WVU Football Head Coach Rich Rodriguez told WV Sports Nation last week that he is trying to get “a little tourism tax that benefits our NIL.” He called it an idea rather than a proposal. No bill has been introduced, and no lawmaker has attached a number to it.
Given the novelty of the idea, and the public reaction to the story, WV Sports Nation went looking for the numbers. Read more: What a tourism tax would actually raise for WVU.Â
The base
Visitors spent $6.6 billion in West Virginia in 2024, according to the state’s Department of Tourism. Lodging accounted for $869 million of that, which is about 13%. Food, retail, gas, and recreation sit outside what is encompassed by a hotel tax in West Virginia.
So, one percentage point on that base yields roughly $8.7 million a year. Two points yields $17.4 million, and on down the line.
Under the House settlement, WVU can share up to $20.5 million a year directly with athletes. WVU Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker said in August the department hit that figure for 2025-26 through sponsorships and nearly 6,000 additional season tickets, and that Olympic sport scholarship requests went unfunded to get there.
A one-point tourism tax covers about 42 percent of that pool. The settlement cap rises 4% a year through 2034-35, meaning West Virginia’s lodging base grew 2.8% between 2023 and 2024. According to this math, a fixed-rate tax loses ground every year it exists.
The obstacles
This is where it gets interesting. Two legal obstacles sit in front of the tourism tax idea. West Virginia Code 7-18-2 lets counties and municipalities levy a hotel occupancy tax of 3%, or up to 6% after a public hearing. That 6% is the ceiling. The state also applies its 6% consumers sales tax to lodging. A room in West Virginia can already carry 13% in tax. Adding a NIL surcharge on top means raising the statutory cap, not just passing a levy.
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The second obstacle is what the money is already committed to. Code 7-18-14 requires that at least half of net occupancy tax proceeds go to tourism promotion through a convention and visitors bureau. The statute then lists what the rest can fund: convention centers, parks, arts, historic sites, air service, and emergency services in qualifying counties. Athlete compensation is not on the list. Redirecting existing collections would mean defunding the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CBVs) by statute, and redirecting that money to WVU Athletics.
Where in the world is West Virginia?
There is also a geography problem. Monongalia County generated $43.6 million in lodging spending in 2023, about 5% of the state total. Jefferson County drew $876 million in overall visitor spending that year, Kanawha $624 million, and Greenbrier $400 million. A statewide levy would collect most of its money in counties that never host a home game.
One state has tried a version of this. Louisiana raised its online sports betting tax to 21.5% in 2025 and routes part of it to ten Division I schools, roughly $2 million each. The enabling law directs the money toward new scholarship opportunities and, by design, not toward House settlement revenue sharing. A Board of Regents spokesman told the Louisiana Illuminator there are no reporting requirements and no penalties for schools that spend it otherwise. Two million dollars is under 10% of what WVU shares with athletes.
Related: Rich Rodriguez has an idea to help West Virginia in NIL: tourism tax
The public record leaves gaps. The state Tax Division does not administer the hotel occupancy tax, so there is no central accounting of what counties collect. Tourism reports do not break out where visitors come from, so no one can say what share of the burden would fall on West Virginians. What’s more, 62% of visitor spending in 2024 came from day travelers, who buy no lodging at all.
Rodriguez said state leaders have been responsive. If the idea becomes a bill, these are some of the questions it will have to answer.
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We tax anything that moves so why not?
WVU is not the only school in the State.But having all those social media and crap trying to make WVU look like Champs probably about 6 and 6 .You think Rich Rod is so great WVU was the only school that wanted him.If WVU has a really good year it is because they paid some players to get there and the Big 12 is down (TCU).Not because of the super hero Rich Rod! Other schools should get some of that tax .money,but they won’t.
Hey there, David! Thanks for reading. We’re just reporting on what he pitched, not in support or opposition. Good points made!