A new deal with RedBird Capital Partners and Weatherford Capital offers each Big 12 school up to a $30 million line of credit.
But most of the conference is not taking the money. In fact, no school has confirmed it is accepting the offer.
The agreement includes a $12.5 million infusion of capital for the Big 12 at the conference level to be reinvested, a business partnership for RedBird to help source deals for the Big 12, and the credit option that would be between the firms and schools, per Front Office Sports.
Schools have a year to decide whether to accept the line of credit. They are not required to take the money, but if they do, the conference would withhold a portion of their annual school distribution for the private-equity firms on an annual fixed repayment schedule.
Front Office Sports reported last week that it has confirmed Texas Tech, Iowa State and Colorado are the latest schools to decline the offer. Baylor, Cincinnati, Houston, TCU, UCF and West Virginia have told local news outlets that they are holding off on the credit line for now.
Kansas and Arizona State haven’t announced a decision.
Will BYU and Utah take the money?
BYU is among the schools not taking the money.
Contacted Monday, the school said it’s not commenting beyond what athletic director Brian Santiago said last month:
“I think we can reasonably say private equity will never be a part of the sports program at BYU. That’s affirmative. That’s something that everybody knows.”
Utah had no comment Monday about its plans regarding the credit line.
Last December, the school unveiled a first-of-its-kind private investment deal with Otro Capital that could infuse the Utah athletic program with hundreds of millions of dollars.
Under the plan, the University of Utah Foundation would create a for-profit company called Utah Brands & Entertainment. It would be tasked with strengthening the business operations of athletics, enhancing the fan experience and growing revenues.
The foundation would be the majority owner, while Otro Capital would be the minority owner. The company would run the commercial side, including media rights, ticketing, concessions and merchandise. The athletic department would maintain control over major decisions such as hiring and firing coaches and scheduling.
The university has yet to announce a final agreement with Otro.
What other schools say about the RedBird deal
Oklahoma State also is passing on the line of credit.
“As of right now, that’s something that Oklahoma State will not do at this point. Should we need something like that, we believe that we’ll probably have other avenues or levers that we can pull first before that. But again, I applaud the commissioner for making those options available to us,” Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said on Inside OSU Athletics.
While Colorado is not taking the credit line, the school said in a statement to Front Office Sports that it “supports the Big 12’s agreement with RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital, and we are confident that this agreement positions the conference and its member institutions for success in the current dynamic environment of college athletics.”
A RedBird spokesperson told the outlet that the agreement is much bigger than just capital to schools, calling it a “commercial partnership” where RedBird and Weatherford are delivering commercial revenue to the Big 12.
“We are playing the long game where schools have one year to opt in for when the landscape becomes clearer for the ecosystem and individual needs. It’s not intended to be a one-time offer, it’s a long-term feature of a broader agreement for the Big 12 and their member schools.”
Sports Business Journal reported that Arizona and Kansas State “declined to accept” the line of credit.