Dropback announced today the close of a $1.6 million funding round to build the new financial software suite for the new era of college sports.

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Dropback is a next-gen “General Manager” (GM) technology suite for elite college sports programs. Teams use Dropback’s private, build-your-own financial modeling technology to construct data-driven roster strategies—and automate busy work by managing budgets, contracts, and payroll in one place—to compete in the revenue-sharing era of college sports.

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“The latest seismic shift in college sports—revenue sharing to athletes—will similarly disrupt the role technology plays in helping teams remain competitive on and off the field,” says Luke Bogus, CEO and Co-Founder of Dropback. “Status-quo software has dominated college athletics for over a decade: bloated, antiquated, and expensive. Dropback’s pro-grade, custom, GM software will disrupt this.”

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Pro teams (NFL, NBA, MLB etc.) have embraced data and technology for decades to assist their GM and front office staff in managing rosters *financially—*to secure top talent while optimizing usage of their “salary cap.” With the evolution of NIL and revenue sharing in college sports, it’s no secret that championship-caliber teams will soon be built by collegiate front offices.

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By rejecting the data-sharing, one-size-fits-all playbook of “GM modules” from incumbents like Teamworks and Opendorse, Dropback is growing quickly. Its focus on customization, privacy, and rapid product development has garnered attention from Power 4 programs across the country. Plus, Dropback’s wholistic financial infrastructure includes a welcomed alternative to the “athlete wallet” approach of competitors, lowering department risk and giving athletes financial flexibility, through its flat-fee standard payroll module.

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“Pro sports spend millions to build critical front office software in-house—we want to democratize these tools for college sports, at a fraction of this cost,” says Nick Siscoe, CTO and Co-Founder of Dropback. “Elite programs deserve elite software. The software that serves athletic departments today simply doesn’t cut it. Existing tech isn’t helping coaches, GMs, and ADs answer the new questions of this new era. Dropback is.”

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Dropback helps GMs and ADs build their most competitive roster against budget. “Bespoke, data-driven, custom to a program's values and culture... All I'd yet to see in any GM tool, until Dropback. We’re a proud partner,” says Jacob Schmidt, Executive Director of the Official NIL Collective of Northwestern Athletics (TrueNU).

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The pre-seed round includes participation from Y Combinator, Reach Capital, Twenty Two Ventures, and others—and, numerous angel investors. This round of funding will enable Dropback to scale its world-class engineering team, and build out its suite of product features. Founded by former engineers at Microsoft & Hudl, Dropback graduated Y Combinator (W24) as their first collegiate sportstech investment.

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