium is roughly a seven-minute drive from Houchens Industries' headquarters in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
But the $5 million gift to improve Western Kentucky's football stadium wasn't the only investment Houchens Industries agreed to provide the school's athletic department in the spring of 2007.
On the same day that members of Western Kentucky and Houchens Industries' leadership signed the fund agreement for the $5 million gift, they also signed two addendums with the stated purpose of turning the Hilltoppers' men's basketball program into one of the top 25 nationally.
"One of [Houchens Industries CEO Jimmie Gipson's] contentions was WKU had been to a Final Four, had been to a Sweet 16, we were going to hang our hat on basketball, ultimately," said a person familiar with the fund agreement, "and he was concerned that every time we had a successful team...we would lose our coach. And inevitably, they would go to Georgia, in one case, and other Power Five schools."
In 1980, Gene Keady left Western Kentucky for Purdue, where he led the Boilermakers to 17 NCAA tournament appearances in 25 years. Keady's successor at Western Kentucky, Clem Haskins, moved on to Minnesota after a six-year tenure that included two NCAA tournament berths and a transition for the Hilltoppers from the Ohio Valley Conference to the Sun Belt.
Ralph Willard left Western Kentucky for Pittsburgh in 1994 and Dennis Felton was hired by Georgia in 2003.
"[Gipson] believed we had to pay a more aggressive salary to keep (our coaches) and be one of those few teams like a Gonzaga or a few other 'mid-majors' that make the Sweet 16 or the Final Four on a regular basis," said the person familiar with the fund agreement.
Part of the agreement reads:
"The purpose of this annual leadership gift to Western Kentucky University Foundation will be to support the WKU Men's Basketball Program and lead the way for the program to be consistently ranked in the top 25 of Division I collegiate basketball programs in the NCAA.
"The agreement includes the following terms, and is operative only during the contract term of a men's head basketball coach, with such contract having been approved by Houchens."
Gipson, who was named Houchens' CEO in 1993, was inducted into Western Kentucky's Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2008, a year after his corporation made the $5 million gift for the football stadium as well as the further commitment to the Hilltoppers' future on the hardwood.
"Very early on, Western Kentucky University was a part of my life experience," Gipson told Chain Store Age. "Growing up in the area, and as a graduate of WKU, I became aware of the value that a university can have on its community, and how important it was for the community to reciprocate.
"Strengthening the university through whatever support Houchens Industries can offer as a corporate citizen leads to a stronger geographic region both economically and socially, and should ultimately lead to a stronger pool of talent for everyone to pull from."
An interview request for Gipson and Houchens President Spencer Coates that was sent to Houchens Industries was not answered. Multiple phone calls and a text message sent to Wood Selig, who was Western Kentucky's AD at the time the fund agreement was signed and who has been Old Dominion's athletic director since 2010, were not returned.
For the stated "Houchens Industries' approved men's basketball head coach position" described in the fund agreement, the company agreed to commit up to $100,000 annually for the 2008 and 2009 seasons if the university committed to a base salary of at least $250,000. Houchens agreed to commit up to $350,000 annually in future years if the university committed to a total base salary of at least $350,000.
So the corporation agreed to commit to paying up to 50 percent of Western Kentucky's head men's basketball coach's base salary.
If the coach's contract was worth more than $700,000, the additional cost would be split 50/50 between Western Kentucky and Houchens.
"The privately funded portion of the salary will be held and paid by the WKU Foundation in the form of a salary supplement through the standard WKU payroll procedure to include all required deductions."
Here's a timeline of recent Western Kentucky men's basketball head coaches and their annual base salaries, according to signed contracts and emails obtained via public records requests:
- April 2003: Darrin Horn is hired by Western Kentucky for an annual base salary of $135,000.
- July 2007: Horn was informed of his salary supplement, from Houchens, in a memo that was obtained via public records request. Houchens Industries wasn't mentioned by name in the memo – "The WKU Foundation, Inc., (WKUF) recently entered into a Fund Agreement intended, among other things, to provide supplemental support for the WKU men's basketball head coach position."
- January 2009: Horn's successor, Ken McDonald, signs a contract for an annual base salary of $250,000.
- May 2012: McDonald's successor, Ray Harper, signs a contract for an annual base salary of $375,000.
- June 2013: Prior to the 2013-14 season, Harper's second full season as head coach, he receives a raise that increased his base salary to $500,000.
- March 2016: Harper's successor, Rick Stansbury, signs a contract with an annual base salary of $500,000.
- January 2018: Stansbury signs an addendum that gives him a raise such that his annual base salary is $650,000.
The two parties agreed that "the gift will be credited to the development program of Western Kentucky University, but will only be announced to the media if approved by Houchens."
So the privately-held corporation got to decide if the public learned that potentially half of the head coach's salary was being paid by the private corporation. That was arguably fitting with Houchens' profile as a company, even among locals in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
"Houchens was originally a grocery chain and then most of their revenue were off other companies. They were like the holding company," said the person familiar with the fund agreement. "A lot of people in Bowling Green didn’t know that much about them. They saw their name on sponsorships but I would say they were more under the radar.”
A story published by the local Bowling Green Daily News in July 2007, titled "Growing stadium gets new name," didn't mention Houchens' contributions to the Western Kentucky's men's basketball program until the 16th paragraph.
"Houchens has also committed to supporting the basketball program, giving $1.5 million each year in support," the Daily News wrote without any specific mentions of where Houchens' financial investment into the program was going.
The fund agreement signed in 2007 didn't include a contract term so the language of the contract suggests Houchens Industries' commitment to Western Kentucky men's basketball was indefinite.
"If circumstances arise or exist wherein there is no signed Athletic Employment Contract between Western Kentucky University and a Head Men's Basketball Coach (i.e. temporary vacancy in the position, appointment of an interim head coach), the parties agree and understand that this Fund Agreement will not become void nor shall it lapse..."
Email inquiries sent to Western Kentucky Athletic Director Todd Stewart and a Western Kentucky media relations representative asking if the university has an active relationship with Houchens Industries were not answered.
As part of the agreement, Western Kentucky agreed that prior to each season, it would present an overall business plan for the cost to broadcast all of its men's basketball games for the season. Houchens agreed it would pay 50 percent of that cost.
"[Gipson] also contended that we needed to be on TV," said the person familiar with the fund agreement. "And so WKU, I think, was one of the first to create their own network."
The two sides agreed that any unsold television advertising spots during game broadcasts would be used "to promote WKU men's basketball as a Division I top 25 program."
Western Kentucky also agreed to provide naming options and recognition in Diddle Arena to Houchens for its consideration.
Furthermore, Western Kentucky and Houchens didn't just agree to a financial investment into WKU's men's basketball program but a third addendum to the fund agreement suggested that Houchens was granted a seat at the table in determining the overall business plan for the Hilltoppers' future in men's basketball.
Western Kentucky and Houchens agreed that each spring, one or more representatives from Houchens would meet with WKU's president, athletic director and men's basketball coach, who would collectively determine the "supplemental funds needed for WKU Men's basketball to achieve in the following year a Division I top 25 status."
When that amount was determined, Houchens agreed to pay 50 percent of it as a matching incentive to Western Kentucky and its donors.
Houchens' influence stretched to potentially influencing hiring and firing decisions as Houchens agreed to share half of the increased base salary and benefits for each Western Kentucky assistant coach "if Houchens Industries and Western Kentucky University agree that hiring replacement assistant coaches are necessary."
The company's influence also included consideration regarding potential conference realignment.
"If during the term of a Houchens approved signed Western Kentucky University Men's head basketball coaching contract, Houchens Industries will pay 50 percent of the cost to enter a new conference should WKU and Houchens mutually agree that a new conference is a good move to reach a top 25 status for men's basketball."
In 2014, Western Kentucky moved from the Sun Belt, which it had been a member of since the 1982-83 school year, to Conference USA.
Western Kentucky's initiation fee to join Conference USA was $2 million, according to a copy of the membership agreement obtained via public records request. If the relationship between Western Kentucky and Houchens was still active in 2014, then Houchens paid $1 million of the initiation fee.
Western Kentucky didn't have to pay the Sun Belt to leave the conference, according to the school.
The university additionally agreed to commit 50 percent of the revenue from additional ticket sales over and above its 2006-07 season ticket sales "to fund a Division I top 25 men's basketball program," as well as to benchmark itself against peer top 25 programs – as determined annually by Houchens and Western Kentucky – and determine a competitive operating budget for team operations and scholarships.
A text message and phone calls to former Western Kentucky President Gary Ransdell, who retired on December 31, 2017 and took over as president and CEO for the Institute for Shipboard Education, were not answered or returned.
In the two pages of addendums related to Houchens' investment towards Western Kentucky men's basketball, the phrase "top 25" is listed six times so while college basketball fans can argue about the tangible value, or lack thereof, of the AP Top 25 poll and similar top 25 rankings, being ranked in the top 25 can simultaneously not mean much, but also mean everything, depending on which college basketball program you're examining.
A top-25 ranking provides an easy cut-off point for establishing what a successful college basketball program, season or tenure looks like, especially for a mid-major program from a one-bid league that's looking to improve its standing in the sport.
But what does it mean for Western Kentucky and Houchens Industries if the Hilltoppers haven't been ranked since the fund agreement was signed?
Western Kentucky hasn't been ranked in the AP poll since November 25, 2002, so Houchens' investment into the men's basketball program hasn't met its stated goal and many of the high school prospects that it's currently recruiting weren't alive when the Hilltoppers were last ranked in the top 25.
Remember, the stated purpose of the second addendum of the fund agreement was to "lead the way for the program to be consistently ranked in the top 25 of Division I collegiate basketball programs in the NCAA."
Forget consistently, Western Kentucky hasn't been ranked, period, since the ink dried on the 2007 fund agreement with Houchens Industries.
The AP poll has been in place for 70 full college basketball seasons and Western Kentucky has been ranked in just 21 seasons, or 30 percent of the time during the AP poll era, and 14 of those seasons were between the 1949 and 1971 seasons.
The Hilltoppers haven't been ranked better than No. 17 in the AP poll since 1987 and Conference USA hasn't had a school ranked in the AP Top 25 poll since the final poll released in February 2018, when Middle Tennessee was ranked No. 24 two weeks in a row.
So cracking the AP Top 25 is a challenge for Western Kentucky's peers, too.
Even the individuals involved in the fund agreement between Western Kentucky and Houchens would probably admit that achieving a consistent top-25 ranking was a lofty goal.
"I think it was always going to be aspirational," said the person familiar with the fund agreement, "because even (bigger) schools...are struggling to get into the top 25 sometimes but I think what you can say is it was definitely a building block towards having a successful Division I program."
It was part of an optimistic, holistic approach to try to improve Western Kentucky's men's basketball program, as the person familiar with the fund agreement recalled the pitch that Western Kentucky made to Houchens.
"'Let’s not just talk to donors and corporations about we need a better locker room or we need more scholarships,'" the person said. "'Let’s talk holistically about what it would take to build a consistent top-25 program that graduates their players, et cetera, et cetera.' And that was a business plan we put together that Jimmie (Gipson) really bought in to, he just supported a certain piece of that."
Ultimately, the investment Houchens made to Western Kentucky was one piece of the university's effort to revive its athletic department. The university's budget and facilities were sub-par in the late 1990s but former president Gary Ransdell was able to renovate Diddle Arena and L.T. Smith Stadium, according to the person familiar with the fund agreement.
The locker rooms and facilities are now up to competitive standards, especially compared to Western Kentucky's Conference USA peers.
"I think if you look at the transformation that (Randsell) had, the impact that he had on athletics," the person familiar with the agreement said, "the Houchens deal was just one small piece of it."
There was enough success in Western Kentucky's past that made Gipson believe the Hilltoppers could climb in the sport's hierarchy once again.
Western Kentucky made the Final Four in 1971 (and beat Kansas in the third-place game) amid a historic season in which they started five African-American players despite opposition from members of the school's own Board of Regents, but its Final Four appearance was later vacated after the NCAA discovered player Jim McDaniels had signed a professional basketball contract and accepted money that season.
But that Final Four appearance still resonated with Houchens CEO Jimmie Gipson, who was "a very big basketball fan," according to the person familiar with the fund agreement.
Since the 1971 season, Western Kentucky's best NCAA tournament finish is the Sweet 16, something it has achieved three times (1978, 1993, 2008) on a consistent 15-year cycle (so go ahead and pencil the Hilltoppers down for a Sweet 16 run in 2023).
Since seeds were officially added to the NCAA tournament selection process in 1978, Western Kentucky has never earned better than a No. 7 seed.
Western Kentucky has received commitments from some elite players in recent years, especially compared to its Conference USA brethren, but that talent has failed to yield a top-25 ranking and in some cases, even see the floor for the Hilltoppers.
In 2017, they landed top-10 recruit Mitchell Robinson, who ultimately never played for Western Kentucky, and last offseason the Hilltoppers received a commitment from St. John's transfer Eli Wright, a former four-star recruit who then left the program in October.
Former four-star point guard Dalano Banton transferred last spring following his freshman season, while sophomore center Charles Bassey, another former top-10 recruit, returned to school for his sophomore year as Western Kentucky chases its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013 and its first top-25 ranking since 2003.
At least on paper, that group of players was theoretically the assemblage of blue-chip talent that could finally turn Western Kentucky into a top-25 team, especially while competing in a conference whose highest-rated 2019 recruiting class was Charlotte at No. 72, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
But 12 full seasons after Houchens Industries signed its commitment to turn the Hilltoppers into one of the top programs nationally, that goal has not been reached.
***
Given the current groundswell of name, image and likeness advocates and state-specific proposed legislation across the country, you could make the case that the 2007 fund agreement signed between Western Kentucky and Houchens Industries is the type of relationship between an aspirational Division I school and a local, willing investor that could allow college athletes, and their athletic department at large, to benefit in the near future when name, image and likeness payments are allowed because of some combination of state and national legislation, and NCAA rules.
In October, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that Kentucky Sen. Morgan McGarvey (D-Louisville) drafted a bill that would allow athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness, and that the bill was modeled after California Senate Bill 206, also known as the Fair Pay to Play Act.
The bill signed in California will go into effect in 2023 and depending on your perspective, you could argue Houchens Industries' investment into Western Kentucky athletics might have come 15 years too early. Or conversely (or additionally), the fund agreement was a necessary step to set up Western Kentucky for greater success as its football program transitioned to the FBS level in 2007 and its conference affiliation changed in 2014.
Of course, these hypothetical third-party sponsorships and endorsements will be paid directly to college athletes in the future and not through the schools, which opens Pandora's Box as it relates to the future frequency and size of gifts that schools, their university foundations and athletic departments receive from donors.
But if Houchens Industries was willing to invest millions into Western Kentucky's football and men's basketball programs, it's not a stretch to think the company would hypothetically be willing to sponsor local athletes directly in the future if permissible.
So when critics of name, image and likeness legislation argue that liberalized rules regarding NIL payments will only allow the rich (both metaphorically and literally) to get richer in the current NCAA structure, consider Western Kentucky and schools like it – mid-majors or schools on the fringes of the power structure in college athletics that have a committed fan and donor base, and just enough of a history of past success to make potential donors believe that such heights can be reached once again with the right investment.