Despite director Tony Petitti’s previous criticisms about the benefits of involving administrative investment in school activities, the Big Ten Conference is now accepting primary bids from private equity firms.
Prior to a crucial date in the House v. NCAA competitive lawsuit that could ultimately alter the economics of professional athletics, the convention earlier retained investment bank Evercore, which solicited a first round of suggestive offers from PE firms this week.
” To better aid its 18 representative institutions, the meeting is evaluating potential strategic partnerships in order to increase the conference’s event, sponsorship and other secondary business endeavors”, a Big Ten spokesperson told Sportico in an email, while declining to give further details. Evercore’s rep did not respond to a request for comment.

As the income head among school events, the Big Ten posted$ 880 million in revenue for macroeconomic year 2023, according to its tax files. In July 2023, the conference commenced a$ 7 billion, seven-year multimedia rights deal with Fox, CBS and NBC. In August 2024, the league officially welcomed four former Pac-12 stalwarts–UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon—thus expanding its roster to 18 schools.
Florida State led the charge in discussions of private equity in college sports at the beginning, with Florida State leading the charge. In 2022, the university began talks with PE giant Sixth Street, and later Arctos Partners, under an initiative dubbed Project Osceola. However, as reported by Sportico, those talks effectively stalled by late 2023.
In June, CBS Sports reported that the Big 12 was considering an$ 800 million to$ 1 billion investment from CVC Capital Partners, in exchange for a 15 % to 20 % stake in the conference. Since then, both Tim Pernetti and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark have made it known that they are interested in hiring PE partners.
But the recent moves by the Big Ten, which generated 72 % more revenue than the Big 12 in FY23, represent a major development given the conference’s size and reach. These actions also indicate a shift, at least in terms of public rhetoric, from its boss.
The SEC and Big Ten leaders convened in Nashville in October to discuss potential collaborations between the nation’s two most important athletic conferences. Yahoo Sports also provided a report on the creation of the bold new project known as” Project Rudy,” which is a super league. The proposal, spearheaded by former Disney executives who are currently employed by Smash Capital, aimed to create a 70-team structure that would be infused with up to$ 9 billion in private capital.

However, Petitti quickly dismissed the idea.
” I haven’t seen anything in any of these plans that we couldn’t do ourselves, alongside our ( Power 4 ) colleagues”, Petitti told reporters in Nashville. ” Ultimately, there’s a strong commitment that we can achieve all of this on our own”.
A group of prominent sports team owners, executives, and college administrators started promoting an intercollegiate Super League through College Sports Tomorrow earlier this year. The group included notable figures such as David Blitzer, owner of the Devils and Sixers, NFL executive Brian Rolapp, Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, Syracuse chancellor Kent Syverud, and TurnkeyZRG CEO Len Perna. A group-sponsored, private pitch deck released in February 2024, contained key details of its proposal, including a 40-game spring football “festival,” a distribution plan for the 70 permanent members, and a rough outline of how the 70 permanent members would be distributed across seven geographically aligned leagues.
An NFL-like pooling of conference multimedia rights into a separate, central entity that could, in addition, increase its market value and increase the cost of education is a key component of the College Sports Tomorrow proposal. In anticipation of a federal court approving the House settlement, which would allow schools to share up to$ 20 million in annual revenue with athletes, has grown a new urgency. The court has until Friday to file objections to the settlement.
Meanwhile, the Big Ten and SEC are slated to hold a second summit next month in New Orleans.