Former FSU QB Drew Weatherford talks athletics financing on university, conference level

Weatherford Capital, the investment firm founded 10 years ago by former Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford and two of his brothers, created national headlines this weekend when news leaked that it is teaming up with Redbird Capital to provide up to $500 million in credit financing to the Big 12 Conference.

The deal hasn’t been finalized, but several media outlets reported it could be done within the next few weeks.

While many have speculated that Florida State and other university athletics departments will soon turn to private equity as a way to fund the greater financial demands of competing on the national landscape in college football, Weatherford explained on a recent podcast that providing credit might be a smoother alternative in the near future.

“At the school level, I think we’re still many, many years away (from most schools selling equity),” Weatherford said during an appearance on the Momentous Sports podcast with former UCF quarterback Kyle Israel, who also works in the sports investment space.

The podcast was recorded weeks ago, but it was released last week.

While investment firms are certainly interested in tapping into a new sector like college sports, the former Florida State quarterback said his company’s research shows it is, “very complicated, especially at the university level” to actually sell ownership.

FSU officials started looking into the possibility of a private equity deal several years ago, but the idea stalled in late 2023 or early 2024 due to “legal hurdles” and other complications, according to Sportico.

However, the concept of private financing remains extremely intriguing, Weatherford said, because college athletics programs produce very large and very consistent revenue streams.

Power Four programs like Florida State generate tens of millions of dollars each year in media rights, and that number is essentially fixed, based on long-term television contracts. While ticket sales, concessions and merchandise sales might fluctuate some based on good and bad seasons, Weatherford said the change is seldom greater than 10 percent.

So it makes perfect sense why investment firms would be attracted.

And Weatherford, who also serves on the Florida State Board of Trustees, said universities are equally interested in the concept for several reasons. Not only do they desire to be competitive in the current landscape — while dealing with the financial pressures created by NIL, revenue sharing with athletes and massive coaching salary buyouts — but they want to be well-positioned for the next round of conference realignment.

“It’s arguably more important to have capital today than it’s ever been,” said Weatherford, who operates his firm with brothers Will and Sam. “And the stakes are way higher too. Because if you don’t win over the next five years — when the Big Ten, the SEC and the Big 12 media deals come up — there’s going to be another reshuffle of all of these schools, and you don’t want to be on the outside looking in. So the stakes are really high.”

With that in mind, Weatherford Capital and Redbird Capital announced in June the forming of Collegiate Athletics Solutions, a partnership designed to, “directly address the ever-expanding need for smart capital investment in athletic departments across the country.”

During his podcast interview, Weatherford said CAS is, “the only dedicated fund for collegiate athletics. We’ve actually raised real capital that’s ready to be deployed.”

According to reports, Collegiate Athletics Solutions will not take any ownership interest in the Big 12. The firm instead will be providing $500 million in credit — around $30 million for each school in the conference.

The Big Ten Conference, meanwhile, is reportedly considering a $2.4 billion deal that would transfer 10 percent equity of the league’s lucrative media rights to the University of California pension fund. That concept was paused last month following objections from Michigan and Southern Cal, but Weatherford said he thinks there’s a good chance the deal eventually goes through.

“It’s not done, but there’s a high likelihood that that thing gets done,” he said, adding that the Big Ten would have to extend its current Grant of Rights agreement to make it feasible.

As part of the agreement, Weatherford said, each school would receive a cash infusion of at least $100 million, with some of the top revenue-generators receiving much more.

The concept of individual schools selling equity might not be far off, either. University of Utah officials last week approved a deal that could bring in more than $400 million in exchange for selling a minority stake of a new for-profit entity named Utah Brands & Entertainment. The university will own the rest.

As part of the arrangement, Otro Capital of New York would provide the cash and also handle things like selling sponsorships and creating additional revenue streams. The deal has not been finalized, but it will close in 2026 if everything goes according to plan.

Here is the full Weatherford interview on the Momentous Sports Podcast:

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