As Utah Athletics moves forward with its private equity deal with Otro Capital, the athletic department has begun a “reduction in force.”
“In preparation for the growth of Crimson Brand Partners (CBP, formerly Utah Brand Initiatives), the university has begun the process of transitioning select units of some university operations to the new company,” a Utah Athletics spokesperson said. “The first step of that process requires the discontinuation of the individual positions in those units through a reduction in force (RIF), to be followed by CBP’s hiring process,”
As part of the first-of-its-kind deal with private equity Otro Sports, Utah Athletics will spin its revenue side off into a new, for-profit company called Crimson Brand Partners. As select units transition to the new enterprise, employees began receiving notice on Friday that they were being laid off, with the option to reapply for a similar position with Crimson Brand Partners.
The official separation date will be on June 30.
As it progresses toward the finalization of the private equity deal, Utah needed to wind down the current departments on the revenue side in preparation for the new company, Crimson Brand Partners, to take over those aspects. Many of those that were laid off could be rehired at the new company.
A university spokesperson did not respond to questions about the estimated number of people affected by the transition, the process to potentially be rehired, which specific departments are being affected, or an estimated time frame for the private equity deal to close.
The Salt Lake Tribune was the first to report news of the layoffs.
Utah’s private equity deal with Otro Capital
Announced in December, Utah’s deal with Otro Capital made it the first university athletic department to strike a partnership with a private equity firm.
In June 2025, the House v. NCAA settlement paved the way for universities to share a portion of their revenue with college athletes, putting a new $20.5 million line-item on already razor-thin athletics budgets and sending shockwaves throughout the college sports world.
Some schools cut sports, others made cuts in their budgets or put a surcharge on ticket sales. Each and every way to cut expenses and increase revenue was explored.
For Utah, the reason it turned to private equity is simple — the new numbers just weren’t adding up.
“The challenge was that as we kept modeling with my team and certainly with (Utah CFO Tony Wagner’s) team and everybody on the president’s team, it just wasn’t penciling out on our ability to keep up with cost because we’re going to be a powerful program,” said Utah athletic director Mark Harlan at December’s board of trustees meeting.
“And to be a powerful program, you have to be at the very top of the revenue share number. We have a successful football team most every year, which means everyone comes looking for them, right? I mean, I’ve been in places where you don’t get calls about your coaches. That’s not a very fun place to be. It’s different at the University of Utah. We want to retain and we want to reward, but as we penciled everything out, it just wasn’t adding up.”
By keeping on the current course, Utah would have drained its athletics financial reserves.
“To me, I felt like sitting and collecting deficits every year would eventually, as has been described here, start draining other critical parts of this university,” Harlan said at the December board meeting.
There was risk partnering with a private equity firm, but there was also a risk in keeping on the current trajectory.
University of Utah president Taylor Randall and Harlan felt like partnering with Otro was the best course of action in a challenging situation.
The original announcement touted a $500 million total infusion for the athletic department, Yahoo Sports reported, which would come at different times over the course of the agreement.
Randall said “right now, we need an infusion. We may need an infusion just before the Olympics.”
The original plan also spelled out that donors would also have the ability to purchase a stake in the new Crimson Brand Partners enterprise, providing a revenue source separate from Otro.
Utah will have majority ownership and decision-making control in Crimson Brand Partners. Harlan will be the chairman of the board and Utah will have four members, including Harlan, on the board. Otro will have two members on the board and one other board spot will be filled by a Utah donor/investor.
Utah will have a majority rule on all decisions. Hiring and firing coaches remains solely with Utah, as does conference membership, scholarship management, player management, revenue-sharing membership and compliance — those aspects of the athletic department are not included in the new Crimson Brand Partners company.
The university can exit the partnership within five to seven years, per Ross Dellenger, and Utah holds the right to purchase Otro’s stake.
Even with those guardrails, though, there is risk in getting private equity involved in collegiate athletics.
Friday’s reduction in force was the first publicly visible sign of the impact of the new partnership. Even if a majority of those laid off are hired by Crimson Brand Partners as it goes through its hiring process, it will still be a nerve-racking time for the impacted employees.
As Utah continues to move forward with finalizing the private equity deal, there are a lot of eyes on the athletic department as it treads new ground in the college sports world.
