Big Ten Private Equity Proposal

[Willow Grove Dawg]

UNEVEN FINANCIAL DISTRIBUTIONS - today it is Michigan & Ohio State, but.................

Sources: Big Ten mulling $2B private capital deal

The Big Ten is in talks about a private capital deal, which includes a 10-year grant of rights extension through 2046, that would infuse at least $2 billion into the league and its schools, sources told ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[DT4248]

Oh look - unfettered capitalism. Unironically - this will be the thing that wakes a lot of people in this country up to how ****** letting PE firms / VC be a wolf in a hen house everywhere is for products and want some level of regulation.

This is a million times worse than NIL. This will lead to several more neutral site "overseas" games. This will lead to jerseys looking like soccer / nascar with ads. This will lead to even more commercialization if that's somehow possible (commercial - kickoff - commercial will be the norm). That's just the **** you know will happen. There's even worse things you can likely imagine. These companies don't invest without expecting constant improving returns. And then they'll strip you for parts at the end until you're a husk and close you down.

And the only thing stopping the Big Ten from doing this is their thoughts and angles towards doing a super league / cutting member out downstream. Yuck

 

[OG Goat Holder]

It’s amazing how bad they have, and are going to, let this thing get.

 

[olblue]

UNEVEN FINANCIAL DISTRIBUTIONS - today it is Michigan & Ohio State, but.................

Once again the B1G beats Sankey to the punch. Who couldn’t see this coming? Hopefully, the SEC will follow suit because this is when the real money starts to come in.

 

[Called3rdstrikedawg]

Sounds like this would put an end to "Super Conference" talk for many years. Big 10 is certainly trying to set themselves up as the a premier Athletics Conference in America.

The First Response to the OP is missing the goal here. Pettiti, et Al, are setting this up the right way. The Investor would essentially be in house. This isn't KKR buying up big box store companies and breaking them apart!

And the bonus!!!! IF the SEC does a similar move, Our spot in the SEC will be safe, albeit at a lower shared income level than the big boys. So all you fans that just love the SEC and how
" successful" it has made State in the 2 money makers will certainly be happy we get to be whipping boy into perpetuity.

 

[patdog]

I can promise you that whatever PE puts into the league it will take back many times over. May be a good desk short term. But long term it would be a disaster. Florida St was talking about a PE deal a few years ago. When they dug into the details, that ended it.

 

[olblue]

I can promise you that whatever PE puts into the league it will take back many times over. May be a good desk short term. But long term it would be a disaster. Florida St was talking about a PE deal a few years ago. When they dug into the details, that ended it.

First of all, who doesn’t want a return on their investment?

Florida State, Sixth Street Ended Investment Talks About a Year Ago

Florida State's talks with Sixth Street about a private equity investment in FSU athletics ended about a year ago due to legal hurdles, uncertainty.

www.sportico.com

 

[patdog]

First of all, who doesn’t want a return on their investment?

Florida State, Sixth Street Ended Investment Talks About a Year Ago

Florida State's talks with Sixth Street about a private equity investment in FSU athletics ended about a year ago due to legal hurdles, uncertainty.

www.sportico.com

Exactly. And if you take PE money at the end of the day they’re going to get a lot better return then you are.

 

[olblue]

Exactly. And if you take PE money at the end of the day they’re going to get a lot better return then you are.

Well, of course they are. That’s stating the obvious. But can you honestly sit there and say that they can’t generate more money for the programs than a bunch of ******* athletic department administrators? My experience with PE says they can and they will.

 

[ZombieKissinger]

Can we keep VC out of this please

 

[OG Goat Holder]

As usual, @olblue is wrong

 

[Called3rdstrikedawg]

I can promise you that whatever PE puts into the league it will take back many times over. May be a good desk short term. But long term it would be a disaster. Florida St was talking about a PE deal a few years ago. When they dug into the details, that ended it.

I guess I miss read the proposal then. I could have sworn I saw 20 income shares split evenly amongst the 18 teams, the league, and the PE completely managed by the League. So, if that is the deal the Big 10 wants and the PE doesn't agree, the Big 10 will walk.

 

[olblue]

As usual, @olblue is wrong

Says the ******* idiot who called the OU-UT additions a hoax.

 

[Dawgg]

Well, of course they are. That’s stating the obvious. But can you honestly sit there and say that they can’t generate more money for the programs than a bunch of ******* athletic department administrators? My experience with PE says they can and they will.

I see it more like PE becomes another mouth to feed, but it’s worse because they’re the first mouth that gets fed. You think Mississippi State is safe in that sort of environment? When they determine that Mississippi State’s ROI isn’t what it’s “supposed” to be, what happens then? Either Mississippi State takes significantly less revenue or gets shed entirely.

This only ends badly for the schools, especially the schools at the lower end of the power conferences.

 

[olblue]

I see it more like PE becomes another mouth to feed, but it’s worse because they’re the first mouth that gets fed. You think Mississippi State is safe in that sort of environment? When they determine that Mississippi State’s ROI isn’t what it’s “supposed” to be, what happens then? Either Mississippi State takes significantly less revenue or gets shed entirely.

This only ends badly for the schools, especially the schools at the lower end of the power conferences.

I think you underestimate the impact smart people can have.

 

[ckDOG]

What exactly do they need help with getting PE involved? They already make loads of money. Is PE really going to pay for their 1/20 stake or whatever it is plus some? They'd have to make a very compelling case before I let that potential virus in on what's taken decades to build.

 

[DT4248]

As usual, @olblue is wrong

Wrong isn't the right term here. Shortsighted.

I've seen some of the idiots on here want to do battles of wits over an IQ test. What they really need to do is play chess. I know for a fact I could beat several within 25 moves just with a simple queen sacrifice bait. Dudes do not see more than one step ahead and stop measuring success there.

 

[ZombieKissinger]

I am thinking about running for President of Mississippi State when Keenum’s term ends since he’s not eligible for reelection. If I win, my first move will be a Mississippi State IPO

 

[DT4248]

I think you underestimate the impact smart people can have.

I think you have 0 idea how smart people think. You probably think it's like it's portrayed in the Sherlock Holmes TV Show

 

[ZombieKissinger]

Wrong isn't the right term here. Shortsighted.

I've seen some of the idiots on here want to do battles of wits over an IQ test. What they really need to do is play chess. I know for a fact I could beat several within 25 moves just with a simple queen sacrifice bait. Dudes do not see more than one step ahead and stop measuring success there.

I saw this post coming from 27 moves ahead so I’ve been avoiding IQ tests for the last 6 years

 

[olblue]

I think you have 0 idea how smart people think. You probably think it's like it's portrayed in the Sherlock Holmes TV Show

You are entitled to your opinion, but you might want to be careful about forming opinions with no data. Good luck with your checkers game

 

[DT4248]

I saw this post coming from 27 moves ahead so I’ve been avoiding IQ tests for the last 6 years

broke: IQ score
woke: ELO score
bespoke: Reaction to message ratio on SPS

 

[Lucky Dawg]

Can we keep VC out of this please

I think this went over the heads of many. Bravo.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

I think you underestimate the impact smart people can have.

Name a company where PE entered and made a company better at what they do or better for employees, or really anything but cut to the bone for profit.

 

[DT4248]

You are entitled to your opinion, but you might want to be careful about forming opinions with no data. Good luck with your checkers game

Cool. I'll be careful about that if you just be careful about forming opinions. Wouldn't want you to strain one of your 6 brain cells

 

[L4Dawg]

Yet another reason to let go of what college sports is becoming. We won the last real college sports national title, in baseball, in 2020. Honestly who remembers a single Triple A champion in baseball? Those titles just don’t matter at all. That’s what college sports is rapidly becoming. Money spent on college sports is slowly, for now, becoming irrelevant. The pace of that irrelevance will accelerate. I hate it, my life in the fall and winter has revolved around MSU football and basketball for decades. I never was much of a college baseball fan but I get that a lot of our folks are. RIP real college sports. I loved you, but you are extinct for all practical purposes now.

 

[Dawgg]

I think you underestimate the impact smart people can have.

I think you underestimate the impact greedy people can have.

 

[onewoof]

 

[olblue]

I think you underestimate the impact greedy people can have.

I like to think of the entrepreneurial spirit as creating opportunity. PE firms employ millions (13.3 In 2024 per AI) of people at higher than average wages. I view that as a good thing.

 

[Perd Hapley]

You think Mississippi State is safe in that sort of environment? When they determine that Mississippi State’s ROI isn’t what it’s “supposed” to be, what happens then? Either Mississippi State takes significantly less revenue or gets shed entirely.

You are 100% right, but unfortunately this is guaranteed to be the outcome within 5-10 years, no matter what happens with PE / VC stakeholders. Uneven revenue sharing is coming to the SEC for sure, one way or another.

The low hanging fruit of conference realignment has already been gobbled up. The next round with Clemson, UVA, UNC, Miami, and FSU as targets is not going to move the needle much for per-school revenue increases….given the tradeoff of added TV revenue vs. additional slices of the pie. The math is only going to work if they incorporate uneven revenue sharing with it. And the league now has the votes to do so that they didn’t have when there were only 12-14 teams.

 

[dudehead]

“They” should just go ahead and remove the word “college” from college football now that America’s golden calf is devouring the game.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Wrong isn't the right term here. Shortsighted.

I've seen some of the idiots on here want to do battles of wits over an IQ test. What they really need to do is play chess. I know for a fact I could beat several within 25 moves just with a simple queen sacrifice bait. Dudes do not see more than one step ahead and stop measuring success there.

I am wondering why the B1G needs this influx of cash anyway. They already have plenty. I see no reason to give away your rights to PE firms. Football ain't complicated. Show good games with popular teams, that's it. All PE will do is add commercials. Not too many ways to reinvent this wheel.

 

[MSUGUY]

The SEC it just means more. Private Equity, it just means more money in the owners pockets at all cost. I’m a fiscal conservative and this is bad idea.

 

[Seinfeld]

I see it more like PE becomes another mouth to feed, but it’s worse because they’re the first mouth that gets fed. You think Mississippi State is safe in that sort of environment? When they determine that Mississippi State’s ROI isn’t what it’s “supposed” to be, what happens then? Either Mississippi State takes significantly less revenue or gets shed entirely.

This only ends badly for the schools, especially the schools at the lower end of the power conferences.

I’ll go ahead and admit that I don’t know a whole lot about this PE stuff, but I know what I see when I occasionally watch WWE, and it’s terrible.

Ads all over the ring apron, Wrestlemania in Saudi Arabia, and constantly pushing terrible wrestlers for the sake of PR. This is what I envision when I hear about things like this.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I’ll go ahead and admit that I don’t know a whole lot about this PE stuff, but I know what I see when I occasionally watch WWE, and it’s terrible.

Ads all over the ring apron, Wrestlemania in Saudi Arabia, and constantly pushing terrible wrestlers for the sake of PR. This is what I envision when I hear about things like this.

You're correct. Again, this isn't brain surgery.

We've taken away the NCAA's ability to regulate any of it, so here we are. But they aren't blameless either, the way they held onto TV rights and NIL money for years showed they were just as greedy. But either way, their regulating authority does need to be restored somewhat, and that starts with the B1G and SEC commissioners. But I think they are proving that they have no interest in the good of the game, just the short term good of their own conferences.

 

[Dawgg]

I’ll go ahead and admit that I don’t know a whole lot about this PE stuff, but I know what I see when I occasionally watch WWE, and it’s terrible.

Ads all over the ring apron, Wrestlemania in Saudi Arabia, and constantly pushing terrible wrestlers for the sake of PR. This is what I envision when I hear about things like this.

I think WWE is the only thing with more commercials than football these days.

 

[dorndawg]

I sure hope they all have fun with that.

 

[dickiedawg]

Is PE really going to pay for their 1/20 stake or whatever it is plus some?

Unless I’m misunderstanding, some investor is buying a 1/20 share of the conference for somewhere north of $2 Billion. So yes, they’re paying for it.

 

[aTotal360]

It’s amazing how bad they have, and are going to, let this thing get.

They will ruin the sport over 2 things. 1) money 2) they are scared to tell kids "no" because of social media blowback.

 

[paindonthurt]

Once again the B1G beats Sankey to the punch. Who couldn’t see this coming? Hopefully, the SEC will follow suit because this is when the real money starts to come in.

Being the first to market isn’t always the best