Kentucky to spinoff Athletic Department as a separate LLC Company

[winonsports]

The current University of Kentucky model now has their athletic department as a separate legal entity than the university.

It's been that way at Mizzou for over 40 years, and many more athletic departments have gone that direction over the same time period.

It's funny how many state "my Alma Mater" yet have no idea it works that way or believe the athletes don't attend school or won't in the future.

[edwin drood]

The current University of Kentucky model now has their athletic department as a separate legal entity than the university.

It's been that way at Mizzou for over 40 years, and many more athletic departments have gone that direction over the same time period.

It's funny how many state "my Alma Mater" yet have no idea it works that way or believe the athletes don't attend school or won't in the future.

Wrong again. Here's the pertinent sentence from the below article:

Kentucky's move is believed to be the first of its kind by any by any major university in the country.

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cf ... lc-company

[winonsports]

The current University of Kentucky model now has their athletic department as a separate legal entity than the university.

It's been that way at Mizzou for over 40 years, and many more athletic departments have gone that direction over the same time period.

It's funny how many state "my Alma Mater" yet have no idea it works that way or believe the athletes don't attend school or won't in the future.

Wrong again. Here's the pertinent sentence ]from the below article:

Kentucky's move is believed to be the first of its kind by any by any major university in the country.

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cf ... lc-company

Believed to be. That's your foundation. Good luck with that

"By shifting its actual athletic department into a private, for-profit company structure, Kentucky will be able to explore new ways of raising money, including public-private partnerships, to handle expenses as college football and other sports prepare to share revenue with athletes."

Mizzou and other schools have been doing this as a sole entity away from their Universities for decades.

[edwin drood]

The current University of Kentucky model now has their athletic department as a separate legal entity than the university.

It's been that way at Mizzou for over 40 years, and many more athletic departments have gone that direction over the same time period.

It's funny how many state "my Alma Mater" yet have no idea it works that way or believe the athletes don't attend school or won't in the future.

Wrong again. Here's the pertinent sentence ]from the below article:

Kentucky's move is believed to be the first of its kind by any by any major university in the country.

https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cf ... lc-company

Believed to be. That's your foundation. Good luck with that

"By shifting its actual athletic department into a private, for-profit company structure, Kentucky will be able to explore new ways of raising money, including public-private partnerships, to handle expenses as college football and other sports prepare to share revenue with athletes."

Mizzou and other schools have been doing this as a sole entity away from their Universities for decades.

It appears that this topic's complexity and nuance exceed your intellectual capacity. If Athletics operate as a sole entity, away from the University, why did the University Board of Curators need to approve the recent contract extension for Coach Drink? Why did Athletics need and accept over $40 million from the University in 2024? Why hasn't Mizzou Athletics ever turned a profit (and don't confuse a budget surplus for a profit. They're not the same thing). There are NO major universities where the athletic department operates as a for-profit LLC. None.

[winonsports]

There are NO major universities where the athletic department operates as a for-profit LLC. None.

This is where you should say believed to be, because there would not be anyone who would admit it on record.

But a rose by any other name still smells as sweet.

[edwin drood]

There are NO major universities where the athletic department operates as a for-profit LLC. None.

This is where you should say believed to be, because there would not be anyone who would admit it on record.

But a rose by any other name still smells as sweet.

You're quite like The Black Knight in The Holy Grail. "It's just a flesh wound...."

So, your contention is that numerous universities are operating unregistered LLC's? Raking in secret profits right under the noses of state legislatures and boards of regents/trustees? Creating conditions that could lead to a kiss of death for their participation in all college sports? And implying that Mizzou is among that crowd?

[rezero]

There are NO major universities where the athletic department operates as a for-profit LLC. None.

This is where you should say believed to be, because there would not be anyone who would admit it on record.

But a rose by any other name still smells as sweet.

You're quite like The Black Knight in The Holy Grail. "It's just a flesh wound...."

So, your contention is that numerous universities are operating unregistered LLC's? Raking in secret profits right under the noses of state legislatures and boards of regents/trustees? Creating conditions that could lead to a kiss of death for their participation in all college sports? And implying that Mizzou is among that crowd?

Yes, you are correct that UK is the first to do this with their athletic department, and it will probably open the doors for many more to follow. Universities have long had separate budgets which is where the resident idiot is getting confused, but nothing like a true standalone business that can operate outside the eyes of the University and even the State Legislatures. In theory, the LLC could even be sold to another company or go public through an IPO with just one more legal maneuver. Imagine if UK athletic department was listed on the NYSE.

[jcgmoi]

Imagine if UK athletic department was listed on the NYSE.

Not big enough but a SEC holding company for all 16 athletic departments might get you there.

[rezero]

Imagine if UK athletic department was listed on the NYSE.

Not big enough but a SEC holding company for all 16 athletic departments might get you there.

For the NYSE a company needs to be worth round $40-50M. At a 10x multiple, you only need a net profit of around $4-5M/yr. Most P5 schools should be able to meet that threshold to go public. Plus, most schools have large followings that could draw big interest.

[rezero]

So where did y'all think NIL and seismic conference realignments would end anyway? The barn door is wide open, the horses are long gone, and there is no going back. Stay tuned.

I'll still watch the games, most others will too I reckon.

I think this will happen in three phases.

The first is the NIL phase where we break all the paradigms about paying players. This is near complete.

The second will be the LLC phase where all athletic departments split from the universities. This will allow them to operate without the university bureaucracy and decouples the players with having to be students. This is when the NCAA officially collapses.

The third is when private equity firms will swoop in and start buying the LLCs for $500M to $1B based on a multiple of the current TV contract and marketability. Many teams collapse and drop out in this phases and the new sports leagues begin to operate.

This article follows my thinking pretty closely. It is a great read on the future of college sports through the eyes of the SEC spring conference…

While they are against these super league ideas, both the SEC and the Big Ten are exploring a private equity or private capital infusion. Big Ten administrators received presentations last week at their spring meetings from four firms jockeying to purchase a piece of the conference.

Without it, experts contend, college sports is on the path to full professionalism — a concept that may put in jeopardy an athletic department’s broad-based, Olympic sports structure and eventually sever major college football from a university completely.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-footba ... 18106.html

[edwin drood]

So where did y'all think NIL and seismic conference realignments would end anyway? The barn door is wide open, the horses are long gone, and there is no going back. Stay tuned.

I'll still watch the games, most others will too I reckon.

I think this will happen in three phases.

The first is the NIL phase where we break all the paradigms about paying players. This is near complete.

The second will be the LLC phase where all athletic departments split from the universities. This will allow them to operate without the university bureaucracy and decouples the players with having to be students. This is when the NCAA officially collapses.

The third is when private equity firms will swoop in and start buying the LLCs for $500M to $1B based on a multiple of the current TV contract and marketability. Many teams collapse and drop out in this phases and the new sports leagues begin to operate.

This article follows my thinking pretty closely. It is a great read on the future of college sports through the eyes of the SEC spring conference…

While they are against these super league ideas, both the SEC and the Big Ten are exploring a private equity or private capital infusion. Big Ten administrators received presentations last week at their spring meetings from four firms jockeying to purchase a piece of the conference.

Without it, experts contend, college sports is on the path to full professionalism — a concept that may put in jeopardy an athletic department’s broad-based, Olympic sports structure and eventually sever major college football from a university completely.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-footba ... 18106.html

And once the private equity firms get involved we'll see the true separation of the Big10 and SEC based on TV markets. Look at the Big10, starting in the east: Rutgers (NJ/NY), Maryland (Baltimore/Washington), Pennsylvania (Philly/Pittsburgh), Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois (Chicago) and with the recent addition of UCLA, USC (LA), Washington and Oregon, the Big10 has about 80% of the top TV markets. The SEC has Texas, Florida and Atlanta. Who's going to invest millions in S. Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana?

[rezero]

So where did y'all think NIL and seismic conference realignments would end anyway? The barn door is wide open, the horses are long gone, and there is no going back. Stay tuned.

I'll still watch the games, most others will too I reckon.

I think this will happen in three phases.

The first is the NIL phase where we break all the paradigms about paying players. This is near complete.

The second will be the LLC phase where all athletic departments split from the universities. This will allow them to operate without the university bureaucracy and decouples the players with having to be students. This is when the NCAA officially collapses.

The third is when private equity firms will swoop in and start buying the LLCs for $500M to $1B based on a multiple of the current TV contract and marketability. Many teams collapse and drop out in this phases and the new sports leagues begin to operate.

This article follows my thinking pretty closely. It is a great read on the future of college sports through the eyes of the SEC spring conference…

While they are against these super league ideas, both the SEC and the Big Ten are exploring a private equity or private capital infusion. Big Ten administrators received presentations last week at their spring meetings from four firms jockeying to purchase a piece of the conference.

Without it, experts contend, college sports is on the path to full professionalism — a concept that may put in jeopardy an athletic department’s broad-based, Olympic sports structure and eventually sever major college football from a university completely.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-footba ... 18106.html

And once the private equity firms get involved we'll see the true separation of the Big10 and SEC based on TV markets. Look at the Big10, starting in the east: Rutgers (NJ/NY), Maryland (Baltimore/Washington), Pennsylvania (Philly/Pittsburgh), Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois (Chicago) and with the recent addition of UCLA, USC (LA), Washington and Oregon, the Big10 has about 80% of the top TV markets. The SEC has Texas, Florida and Atlanta. Who's going to invest millions in S. Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana?

You are mixing TV market size with college football TV market size. It’s all about the number of eyes you get on the game. Alabama has one of the strongest college football TV markets in the country with over 70% of TVs watching on Saturday. That is more than Washington and Wisconsin combined. I can see the next SEC expansion being North Carolina and Virginia.

Private equity is going to be bad as a whole but it is coming either at buying part of conferences or buying teams. The last comment about football spinning off as separate business will probably happen in parallel.