Donovan Edwards #7 of the Michigan Wolverines hurdles a tackle attempt by Michael Taaffe #16 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half of a college football game at Michigan Stadium on September 07, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.Aaron J. Thornton | Getty Images Sport | Getty ImagesThere’s a mad dash for cash in college sports.Between multibillion-dollar television deals, the institution of the transfer portal and the escalation of NIL —name, image and likeness — deals for athletes, college athletic programs, particularly football, have never looked more lucrative.Now private equity and venture capital enterprises such as College Sports Tomorrow, Smash Capital and Collegiate Athletics Solutions are looking to buy in, and the schools with the most valuable athletic programs sit in the best position to capitalize.At the very top of the heap are the schools that excel on the gridiron. According to people familiar with the economics, football generates roughly 75% of athletic program revenue at typical Power 4 schools, which include the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC conferences.This year’s expanded, 12-team College Football Playoffs kick off Dec. 20. ESPN parent Disney signed a six-year extension in March for the rights to the games through 2031. The deal is worth an average of $1.3 billion annually, more than double the previous deal, according to media reports.Given the fact that the SEC dominates the college football ratings, experts CNBC spoke with believe the conference will leapfrog the Big Ten with the richest television deal when its current agreement expires in 2033-34.”The SEC is almost a super-conference and, because of its football teams, owns the most valuable content in college sports,” said Irwin Kishner, a partner at the corporate department of Herrick Feinstein and co-chair of its Sports Law Group.Private equity, of course, is not a new concept for sports. In North America, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer have permitted private equity firms to own limited partner stakes for several years. The National Football League voted in August to allow select private equity investors to take minority stakes.Now the attention is turning to college programs.”As a business, college sports, particularly football, is performing well and continuing to grow, which is why investors are looking at the asset class,” said Greg Carey, the global co-head of sports franchise in investment banking at Goldman Sachs.Institutional investors such as Collegiate Athletic Solutions — a proposal by RedBird Capital Partners and Weatherford Capital — would provide capital to help grow a school’s athletic revenue. In return, the private equity firms would get a cut.There is also the belief that the business acu …
