College sports

Private equity bought its way
into college athletics.

Utah sold a stake in its commercial operation. The Big 12 signed a league-wide deal. The Big Ten nearly took $2.4 billion before two schools killed it. Here are the terms, as reported, with sources.

2 signed · 2 paused or exploring · reviewed August 2026

Why now

Schools started paying athletes directly in July 2025, after the House settlement cleared the way for revenue sharing worth roughly $20 million per school per year. That bill arrived at athletic departments that were already losing money. Big 12 schools averaged $131.7 million in operating expenses in 2025 against average annual losses of about $57.4 million, a gap that widened by nearly $9 million in a single year, according to CBS Sports.

Meanwhile the revenue spread between conferences kept growing. The Big Ten distributes roughly $928 million a year. A Big 12 school looking at that number, and at a new payroll it did not have before, has three options: cut sports, find more donors, or sell something. Private capital arrived offering to buy the third one.

What the investors are buying varies. Utah sold equity in a company that runs its sponsorships and ticketing. The Big 12 took a smaller direct investment plus the option for member schools to borrow against future conference payouts. Those are different instruments with different risks, and the distinction matters more than the shared label.

The deals

Signed · Finalized June 12, 2026

University of Utah

Otro Capital

At least $100M committed

First private equity deal struck directly with a university athletic department.

·Created a for-profit entity, Crimson Brand Partners, which began operating July 1, 2026.
·Utah holds a majority stake. Otro Capital is a minority owner with several board seats.
·The entity runs sponsorships, licensing, ticketing, events, and digital media across athletics and the broader university.
·Coaching, recruiting, scheduling, athlete support, and private fundraising stay with the athletic department.
·Otro is expected to take a large share of annual revenue generated by the venture.
·Utah has confirmed an exit strategy exists but has not disclosed the term or the trigger.

Front Office Sports Sportico ESPN

Signed · Approved 2026

Big 12 Conference

RedBird Capital Partners and Weatherford Capital

$12.5M direct investment, plus credit lines

First league-wide private capital deal in major college sports.

·Structured through Collegiate Athletic Solutions, a joint venture of RedBird and Weatherford Capital.
·Five-year term, expiring June 2031, timed to the conference media rights expiration.
·$12.5M invested directly into conference-level revenue businesses.
·Optional credit line of up to $30M per school at double-digit interest rates.
·Credit line repayment comes out of each school’s annual conference revenue distribution.
·At least 11 of the 16 member schools initially declined the credit line.
·About $100M in new sponsorship agreements have been signed, including a PayPal partnership.

CBS Sports Sportico Yahoo Sports

Paused · Paused November 2025

Big Ten Conference

UC Investments

$2.4B proposed

A $2.4 billion deal that member schools stopped.

·UC Investments, the University of California pension and endowment fund, would have taken a 10% stake in Big Ten Enterprises.
·Member schools would have received an average of roughly $135M each.
·Paused in November 2025 after opposition from Michigan and USC.
·USC athletic director Jen Cohen said leadership judged the long-term impact not worth the short-term infusion.
·UC Investments is reported to be waiting for all 18 schools to agree before proceeding.

ESPN Yahoo Sports

Exploring · No deal announced

Southeastern Conference

Goldman Sachs (advisor)

Exploring private capital options against internal opposition.

·The SEC has worked with Goldman Sachs to evaluate potential private capital partnerships.
·League presidents and chancellors have pushed back on the idea.
·No deal has been announced.

Yahoo Sports

What the objections are

Raised by legislators, legal analysts, and university stakeholders. These are stated concerns about structure, not documented outcomes.

Non-revenue sports have no return case

An investor optimizing for return has little reason to fund the sports that lose money, which include most of the programs a school fields to meet its Title IX obligations.

Tax exemption

Once an outside investor holds a stake in media revenue, that revenue may stop looking substantially related to a school’s educational purpose. Senators have warned this could threaten universities’ tax-exempt status.

Debt with a public backstop

Credit lines are repaid from conference distributions. If revenue falls short at a public university, the question of who covers the gap reaches state taxpayers.

Governance

Ceding control rights over athletics revenue hands influence to parties who answer to their own investors rather than to students, faculty, staff, or the surrounding community.

The legislative response

H.R. 5693

Introduced

Protect College Sports from Private Equity and Foreign Influence Act (PROTECT Act)

Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), introduced October 9, 2025

Would bar colleges and conferences from selling ownership or control stakes in athletics to private equity firms, hedge funds, or foreign investment groups. Schools would have 24 months to unwind prohibited deals and would certify compliance annually. The findings argue such agreements create pressure to maximize short-term cash flow at the expense of educational and Title IX obligations.

Congress.gov

S. 4668

In the Senate

Protect College Sports Act of 2026

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

Bipartisan bill described as the most significant federal intervention in college athletics since Title IX. It has the backing of the SEC and the Big Ten.