As college sports faces more change, is private equity money coming in? - ESPN

There are high-stakes lawsuits and labor relations boards, congressional hearings and an NCAA president's controversial overhaul plan. There's an angry school taking its conference to court over a grant of rights, and that conference preemptively striking against the school.

There's the disruption of name, image and likeness, grumbling over essentially unlimited transfers and million-dollar portal acquisitions. There are Hall of Fame coaches in football and men's basketball sprinting to retirement. There's a yawning gap between the SEC and Big Ten and the rest of the leagues, with those Power 2 commissioners beginning to realize the power of leveraging their ascension above the fray.

There are only two certainties in college sports — sweeping change is coming, and no one knows what it will look like.

Amid this backdrop, a new market force has emerged as potentially interested in the future of college sports. From email inboxes to Zoom meetings to glad-handing at high-end events, representatives from private equity and other types of outside financial entities have emerged as interested in the chaos of college sports.

«What are you looking for if you are private equity?» asked an industry source. «You are looking for a poorly managed business that nevertheless has a strong market. That's the definition of college athletics.»

There's also a search for solutions, which include a «Think Tank» shepherded by search firm executive Len Perna and includes names like billionaire David Blitzer, one of the country's most prolific investors in sports, former MLS president Mark Abbott and a handful of university leaders, including Syracuse chancellor Kent Syverud.

They stress they have no direct tie to any financial arm and are