Private equity seems like the move for the Big 12

When I read that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark was stumping for his league’s football champion to receiver a first-round College Football Playoff bye last week, I had to shake my head.
“The committee continues to show time and time again they are paying attention to logos versus resumes,” he said.
It smacked of desperation.
As we know now, the champion, Arizona State, did receive the desired bye. But in a college football world now solidly dominated by the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences, you can feel the distress.
“The one thing I am concerned about, candidly, is I need to better understand what the key metrics are being used with the rankings each week,” Yormark said of the CFP. “Strength of schedule was something identified early in the fall as a very, very critically important metric – and I’m not sure that has happened to date.”
He’s a fighter, we know. With a diverse background in sports and entertainment, he single-handedly saved the Big 12 by jumping the line and agreeing to terms on a new media rights deal with ESPN and Fox. His move sunk the Pac-12 and expanded the Big 12 to 16 schools. He’s served up many ideas, like partnering with the WWE, etc.
But Yormark’s biggest challenge, now that the league has been saved, is bolstering the talent within the football league. You watch the SEC. You watch the Big Ten. You watch the Big 12. The last – as well as the ACC – doesn’t compare to the first two across the board.
Yormark has to help. The Big 12 has to stay at least within shouting distance of the Big Two conferences talent-wise. And we all know what that’s going to take: more money.
Thankfully, he’s had a solution in mind for a while now: working with private equity. A firm, for instance, could invest close to $1 billion into the league. The Big 12 needs to stay competitive in the new Name, Image and Likeness world and so far, the talent gap is only widening.
Yormark and the Big 12 need to act now. And now is the time because of the House v. NCAA settlement that opened the door to the influence.
For the first time in history, the NFL has allowed private equity firms to buy into league ownership. Check out the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills.
Now, the Big 12 must jump as it did with the media rights deal. The SEC and Big Ten are already taking 58 percent of the CFP media revenue. It’s time for Yormark and the schools to move.
Of course, there are terms to examine, and risks involved. But Yormak and the schools have to do SOMETHING. It was good to read YahooSports’ Ross Dellenger tweeting on Wednesday, “Sign of the times here in Las Vegas. Big 12 held AD meetings here that featured presentations from several big brands, including Verizon, PayPal and New Era, related to revenue-generating partnerships & commercial deals.”
On the (sort of) flip side, CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello tweeted this on Wednesday:
“NCAA prez Charlie Baker on private equity in college sports: ‘What the schools really have to figure out …: How does that relate to their donor and booster community? Are donors going to write big checks to schools if a piece of that is going to go back to private equity?’”
That reads like hesitation. That reads like an opportunity for the Big 12.
I know from talking to at least one higher-up at WVU there’s hesitation on private equity. But, man, just watch and compare the leagues, look at the NFL drafts, check the top 100, 200, 300 mock drafts to see the disparity in talent.
It’s time for the Big 12 to act. Yes, the other leagues may then act too.
But it certainly wouldn’t hurt to get a head start once again.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.