Big 12 Considering $1B in Private Equity

[LivntheCyLife]

Big difference is that it’s the NFL not college. People show up just to watch the spectacle just like how when premier league teams show up in the states they also usually sell out or draw huge numbers even for people who aren’t fans. People show up to a Man United vs Liverpool friendly at the Big House, people don’t notice a Leeds vs Southampton match.

I could be wrong and if the Big12 pulls that trigger I hope it succeeds but I just don’t see a path.

You don't think Arizona or Kansas could be big draws? Arizona's roster had I think 5 or 6 international players last year. There's a ton of guys that are future pros for various international leagues. I think there's definitely potential, not sure how big the payout would be but definitely some potential.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

You don't think Arizona or Kansas could be big draws? Arizona's roster had I think 5 or 6 international players last year. There's a ton of guys that are future pros for various international leagues. I think there's definitely potential, not sure how big the payout would be but definitely some potential.

I was talking football before not basketball. Basketball has more potential mainly because the cost is much lower to actually host the game and travel but it still won’t do anything. Kansas was barely able to break 1.5mil viewers last year in their top games and that includes multiple Houston matchups and the champions classic.

Who knows maybe there is some super niche market but most European countries are very confused about college sports and find it really weird.

 

[LivntheCyLife]

I was talking football before not basketball. Basketball has more potential mainly because the cost is much lower to actually host the game and travel but it still won’t do anything. Kansas was barely able to break 1.5mil viewers last year in their top games and that includes multiple Houston matchups and the champions classic.

Who knows maybe there is some super niche market but most European countries are very confused about college sports and find it really weird.

I find that confusion to be largely true for western Europeans. I work with quite a few international graduate students and I've been surprised how much the Chinese and eastern European students know about college basketball. A lot of them grow up aspiring to go to college in the states so know the college landscape decently well (obvious bias here since I work with ones that actually came over). And also have had the NBA marketed to them a lot. So in a lot of ways I do think there's potential, just no idea what the numbers would look like.

 

[BooneCy]

Maybe I am missing something, so my apologies if I am, but this equity firm isn’t considering investing money in the conference so they can sponsor games in Europe. They are doing it because they see profit in the margins.

I think the idea that games could be played in Europe is a marketing ploy to improve exposure and then value. The two are not necessarily connected.

 

[Die4Cy]

BFD on the Fox deal not materializing. ESPN instead farms it out to TNT but will use their own broadcasters and production assets. The bigger issue is that ESPN was the sole bidder for arguably the 2nd most valuable (and watched) sports property in the US and, as a result, got a heavily discounted deal. Then on top of that, the ESPN/Fox puppets, Sankey and Pettiti, bully their way to absurd unequal revenue sharing of a needlessly depressed CFP revenue pool with guaranteed multiple auto berths for the B10 and SEC.

I do wonder about collusion on the CFP deal.

The playoff committee really failed to do their due diligence by negotiating with ESPN alone. That no one else was willing to come to the table should have been a big red flag in granting an extension at the time IMO.

 

[jctisu]

You will care when they need to check replay and there's no angle to show what happened.

Not that replay has ever really gone our way, so maybe this will be a positive for us.

 

[Cloned4Life]

You will care when they need to check replay and there's no angle to show what happened.

I have not noticed 1 single issue - ever - with an “angle” of a replay with any Iowa State basketball broadcast cast, ever.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I have not noticed 1 single issue - ever - with an “angle” of a replay with any Iowa State basketball broadcast cast, ever.

I have.

 

[cykadelic2]

I do wonder about collusion on the CFP deal.

The playoff committee really failed to do their due diligence by negotiating with ESPN alone. That no one else was willing to come to the table should have been a big red flag in granting an extension at the time IMO.

There is no question there was an element of collusion on multiple counts. One of them was a couple of months after proclaiming they were going "all in" to acquire full or partial CFP rights, Fox doesn't even submit a bid. That was an obvious red flag.

The other red flag was reported by the Athletic. There was fear by ESPN of the CST Super League gaining traction which would have nullified the CFP extension so there was urgency by ESPN to get the CFP extension done ASAP and the CFP Board was complicit with that urgency as well. Now one thing that Yormark was able to do was get a 2028 lookin provision on the CFP extension so hopefully that lookin will potentially provide that extension being blown up with new partners engaged in addition to ESPN and besides Fox. Getting Amazon or another new partner on the CFP deal would then facilitate more robust bidding on the new B12 deal in 2031.

 

[t-noah]

Planning to give this a listen later today

I will listen soon also.

How is this Ten12 network doing? They don't seem to be up to date, so maybe I am answering my own question?

Ten12 Podcast

Covering the biggest football, basketball and other sporting news around the 10 teams in the Big 12! Big 12 vs The World

www.ten12podcast.com

 

[simply1]

I will listen soon also.

How is this Ten12 network doing? They don't seem to be up to date, so maybe I am answering my own question?

Ten12 Podcast

Covering the biggest football, basketball and other sporting news around the 10 teams in the Big 12! Big 12 vs The World

www.ten12podcast.com

The post you quoted was a podcast on the 17th, so I assume their website is out of synch with their podcasts.

 

[t-noah]

The post you quoted was a podcast on the 17th, so I assume their website is out of synch with their podcasts.

And yes I realized that. I included the link because I was trying to find out more info on them in general. The link I found was last updated in 2022. So It doesn't appear they are using it anymore?

 

[t-noah]

There is no question there was an element of collusion on multiple counts. One of them was a couple of months after proclaiming they were going "all in" to acquire full or partial CFP rights, Fox doesn't even submit a bid. That was an obvious red flag.

The other red flag was reported by the Athletic. There was fear by ESPN of the CST Super League gaining traction which would have nullified the CFP extension so there was urgency by ESPN to get the CFP extension done ASAP and the CFP Board was complicit with that urgency as well. Now one thing that Yormark was able to do was get a 2028 lookin provision on the CFP extension so hopefully that lookin will potentially provide that extension being blown up with new partners engaged in addition to ESPN and besides Fox. Getting Amazon or another new partner on the CFP deal would then facilitate more robust bidding on the new B12 deal in 2031.

Maybe Congress has a little (lot) more work to do, antitrust, etc., than just the recent Athlete-Pay Settlement?

 

[cykadelic2]

Maybe Congress has a little (lot) more work to do, antitrust, etc., than just the recent Athlete-Pay Settlement?

If multiple ACC schools like Syracuse, BC, Wake Forest, etc. get destroyed by ESPN/Fox driven realignment within the next 12 months like Oregon St and Washington St did, I think that carnage could get pulled into the House Settlement process along with ESPN's continued control of the CFP.

 

[DrShip]

Public universities operating sports teams on a (notionally) nonprofit basis (else why the heck are they paying for a women's tennis team) mixed with private equity is the most bizarre mixture I can imagine.

It's like dipping Cheetos in chocolate milk.

I had a buddy who would dip nutter butters in salsa if he was stoned. Stoners make some strange food combinations...

Kids as well. My sister used to dip plain Pringles in milk.

 

[BCClone]

My view from the moon during my life is simple. BTW, I know some will vehemently disagree.
Companies start with engineers and scientists with great ideas. Under tight purse strings, they manage to find someone to put together a business plan. They then convince venture capitalists or loan types. They start their business. And, for the most part they do REALLY well. I've identified several investments of small companies throughout my life. And they were incredible UNTIL they were purchased/acquired. Back to the track. Eventually, the Harvard types are brought in. And that's when the products go to crap. Two recent examples are Amazon and Google. Both of which may not 'fiscally' be in a tail spin yet, but will...unless things change dramatically. I know. When the 'margins' become bigger than the product, that's the beginning of the end. It's so obvious. Another thing equally important is 'competition'. If there's not enough competition, that spells disaster. Things like these are what college sports should be paying attention to.

Many times when the founder leaves the business they founded, priorities change drastically. The founder has built up his company and is content with his income and generally isn’t highly leveraged. They are willing to take a decent wage and love seeing what they built. They know the pay day is if/when they sell it.

The new owners see it as a profit center. They most likely have lenders backing them so they want to clean that up fast. Then you have the ESOP take overs. I’ve seen these go downhill when the employees now own something but have always worked for someone and never lead their own. They will try to trim fat (and usually make a mess by doing it wrong) and try to recoup they extra they had to pay quickly.

 

[t-noah]

If multiple ACC schools like Syracuse, BC, Wake Forest, etc. get destroyed by ESPN/Fox driven realignment within the next 12 months like Oregon St and Washington St did, I think that carnage could get pulled into the House Settlement process along with ESPN's continued control of the CFP.

That would be good. Even gooder would be that the dealings of ESPN, Fox, the B1G and the SEC, at the detriment of the other P5, would be looked at by Congress in a punitive way, before the ACC collapses.

 

[cycloneworld]

This is the kind of stuff that drives me crazy as a fan. We are constantly being asked to do more, buy more, donate more - and then an AD goes out a gives a coach a bunch more money when there is no reason to do so. No one was coming after Brent Venebles in June. I’d say he’s underperformed at OU. So, of course, give him a raise and a new 6 year contract! Why?!

Glad it’s not like that at ISU as much but drives me insane as a fan.

 

[CyCrazy]

This is the kind of stuff that drives me crazy as a fan. We are constantly being asked to do more, buy more, donate more - and then an AD goes out a gives a coach a bunch more money when there is no reason to do so. No one was coming after Brent Venebles in June. I’d say he’s underperformed at OU. So, of course, give him a raise and a new 6 year contract! Why?!

Glad it’s not like that at ISU as much but drives me insane as a fan.

He wont make it that long. But will get his money.

 

[cyfan92]

Porter Moser got a raise as well.. Aren't most most university budget years over 6/30?? If I'm correct there, this is likely finding ways to spend excess money leftover in the budget year.

Neither coach as OU should be anywhere close to receiving raises, but the have in college athletics have to invent new ways to waste their millions