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Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 8:00 am
by Saint3333
PE involvement now? Imagine PE funding stadium expansions and raising pricing to justify the investment, yikes...

https://frontofficesports.com/private-e ... s-elevate/

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 8:23 am
by AppSt94
So legalized loan sharks.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 8:49 am
by Stonewall
We are having conversations.Or have had.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 9:14 am
by Saint3333
When a person with money meets a person with experience, the one with experience ends up with the money and the one with money leaves with experience.

You may say they are bringing the money to the table, but they'll leave with more than they bring while limiting their downside risk.

Terrible idea.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 9:35 am
by BambooRdApp
Although I do see value of PE in rollups and consolidation in a commercial industry. Not sure I want to see it in this setting.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 9:56 am
by T-Dog
The possibility of private equity in college athletics is, in my opinion, way worse than the portal, NIL or the House Settlement.

These aren't donations. These would with anticipation of an ROI. And that ROI won't be trophies.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:13 am
by Stonewall
Saint3333 wrote:
Wed Jun 11, 2025 9:14 am
When a person with money meets a person with experience, the one with experience ends up with the money and the one with money leaves with experience.

You may say they are bringing the money to the table, but they'll leave with more than they bring while limiting their downside risk.

Terrible idea.
Great quote I must say.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:26 am
by Mikeyosef1
T-Dog wrote:
Wed Jun 11, 2025 9:56 am
The possibility of private equity in college athletics is, in my opinion, way worse than the portal, NIL or the House Settlement.

These aren't donations. These would with anticipation of an ROI. And that ROI won't be trophies.
Completely agree with you. Hard to believe anything worse than the NIL or portal (and I'll throw legalized gambling in there too) could happen to college sports, but PE would definitely be that. Perhaps the proverbial last nail in the coffin as if that' s needed at this point.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 12:22 pm
by AtlAppMan
Here is how it will play out with the PE.

PEs will only be in it for the profit. If you can show a way to make money they will have an interest. If your venture does not have a way to make money then they will not be interested.

Given that fact above, the litmus test will be, what is the income, where are the sources, can we find new sources with additional investment, how do we maximize the return on the investment. There is TV money, marketing rights, etc where money comes in. There are expenses, coaches, players, facilities, etc.

This will be treated like professional teams today. Many of the professional teams are owned by groups of investors, as opposed to individuals. These groups only do it to be profitable. Same will be true for the PE's (investment groups).

So bottomline is, how much is App State Football worth? We know SEC and B1G athletics are worth a lot more than G5. That's how it will play out.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 2:55 pm
by AppWyo
Appalachian has a top school of business, I believe they will get the best deal that can be had.

Besides, teams elevate conferences, conferences do not elevate schools.

SMU did not get better because they joined the ACC, they were good already. The same is true of BYU.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 2:59 pm
by BambooRdApp
What does the business school have to do with colleges and NIL.?

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2025 3:20 pm
by AppWyo
What happens when these private equity firms want to move the school to a different location? That has happened in the past with Trinity College renamed Duke by Jame B. Duke of the American Tobacco Company and Wake Forest by R.J. Reynolds.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2025 12:34 pm
by Bootsy
No thanks; PE’s and VC’s are cancers that destroy everything they touch.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2025 9:33 pm
by AppWyo
BambooRdApp wrote:
Wed Jun 11, 2025 2:59 pm
What does the business school have to do with colleges and NIL.?
A good business school at a college should help the college or university avoid the pitfalls of bad business moves in theory.

The same is true of having a good planning department at a university, instead of just building things here and there a planning department if properly utilized would maximize the money used for new development.

Money is like water, if you do not put the water in the right place you will not put out the fire. If you do not spend the money in the right place you are wasting your resources.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2025 4:35 am
by BambooRdApp
AppWyo wrote:
Thu Jun 12, 2025 9:33 pm
BambooRdApp wrote:
Wed Jun 11, 2025 2:59 pm
What does the business school have to do with colleges and NIL.?
A good business school at a college should help the college or university avoid the pitfalls of bad business moves in theory.

The same is true of having a good planning department at a university, instead of just building things here and there a planning department if properly utilized would maximize the money used for new development.

Money is like water, if you do not put the water in the right place you will not put out the fire. If you do not spend the money in the right place you are wasting your resources.
Although I am sure we have great business school faculty currently as they were good at what they do when I was in the business school.
However , I do not see the business school negotiating with PE firms on the daily. The school will hire outside representation if we ever thought we needed a PE sponsor.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2025 7:27 am
by Saint3333
People is academia do not need to get anywhere near a negotiating table.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2025 8:05 am
by AppWyo
The people in the school of business could establish a framework for a sustainable business model to follow.

Everyone talks about the current model is not sustainable, however, what some schools and fans really want is a way to poach the best players on other teams but force their best players to stay.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2025 8:58 am
by ASUFan4863
I hate PE with a passion. It’s all about increasing value and then reselling for a profit. They are successful at that many times, but it is the customers and employees that get shafted in the process. Bringing PE into the fold would totally eliminate the college aspect of college sports. I agree with T-Dog in that this would be much worse than the house settlement or NIL.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2025 10:05 am
by fjblair
I'm so done with this dumpster fire. I hope the PE vultures completely destroy what is left of this mess so that maybe it can be rebuilt from the ground up.

Re: Private Equity in College Athletics

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2025 11:02 am
by huskie3
Saint3333 wrote:
Fri Jun 13, 2025 7:27 am
People is academia do not need to get anywhere near a negotiating table.
You are correct. What colleges should do is offer instruction on money management, taxes, and investing. This is where the business school could help.