BleedGopher
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Per Thamel:
Uncertainty is nothing new in college athletics, a billion-dollar enterprise awkwardly tied to an educational model. But to see just how tenuous things are, it's always instructive to follow the money. Private equity officials have found profitable avenues in everything from professional sports to the WWE.
"It's a way of doing business that college athletics has never really engaged in," said a Power Five athletic director familiar with the space. "In the professional world, it's common practice -- for facilities, projects and payments."
So what's happening? There's Gerry Cardinale, founder of Redbird Capital, offering ideas on how to change college sports at the Sports Business Journal's Intercollegiate Athletics forum in December. He pointed out the power of the schools collectively negotiating television contracts, as opposed to having leagues do it. And he's engaging with officials around college athletics.
Former Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford has been setting up and taking meetings with campus officials around the sport, as he's a partner in Weatherford Capital. There's Otro Capital, co-founded by a former Redbird partner -- former NFL executive Alec Scheiner -- also expressing curiosity about the space.
Another financial firm, Sixth Street Partners, is expected to engage with FSU if it needs a financial infusion in the wake of its attempt to detangle from the ACC's Grant of Rights.
"There's four or five venture capital companies all circling," said another industry source. "These are big-time places that will come in. It means that if these guys are circling, it means we're not maximizing our revenue."
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Go Gophers!!
Uncertainty is nothing new in college athletics, a billion-dollar enterprise awkwardly tied to an educational model. But to see just how tenuous things are, it's always instructive to follow the money. Private equity officials have found profitable avenues in everything from professional sports to the WWE.
"It's a way of doing business that college athletics has never really engaged in," said a Power Five athletic director familiar with the space. "In the professional world, it's common practice -- for facilities, projects and payments."
So what's happening? There's Gerry Cardinale, founder of Redbird Capital, offering ideas on how to change college sports at the Sports Business Journal's Intercollegiate Athletics forum in December. He pointed out the power of the schools collectively negotiating television contracts, as opposed to having leagues do it. And he's engaging with officials around college athletics.
Former Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford has been setting up and taking meetings with campus officials around the sport, as he's a partner in Weatherford Capital. There's Otro Capital, co-founded by a former Redbird partner -- former NFL executive Alec Scheiner -- also expressing curiosity about the space.
Another financial firm, Sixth Street Partners, is expected to engage with FSU if it needs a financial infusion in the wake of its attempt to detangle from the ACC's Grant of Rights.
"There's four or five venture capital companies all circling," said another industry source. "These are big-time places that will come in. It means that if these guys are circling, it means we're not maximizing our revenue."
As college sports faces more change, is private equity money going to come in?
Change is coming to college athletics at an unprecedented pace. And private equity firms have taken notice.
Go Gophers!!
