The 2026 C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant Application is now open to Division I conferences that demonstrate their revenue distribution policies align with C.A.R.E. Model priorities, including college athletes’ education, health, safety, well-being, equity, and opportunity. The application deadline is July 1, 2026.
- 2026 C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant Application
- C.A.R.E. Model Grant Implementation Resources (updated February 2026)
- C.A.R.E. Model FAQs
- C.A.R.E. Model Report and Resources
- What It Means to be a C.A.R.E. Champion
Following two successful campaigns of the C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grant program in 2024 and 2025, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics announced year three of the program, to provide individual grants of up to $25,000 in 2026 to Division I Conferences that implement the C.A.R.E. Model principles related to the distribution and use of “shared athletics revenues.” An additional grant pool will be available to current C.A.R.E. Champions that continue to meet program principles for 2026-27 and provide a plan for ongoing promotion.
The inaugural program, launched in February 2024, awarded three conferences – the Big Sky Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and The Southern Conference – with C.A.R.E. Model Conference grants and recognized all three as inaugural C.A.R.E. Champions. In 2025, three additional conferences were awarded grants and recognized as C.A.R.E. Champions – the America East Conference, the Patriot League, and The Summit League.
The C.A.R.E. Model framework is outlined in the Knight Commission’s 2021 report, Connecting Athletics Revenues with the Educational Model of College Sports (C.A.R.E. Model). This principle-based framework was created to bolster accountability and ensure shared athletics revenue is directed toward college athletes’ education, health, safety, well-being, equity, and opportunity.
C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grants can be used to implement the following four C.A.R.E. Model principles and to educate institutions, athletics administrators, and other stakeholders about the impact of embedding these education-based values in the distribution and use of shared athletics revenues:
- Transparency
- Independent Oversight
- Incentives for Core Values of Education, Gender Equity, and Broad-Based Sports Opportunities
- Financial Responsibility for Athlete Education, Health, Safety, and Well-Being
Conference Expectations
- Demonstrate compliance with the C.A.R.E. Model principles. The Knight Commission has created C.A.R.E. Model Implementation Resources as a guide for Division I Conferences to follow. Conference grants can be utilized to achieve compliance, provided that full compliance can be attained within a 12-month timeframe. The C.A.R.E. Champion emblem and PR toolkit will be provided only after the Knight Commission certifies the conference has met all four principles.
- Educate conference membership and stakeholders on the C.A.R.E. Model commitments: a) conference’s alignment of its financial incentives with the core values of education, gender equity and opportunity and b) accountability of member schools to direct shared athletics revenue toward college athletes’ education, health, safety, well-being, and equity. [Note: The Commission’s report, C.A.R.E. Model resource page, and Frequently Asked Questions can be used as resources.]
- Utilize the C.A.R.E. Champion emblem and PR toolkit in branding opportunities, including the conference website. Following certification of meeting the C.A.R.E. Model principles, the Knight Commission will provide a digital tool kit for use by the conference office and its member institutions.
- Provide a statement of impact.
Application Process
The application deadline for the C.A.R.E. Model Conference Grants is July 1, 2026. Conferences may request a reasonable grant amount of up to $25,000 (minimum grant will be $15,000) that will assist with implementing the four C.A.R.E. Model principles and educating institutions, athletics administrators, and other stakeholders about the impact of embedding these values in the distribution and use of shared athletics revenues.
Grants will be awarded by August 3, 2026.
Grant applications may be submitted here.
For more information, contact Shoshanna Engel Lewis at CAREModelGrant@knightcommission.org.