NCAA Approves Advertisement Patches On Uniforms Starting With 2026-27 Season

The NCAA’s Division I Cabinet approved a proposal on Friday that will allow college sports programs to place advertisement patches on their uniforms, equipment and apparel beginning with the 2026-27 season.

DI Cabinet approves commercial patches for uniforms, equipment and apparel. https://t.co/izAVM7Tn9M
— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) January 23, 2026

“College sports are in an exciting new era of increased financial benefits for student-athletes, and the cabinet’s vote today reflects the ongoing commitment of Division I members to drive additional revenues and fully fund those benefits,” Illinois athletic director and cabinet chairman Josh Whitman said.

“This also continues the NCAA’s efforts to expand flexibility in areas of NCAA rules, thereby allowing schools and conferences to set standards that reflect their values and serve their unique needs. This important policy change is another step forward in advancing that philosophy and providing members with increased flexibility.”

Starting on Aug. 1, teams can place up to two commercial logos on their uniforms for regular-season games and one additional advertisement during conference championships. Those, of course, are in addition to the manufacturer logos that already exist on uniforms.

The logos, which can be a maximum of four square inches, cannot be worn during postseason events such as March Madness or the College World Series because of a potential conflict of interest with NCAA partners. That does not include the College Football Playoff, however, as it is not governed by the NCAA.

Restrictions on the placement of the advertisements will be addressed at a later date by the NCAA’s playing rules and oversight committees, though it must be place outside of the designated section that is deemed necessary for officiating purposes.

The NCAA now joins MLB, the NBA and the NHL in allowing advertising on the uniforms, while the NFL permits it only during practice. This comes just two years after teams allowed to display corporate logos on their football fields, though some schools already had them after selling the naming rights to their stadiums or fields.

It’s estimated that uniform advertisements could bring in anywhere from $500,000 in additional revenue per season to as much as $12 million for some power conference programs, helping offset the $20.5 million in revenue sharing that schools can now distribute to student-athletes.

Photo courtesy of @IndianaFootball on X/Twitter, Illustration via Andrew Lind.