Introducing: The Branch Library

Good morning friends, it’s Matt Brown from Extra Points.

I’ve been teasing this for a few dispatches, and today, I can finally announce a new program we’re launching, effective today: The Branch Library.

One bit of feedback I’ve heard from Extra Points readers and many fans is that while the data in Extra Points Library is useful and interesting, it’s too expensive for the casual fan or researcher. If you really only need to look at a few specific documents, maybe a full-fledged Extra Points Library subscription doesn’t make sense.

That’s where Branch Library comes in. Branch Library grants access to dozens of documents in the main Library database, all of different types. So if you’re a fan and you’re curious what a college GM contract looks like, or wants to check the math on a few specific annualized budget reports, or see what the fine print of an apparel contract might be…you can check it out in the Branch Library.

And good news: If you’re already a premium Extra Points Subscriber, access to the Branch Library is free. Go ahead and check it out.

Anybody with a premium Extra Points Subscription ($9/mo retail price) can access the Branch Library and download whatever they want, as much as they want.

Want to see what documents are included? Search for free here.

Now, I’ll tell you, I wouldn’t recommend using the Branch Library as your main research source or as a Library replacement. We won’t put every single FRS report in there, for example, or every updated athletic department contract. But if you have smaller needs (or are just a curious fan), I’m confident you’ll find data you want in the Branch Library.

But don’t worry, we’re launching plenty of big updates with the main Extra Points Library as well

One of the most popular documents we have in the Library are MFRS Reports for each public school. These are the annual itemized budget reports that all D-I and D-II schools must file with the NCAA. We have this data going back to FY2016 for many FBS schools, and for the rest of D-I and even some D-II schools, we have data going back for at least the last three years.

This data is often used for conference benchmarking, academic research, internal budget negotiations, and much, much more.

Last week, we started our search for the latest financial data, from FY25. As of Wednesday night, we have data from 32 D-I institutions. That data runs the gamut from some of the largest athletic departments in the country, (like Oregon, Tennessee, Georgia, and LSU) to much smaller ones, (like Murray State, Western Carolina, UT-Arlington and Youngstown State).

You can check out those updates today by searching for Financial Records-2025:

I understand this is very important data for many of you, and updating it is a top priority for us. We’re adding new documents every day, and I anticipate we’ll be doing so for the next few weeks.

Last year, we weren’t able to pull the data that allows users to compare line items across schools until nearly the Summer. This year, we’ll be able to have that information much faster. In fact, users can go to the finance tab and get at least some of the comparative FY25 data right now.

The most important thing for us is to get the data right. But after that, we know you want the information as quickly as possible. So do we! I use this stuff to write newsletters, and so does Kyle over at NIL-Wire.

One thing that would help us do that is if you are willing to share some of this information with us. Many institutions have decided to proactively release their FY25 MFRS reports, rather than waiting for nosy reporters to file Open Records Requests. God Bless those institutions. If that is you, or you just happen to have some reports because you beat me to the FOIA punch, I’m happy to trade documents/give discounted or free Library access in exchange for stuff we don’t have. If you want to haggle, drop me a line at [email protected].

What other documents should readers expect in the near future?

• In the next seven days, we’ll begin a similar batch of requests for MFRS data from D-II institutions. This process tends to go a little slower, as not nearly as many D-II schools have online FOIA portals, but we’ll get it.

• We are also looking to get updated contracts for coaches and athletic directors. I’m especially focusing on trying to get current for many Olympic sports. If a track coach signed an extension in June of 2025, I freely admit, there’s a good chance I don’t have that yet. We’re pretty up-to-date in FB, MBB and WBB, but now is the time where we work to fill the gaps elsewhere.

• We are also looking to get far more comprehensive with our General Manager contracts (in FB, MBB and WBB), our major vendor contracts (such as updated apparel agreements, venue management contracts) and with secondary athletic equipment contract (such as hockey and swimming). We’ve added several more of these documents over the last two weeks, but are looking to get even more.

• And as always, I take requests! If there’s a document type that we’re missing that you need, drop me a line.

Also: New Ways To Pay For Library

The single biggest reason we made Extra Points Library was because we wanted to serve people and institutions who couldn’t afford the five-figure+ annual cost of the leading competitor on the market. I love it when big schools or huge companies buy access to Library, because that makes the tool better, but I specifically built it to serve institutions like Western Kentucky or Chicago State.

I also love to see so many professors interested in this information. I really believe that students (undergraduate and graduate alike) and professors in multiple disciplines (sports media, business, law, etc) would benefit from using this data in their research papers, their lessons, and in their case studies.

But one thing I’ve learned over the last few years is that higher education is complicated, especially when it comes to vendor relationships. To make buying Extra Points Library access a little easier, there are two other options on the table:

• We are happy to offer bulk discounts at the conference level. We’re working with a few different leagues on this at the moment, but if at least 60% of the schools in a conference are willing to sign on for Library, we’re happy to knock down the price for all users, with bigger discounts depending on the number of licenses. If we secure a conference discount, we will automatically refund existing users the price difference. So you don’t need to worry that if you go alone, you’ll get stuck paying a higher price.

• I would love to have Library access shared across departments. If Athletics wants to pay most of the cost for the tool, but also wants a log-in for some users in the law school or in sports management, no problem. I don’t charge extra for that, and we actually want as many people using our product as possible. We charge for downloads per month…so if the AD, Law Dean and Sport Leadership Instructor are only using it a little bit each month, I’m happy to send one invoice for one payment.

Between that flexibility, plus the Branch Library document access for regular EP Subscribers, we hope that we can make our data more accessible, more relevant and more useful to all of you.

Thanks for reading, everybody. As always, hit me up if you have questions or suggestions. I’ll get back to the lab now, and will share more updates once they’e ready.

Happy reading!

-Matt