If you are not paying attention to what is happening in the Big 10, then you don't realize how close this sport is to dying

[Danny Dollars]

I know this could go in the NCAA forum, but it really does pertain to Tennessee football in a big way.

Right now, the Big 10 is trying to open up the ability for private equity companies to invest into their conference. Only Michigan and USC are in opposition of this, while the other 14/16 have signed off. Why does this matter to you, your love of Tennessee football, and college athletics in general?

Because once private equity is involved, this sport is dead. It isn't some boogy man either; PE will do everything it can to push profitability to the max so they can get a return on their investment. To this point, college sports have been run on revenue from events/TV, donations, and product partnerships. While companies like Pilot want ROI, it is not a specific number they are looking for. Their ROI is seeing the brand on the field and the skybox by 100k fans a game + the millions at home.

PE will demand profit. This will mean every little thing will be monetized at some point. Vol Walk? Paid admission for the front row. Tickets? Even more expensive. All those extra non revenue generating sports? Dead, useless, because they don't make the almighty dollar for our private equity overlords.

This is a deal with the devil that officially kills this sport. If the Big 10 does this, the SEC will follow as we are in an arms race against them.

Board Members Mount Challenge to Big Ten Investment Deal

There is talk of litigation, and one Big Ten board member suggested state or federal lawmakers could get involved.

frontofficesports.com

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

Seems like an absurdly bad idea. And you are right - PE firms only invest when then think they can get a nice return. Hard to imagine this happening to college athletics

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Doesn't matter much to me anymore. They've already priced me out as a fan. I doubt I'll ever attend another game again unless I'm invited by someone.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

Doesn't matter much to me anymore. They've already priced me out as a fan. I doubt I'll ever attend another game again unless I'm invited by someone.

And the current state of the sport isn't all that likable with the NIL portal chaos. I'm slowly trying to ween myself from caring after a lifetime of being too vested in it.

 

[molsen81]

We're diehard fans. We'll pay anything to see the Vols score 40+.

 

[Vol in Buckeye Land]

Pro sports are a better product, and lower divisions will have more of what made college football special once this is all done. The writing is on the wall that it's time for the average fan to move on from big time D1.

These players, coaches, and especially conference and tv execs and their ilk do not deserve your hard-earned money, people.

 

[McDad]

This is what, the 27th or 28th "death of college football" over the last 50 to 60 years?

 

[Vol in Buckeye Land]

This is what, the 27th or 28th "death of college football" over the last 50 to 60 years?

I get what you're saying, but it's all part of one long, slow slide into more and more greed, corruption, and commidification.

 

[WaywardVol]

This is what, the 27th or 28th "death of college football" over the last 50 to 60 years?

Death by 1000 cuts.

 

[McDad]

I get what you're saying, but it's all part of one long, slow slide into more and more greed, corruption, and commidification.

college football will outlive every single one of us.

 

[vavolfan6]

B1G 10 is ruining college football. They tore apart the Pac 12 and have a conference that spans from coast to coast. Eventually we will have to go to a salary cap to stop them from selling their soul to compete with the SEC.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

I get what you're saying, but it's all part of one long, slow slide into more and more greed, corruption, and commidification.

Corruption has been high in collegiate athletics since the 70s.

It is just in the open now

 

[txbo]

Equity financing does not solve the long term revenue problems. It only allows smaller schools to catch up for a bit. Michigan and USC are right to say no.

 

[The Original Fade]

Once you become the NFL with less talent then you become irrelevant

 

[zjcvols]

B1G 10 is ruining college football. They tore apart the Pac 12 and have a conference that spans from coast to coast. Eventually we will have to go to a salary cap to stop them from selling their soul to compete with the SEC.

It is absolutely incredible how the B10 is willing to tear conferences down in order to make their product more attractive for TV contracts and ad revenue, yet also needs $1.5B in PE to help save them. I don't know, think of how money you could have saved with 12 teams instead of 18 teams!

 

[zjcvols]

The Big Ten got a $7.8B contract for 7 years (that could go over $8B) yet somehow needs another $1.5B in PE as well. Maybe you should check those books and see where that money is going

 

[zjcvols]

Is Mark Emmert the worst thing to ever happen to college sports? All of this could had been avoided but nope, instead he battled tough and nail for a decade in the courts, got his ass handed to him by the Supreme Court and then left as the fallout became too much.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Private Equity is going to do what it always does: search for ways to maximize ROI.

The tennis team, track team, etc aren't reasonable units of the business to continue to invest money in. PE suggests either shuttering all the units in the athletic dept which are a drain on ROI or spinning off the profitable into a separate entity which can provide ROI.

Private Equity is EXACTLY the type of business which knows how and has lots of experience in splitting up companies in financial difficulty so the profitable part goes with them and the unprofitable part stays with the losers or closes.

Watch and see.

 

[Voltopia]

This sport is well and truly disfigured now, and I don't think there'll ever be a way to repair the damage. Not without surrendering the TV money, and I don't think the schools will ever do that. All these athletic departments are being operated by career businessmen who view their jobs soley as profit enterprises. And when you decide that the money is the only thing that matters, then nothing else will ever matter as much. Not the roar of the crowd, not the college degree, not the pageantry, not the history, one bit of it. Hell, how many people even pipe up saying "all that stuff is stupid and never mattered anyway. " Well, here we are, at the tail end of "all of that stuff is stupid." It's all falling away, piece by piece. The Pride of the Southland replaced by "Joker and the Thief." The view of the Tennessee River replaced by the view of a privately owned hotel that gets VIP access to the stadium. Generational fans replaced by, well, whoever's paying. And who cares about any of that stupid crap anyway, right?

The real bitter irony here is that the ONLY thing that has ever made college football valuable as a media product is the unique fan support. The passion has always set college football apart from the NFL. But now schools have taken the support of their fans, something built over generations of integration into communities, integration into families with generational fan investment, and packaged that up for sale right along with everything else. People complain about ESPN buying the SEC, or FOX buying the Big 18, but the reality is they they've bought US so they can wring everything they can out of the fans. And the schools were apparently happy to sell us - along with everything else that made college football unique - to them.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

This sport is well and truly disfigured now, and I don't think there'll ever be a way to repair the damage. Not without surrendering the TV money, and I don't think the schools will ever do that now. They're all operated by career businessmen who view their jobs soley as profit enterprises. And when you decide that the money is the only thing that matters, then nothing else will ever matter as much. Not the roar of the crowd, not the college degree, not the pageantry, not the history, one bit of it. Hell, how many people even pipe up saying "all that stuff is stupid and never mattered anyway. " Well, here we are, at the tail end of "all of that stuff is stupid." It's all falling away, piece by piece. The Pride of the Southland replaced by "Joker and the Thief." The view of the Tennessee River replaced by the view of a privately owned hotel that gets VIP access to the stadium. Generational fans replaced by, well, whoever's paying. And who cares about any of that stupid crap anyway, right?

The real bitter irony here is that the ONLY thing that has ever made college football valuable as a media product is the unique fan support. The passion has always set college football apart from the NFL. But now schools have taken the support of their fans, something built over generations of integration into communities, integration into families with generational fan investment, and packaged that up for sale right along with everything else. People complain about ESPN buying the SEC, or FOX buying the Big 18, but the reality is they they've bought US so they can wring everything they can out of the fans. And the schools were apparently happy to sell us - along with everything else that made college football unique - to them.

People love to blame the NCAA but the schools sued for the rights to make lucrative TV deals themselves when the NCAA wanted to keep the media deals minimized.

People hated the NCAA for trying to keep the money from the schools and the games from being heavily televised. We cheered being able to fill our Saturdays with great college football on TV after the NCAA lost.

Well, here we are. We have lots of games on TV (after the carriers wrestle over money) and huge costs to attend games live (after the schools realized fans will "pay these prices and much more.")

We all wanted this. Easy access to lots of games. I've loved it. Your Dad probably loved it. We wanted fireworks, light shows, huge arenas, and massive equipment expenditures so recruits want to attend UT. Only the finest locker rooms, training equipment, buffet facilities, etc so we can play great football. Mo' money to win, Sugar Vols and whatever else it takes.

When it is crumbling people want to blame the NCAA for "not doing something" when they have gotten sued by the schools every time they did something.

Find a mirror, fans. Me included. This is what we wanted.

 

[zjcvols]

People love to blame the NCAA but the schools sued for the rights to make lucrative TV deals themselves when the NCAA wanted to keep the media deals minimized.

People hated the NCAA for trying to keep the money from the schools and the games from being heavily televised. We cheered being able to fill our Saturdays with great college football on TV after the NCAA lost.

Well, here we are. We have lots of games on TV (after the carriers wrestle over money) and huge costs to attend games live (after the schools realized fans will "pay these prices and much more.")

We all wanted this. Easy access to lots of games. I've loved it. Your Dad probably loved it. We wanted fireworks, light shows, huge arenas, and massive equipment expenditures so recruits want to attend UT. Only the finest locker rooms, training equipment, buffet facilities, etc so we can play great football. Mo' money to win, Sugar Vols and whatever else it takes.

When it is crumbling people want to blame the NCAA for "not doing something" when they have gotten sued by the schools every time they did something.

Find a mirror, fans. Me included. This is what we wanted.

There is a medium. The problem is the NCAA spent a decade in the courts to keep it for themselves and the schools and they failed spectacularly, instead of coming up with a fair system that works for everyone.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

There is a medium. The problem is the NCAA spent a decade in the courts to keep it for themselves and the schools and they failed spectacularly, instead of coming up with a fair system that works for everyone.

Show me the medium. The TV rights lawsuit was DECADES ago and the schools showed no interest in the "medium" you suggest. They took the victory and pushed it as hard and as far and as financially selfish as possible.

So only the NCAA could demonstrate "looking for the medium?" Getouttahere with that.

Why didn't the schools move toward the "medium?"

 

[dobre_shunka]

This is what, the 27th or 28th "death of college football" over the last 50 to 60 years?

I wonder now that the war in Gaza is over if Greta Thunberg's new cause wil be saving college football? Just imagine her leading a flotilla up the Tennessee River to the Calhoun's .

 

[txbo]

Private Equity is going to do what it always does: search for ways to maximize ROI.

The tennis team, track team, etc aren't reasonable units of the business to continue to invest money in. PE suggests either shuttering all the units in the athletic dept which are a drain on ROI or spinning off the profitable into a separate entity which can provide ROI.

Private Equity is EXACTLY the type of business which knows how and has lots of experience in splitting up companies in financial difficulty so the profitable part goes with them and the unprofitable part stays with the losers or closes.

Watch and see.

The deal the Big 10 is seeking is not your typical private equity deal. It only gives up 10% equity. UC Investments is also not your typical private equity firm. They manage UC funds such as retirement, 401Ks and pensions.

Private equity also has never had to deal with the restrictions of Title IX.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

The deal the Big 10 is seeking is not your typical private equity deal. It only gives up 10% equity. UC Investments is also not your typical private equity firm. They manage UC funds such as retirement, 401Ks and pensions.

Private equity also has never had to deal with the restrictions of Title IX.

Title IX is EXACTLY why UC Investments will suggest splitting traditional (non high revenue) college sports and ROI generating (high revenue) college sports.

Private equity is designed to find and maximize the best parts of a business, ie. the profitable parts, and separate that part from the worst parts of the business, ie., the money losers.

Title IX is a stupid thing for business in college athletics. Getting the revenue generating sports away from having to give money to revenue losing sports is what private equity is all about.