Semi-Pro: The Arc of College Sports from Amateur Ideal to Professional Reality

The moment universities gained the ability to share revenue with student-athletes marked a turning point in college sports.

That shift moved college athletics from amateur to professional and forever changed the relationship between student-athletes and the universities they attend.

In Semi-Pro, attorney Clay Grayson examines what this change means for universities operating in the semi-pro space. The book serves as a briefing for leaders who manage student-athlete relationships, NIL, media rights, and athletic operations within the university enterprise.

Grayson draws on his work advising universities and affiliated foundations to explain how governance structures shape leverage, transparency, and control. He shows that nonprofit affiliates can function as integrated components of a university enterprise, while expanding university reach into commercial markets.

Semi-Pro offers a framework for decision-making in an ecosystem where institutional design determines competitive durability.