The Big 12 has approved a five-year agreement with RedBird Capital Partners and Tampa-based Weatherford Capital, becoming the first known conference in major college sports to strike a league-wide, private capital deal.
The Associated Press cited multiple people with knowledge of the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because neither side announced the strategic partnership. Front Office Sports and Yahoo Sports first reported it, and RedBird Capital posted both stories on its website.
The deal was ratified by Big 12 presidents and chancellors last week, the people said.
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The investment firms, as part of their Collegiate Athletic Solutions partnership, will provide a $12.5 million capital infusion and help create more commercial revenue for the Big 12. RedBird and Weatherford Capital will not get an ownership stake in the 16-team league or its revenues, and also will have no operational or governance oversight.
Will Weatherford, who announced last week he is stepping down as chair of the University of South Florida Board of Trustees, is a managing partner of Weatherford Capital, a family-owned private investment firm. Weatherford, a former speaker of the Florida House, said he will remain on the USF board. His brother, Drew, is a founding partner and former Florida State University quarterback.
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The three-prong partnership is designed to grow revenue for the league at a time when some schools are strapped for cash and vying to better position themselves for the next iteration of the ever-changing landscape of college sports.
Each of the league’s schools also will have access to up to $30 million each, a line of credit that would have to be paid back with a double-digit interest rate over time.
It’s unclear how many schools would even consider taking the money, the people said. But that kind of cash could help universities boost payouts in football and men’s basketball and potentially compete with the Big Ten — which has won three consecutive football national championships as well as the last one in men’s hoops — and the Southeastern Conference.
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Any short-term gain might have long-term ramifications if a group of select universities break from the NCAA and form a super league, a prospect that has been considered as a potential solution to revenue disparity in recent years.
Also noteworthy, RedBird is the second-biggest shareholder of Paramount, which owns CBS and is working to acquire TNT. And that could help create additional television partners for the Big 12 during its next negotiating window. The league's current broadcast deal expires in 2031. Media rights deals for major conferences account for a majority the revenue distributed to its members.
The capital and equity industry has emerged as a way to ease the financial burden facing universities that are now tasked with paying players for the first time in history.
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Utah, a Big 12 member, became the first school to land a private equity deal when it signed with Otro Capital. The Big Ten negotiated with UC Investments for months before the deal fell apart because of opposition from Michigan and USC. And the SEC has been working with investment banker Goldman Sachs to explore potential partnerships despite pushback from league presidents and chancellors.
WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.
