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University of Utah nearing landmark private equity deal expected to generate $500 million


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Posted
1 hour ago, Don Johnson said:

The best owners are usually the ones who have fuck you money and are more worried about winning than turning a profit.

It's ironic that Jerry Jones was a better owner before he had "fuck you" money. He's gotten worse the richer he's gotten.

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Posted
4 hours ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

I don’t have first handle knowledge of this deal, but I’d tend to agree that it is loan-like, although as a technical matter it reads more like a pref equity instrument than a debt instrument to me (which would be preferred from Utah’s perspective). Share in distributions of free cash flow during life of investment, with a put/call feature in 5-7 years that has price protections for both sides. 
 

“As for Utah’s partnership, in exchange for the upfront cash, Otro will earn a large percentage of annual revenues generated from Utah Brands & Entertainment as it splits funds with the university. An exit strategy — in five to seven years — exists, and the university holds the right to purchase Otro’s ownership stake”

Super cool to see something that belongs to taxpayers (the Ute brand) get sold to PE and it’s somehow mitigating that if it all goes sideways a taxpayer owned institution has the right to buy it back. 

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Posted
10 hours ago, dieucla98 said:

How does that end up making money exactly?

They’ll make a killing burning through resources and when nothing is left then move on

 

 

 

 

Oh you meant for Utah? 

 

Posted
5 hours ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

I don’t have first handle knowledge of this deal, but I’d tend to agree that it is loan-like, although as a technical matter it reads more like a pref equity instrument than a debt instrument to me (which would be preferred from Utah’s perspective). Share in distributions of free cash flow during life of investment, with a put/call feature in 5-7 years that has price protections for both sides. 
 

“As for Utah’s partnership, in exchange for the upfront cash, Otro will earn a large percentage of annual revenues generated from Utah Brands & Entertainment as it splits funds with the university. An exit strategy — in five to seven years — exists, and the university holds the right to purchase Otro’s ownership stake”

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Posted

It is New Year’s Day 1991. Your eyes are blurry as you come to in your buddy’s S-10 in the parking lot of the Cotton Bowl.

”Hey man, you kind of overdid with the beers in there, I know the game sucked. What the hell were you talking about? ‘Private equity’ buying the Big 10? ‘Venmoing’ a ‘collective’ to get a seventh year senior DT from Middle Tennessee in a ‘portal’? Just recline the seat and chill out.” 
 

The future must not come to pass. The SWC must be saved. 

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Posted
35 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Super cool to see something that belongs to taxpayers (the Ute brand) get sold to PE and it’s somehow mitigating that if it all goes sideways a taxpayer owned institution has the right to buy it back. 

Oh yeah.  If Otro Capital is taking most of the athletic department revenues, where is the $$$ going to come from in 5 years when the Utes desperately want out of this deal?  

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Posted

A lot of people have no idea what working under ‘private equity’ means; you’re lucky if you’re in the layoff group, the “has to stay” group is a lot worse. I’ve been through 3 KKRs, a Blackstone, and a PPG…

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Posted
10 hours ago, Deej said:

A lot of schools just need to shutter their football programs instead of continuing to chase debt. 

 

9 hours ago, TexArcher said:

Pretty sure that's coming, maybe in a big way.

Honestly, it might make college basketball more interesting for quite a few schools if they funnel their resources into that instead.

Only 25 athletic departments were breaking even before the pandemic.  I'm sure it's lower now, plus we are adding expenses.  Something has to give.

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Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, The Ace of Aces said:

PE exists for the exit: what’s the exit here?

Getting alcohol sold at all of their sporting events. Should be fun watching Mormons drink during the game and not before it anymore. No way that alcohol ban stays in place with this deal. BYU will probably follow with that as well. Should make for some good Mormon on Mormon violence, especially during football and basketball games.

I know it’s not that simple, but seeing this transpire will be something.

Edited by UpperWestside
Posted
3 hours ago, JBJ said:

 

Only 25 athletic departments were breaking even before the pandemic.  I'm sure it's lower now, plus we are adding expenses.  Something has to give.

The academic side. 

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Posted
16 hours ago, B00M said:

Dumb question…. If this can happen to a public university like Utah because of brain dead board decisions, what’s preventing it from happening to Texas? 

unpopular answer......Texas already has a "PE deal" with The Moody Center 

no matter how anyone terms that deal it is a PE deal.....Texas got a facility built (it was stated it was for free, but the Moody Foundation gave a lot of money) and it was a private entity that built it, it is a private entity that manages it, it is a private entity that takes a share of the profits and then shares some with UT (though they do not take that share from the UT sporting events) and in the end they paid up front money to build the facility, take a portion of the profits for a number of years, and then the deal ends 

worse yet as I have stated in the past Texas used to manage 100% of The Drum (and get the profits), but now they do not have to do that......but somehow I doubt a single person that was on staff (or at least a single position) that was responsible for managing that venue was let go, assigned to the new managing company for Moody, or placed into a different position that was actually a needed job......they are probably just the same people pushing around paperwork that looks a bit different because it is on corporate letterhead and not UT letterhead and they just "read and approve it for UT) 

 

with the Utah deal there are out clauses and there is an end point to the deal where Utah gets all of their "stuff' back........I was surprised that it was a shorter period of time than I thought......there is also the odd "see shares to large donors" aspect to it that I find stupid......either large donors are looking for a tax break on a most likely failed investment that gives no return and might go to zero or there are some dumb people out there with a lot of money 

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Posted
15 hours ago, UpperWestside said:

Or take the hit to the ego and drop down to the FCS. If you’re going into debt to fund your overall athletic program you are sending the message loud and clear that the school cares more about athletics than education. This is such an incredibly ridiculous American mindset. Get young people a quality education that they can then use to help out in society. But no, let’s get more state of the art practice facilities built for our football team that never wins anything that matters. Screw the students here to get an actual education.

https://sportsdata.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances

https://sportsdata.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/104151

it is hard to talk shit about Utah being broke with that going on 

bad news champ....ASU subsidizes their athletics with $19 million+ in academic side funds 

over the last 20 years the academic side subsidy for ASU has been at least $10 million per year with the exception of two years when it was $8 and $9 million and for the last 10 years it has not been less than $10 million and in 2022 it was $75 million (da covids)

 

Posted (edited)
8 minutes ago, ButtFumble said:

https://sportsdata.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances

https://sportsdata.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/104151

it is hard to talk shit about Utah being broke with that going on 

bad news champ....ASU subsidizes their athletics with $19 million+ in academic side funds 

over the last 20 years the academic side subsidy for ASU has been at least $10 million per year with the exception of two years when it was $8 and $9 million and for the last 10 years it has not been less than $10 million and in 2022 it was $75 million (da covids)

 

I don’t know what you want me to say about ASU being in the negative as well. There’s only a select few schools turning a profit. I don’t think that’s news to anyone here. I think I already said more schools are going to do this. If ASU folded up the entire athletic program it wouldn’t have any tangible effect on me. It’s just entertainment. I don’t base my life around the football team or athletic program.

 

And it’s pretty easy there “champ” to talk about Utah doing this when they should just drop football if they are taking PE money to field a team.

Edited by UpperWestside
Posted
1 hour ago, Deej said:

The academic side. 

Yep. It sucks. A fairly decent portion of American society would rather field a great football or basketball team rather than invest money into students who are struggling to make it through school. It’s embarrassing how little we care about academics in the US as a whole. 

Posted (edited)
15 hours ago, TrashMaster G said:

The debt makes sense, to a point. Big-time football is advertising for the university as a whole.

SMU saw a decline in student quality when they shut down the football program for the death penalty. Conversely, their move to the ACC saw the opposite effect. Better and more students means more money, now AND later. So, going into some level of debt to keep your name as part of the game makes sense.

There is a limit, however.

this makes sense for a private university like SMU

but for public universities especially in a state like Iowa or Arizona that only have 3 public universities or Nebraska that has 2 large ones plus a very small one or Wyoming with a single public university it is impossible for those schools to keep out most state students especially in favor of out of state students

and in face one can look at the UC System and even the Cal State system and see that it is not football that is driving enrollment at a lot of those universities it is the academics that make them desirable.....in a state that has something like 30 public universities they have the ability to have high admissions standards for in state students all the more so when they have some really good schools available for students with lower freshman metrics 

they still do a shitty overall job serving their population at the top schools, but it is not because football is making them popular it is because they would rather keep the academics up and let students end up out of state 

this is an argument that uH, north Texas state and Texas Tech fans cannot grasp.....they think football being good will make them popular and thus attract better students and better students will make improve the reputation of the university.....but the reality is with guaranteed admissions that are extremely low, campus enrollments that are straining the total that gets you to "economies of scale" and is moving towards lack of economies of scale (something that Texas still deals with and has for decades) the only way to make a university more DESIRABLE (popular) AND to raise the academics is to raise enrollment standards and then raise your academic reputation off of that

thinking that a very large (or a massive one) can become better academically by enrolling more warm bodies (or good ags WHOOP!) and using sports to help drive that (and in the case of aggy all types of alternate admissions that are very easy to meet and that game the freshman metrics) is the john not-so-sharp plan to fuck over a university, drive their enrollment through the roof, enroll a lot of "going through the motions" types, and to actually take a cut in state funding on a per student basis because a lot of those warm bodies are enrolling in majors that are not funded at a high level by the stare formulas......and it fucks your endowment dollars to student ratio also.....all of which is bad for the overall academic reputation and desirability especially for top students with a lot of options 

Edited by ButtFumble
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Posted
7 hours ago, The Ace of Aces said:

PE exists for the exit: what’s the exit here?

Honestly, it's rape the brand for any and all value. Drive football and any other sports brand equity as high as possible, lots and lots of "remote" learning, get rid of any and all expensive employees that don't deliver additional revenue directly or aren't marketable, then when it's dry, sell it back to the state or let it fold. Expect to see University of Utah remote learning adds during games, lots of roster turn over, and coaching changes as deemed necessary.

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Posted
10 hours ago, Wilcox Cummingtonite said:

Shocking that the CR circle jerk is all up in this bitch. I’m sure none of you make any money at all.

My younger daughter works for a big PE firm in NYC. They own great companies, she loves her team and her pay in 2025 is north of $300K. I'd say that's a pretty good job for a 26 year old, and it sure beats her time in investment banking, which has to the craziest industry ever. 

Posted

So if the athletic department becomes a for profit entity how can they still pretend that the athletes aren’t employees? Everything is now private and for profit…except the primary labor input. The farce needs to end. They are paid employees, should be allowed to unionize, and enter into a CBA.

Posted
6 minutes ago, TreatyOak said:

My younger daughter works for a big PE firm in NYC. They own great companies, she loves her team and her pay in 2025 is north of $300K. I'd say that's a pretty good job for a 26 year old, and it sure beats her time in investment banking, which has to the craziest industry ever. 

Why are you responding to AI

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Posted
21 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

They will install pay toilets or some shit at the stadium. The fan experience is about to plummet. Hope Utes enjoy another DraftKings FIRST DOWN! 

I mean there's been a few times I'd have been willing to pay a few bucks to go to a pisser without a line at a stadium...

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Posted
18 hours ago, UpperWestside said:

That I can understand. That line where the limit is gets crossed by so many schools to the point of absurdity. Your mediocre football program cranking out a Jeff Fisher wet dream of 5-7 or 6-6 is just a pointless program to overfund. I realize this is mostly preaching to the choir, but more money into education means your graduates will be better prepared for the world they will step int. Buying that 4 star WR for your football team that never does anything is, well, it’s just ignorant and a slap in the face to the professors working their backside off to provide a great education.

lol at professors working their asses off…

Posted

So...instead of passing legislation a decade ago to clarify the law around and support college athletics, congress will now be punishing schools for trying to make the Frankenstein system work?

Posted
Just now, JBJ said:

So...instead of passing legislation a decade ago to clarify the law around and support college athletics, congress will now be punishing schools for trying to make the Frankenstein system work?

Leading from behind, as usual 

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Posted
6 hours ago, UpperWestside said:

Yep. It sucks. A fairly decent portion of American society would rather field a great football or basketball team rather than invest money into students who are struggling to make it through school. It’s embarrassing how little we care about academics in the US as a whole. 

If that’s the case, that’s pretty embarrassing for the rest of the world, because the country that doesn’t care about academics has won 41% of all Nobel Prizes and most of ours are in science and medicine. That’s more than the next seven counties combined. 

Posted
14 hours ago, TOR said:

Oh yeah.  If Otro Capital is taking most of the athletic department revenues, where is the $$$ going to come from in 5 years when the Utes desperately want out of this deal?  

A new PE deal, duh. It's genius.

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Posted
13 hours ago, Wilcox Cummingtonite said:

Shocking that the CR circle jerk is all up in this bitch. I’m sure none of you make any money at all.

This was the first post on this thread that mentioned politics in any way you big dummy.

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Posted
1 minute ago, Huckleberry said:

This was the first post on this thread that mentioned politics in any way you big dummy.

And the "CR cabal" makes plenty of money, we're just not interested in cornholing everyone to get it.

Posted
1 minute ago, Huckleberry said:

This was the first post on this thread that mentioned politics in any way you big dummy.

This is literally all he does, whines about CR posting when none exists. 

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Posted
50 minutes ago, TreatyOak said:

If that’s the case, that’s pretty embarrassing for the rest of the world, because the country that doesn’t care about academics has won 41% of all Nobel Prizes and most of ours are in science and medicine. That’s more than the next seven counties combined. 

You are frighteningly dense sometimes. Also, y'all can have this discussion somewhere else. Wilcox opened the political door but it doesn't mean you need to step through it. 

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Posted
3 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

You are frighteningly dense sometimes. Also, y'all can have this discussion somewhere else. Wilcox opened the political door but it doesn't mean you need to step through it. 

Yeah that post doesn't survive even in the DT but I'm not gonna get into it here.

Posted
2 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

You are frighteningly dense sometimes. Also, y'all can have this discussion somewhere else. Wilcox opened the political door but it doesn't mean you need to step through it. 

I see you're still telling people what they should and shouldn't think and post. 

Posted
26 minutes ago, TreatyOak said:

I see you're still telling people what they should and shouldn't think and post. 

No, I'm still pointing out very stupid posts. If I've done this to you before (I don't recall you specifically) that should tell you something about yourself, not about me. 

Posted
1 hour ago, TreatyOak said:

If that’s the case, that’s pretty embarrassing for the rest of the world, because the country that doesn’t care about academics has won 41% of all Nobel Prizes and most of ours are in science and medicine. That’s more than the next seven counties combined. 

Yes, the US academic and scientific establishment absolutely dominated the world in research during the latter half of the 20th century and the early decades of the current one. For that we can thank Vannevar Bush and other visionaries who, after World War II, realized that the funding basic research, largely at universities, was essential to being an economic and military superpower in the modern era. No one is disputing that the United States dominated Nobel Prizes. But that is fading into the past. Nobel Prizes are often awarded for work done 5, 10, or even 20 years earlier. What people are concerned about is the future of academic research. Federal funding for this is being gutted on one end, and on the other universities are turning to private equity to run what is effectively a pro sports franchise. So yes, the US has done awesome in Nobel Prizes during the last century. But nothing lasts, friend. And the trends right now are pretty shitty.

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Posted
5 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

No, I'm still pointing out very stupid posts. If I've done this to you before (I don't recall you specifically) that should tell you something about yourself, not about me. 

Well, I always believe that you are entitled to your opinions, and this a great place to share them. I enjoy and appreciate your posts, and I am glad that you are here. 

 

Posted
41 minutes ago, TreatyOak said:

I see you're still telling people what they should and shouldn't think and post. 

I promise I'm not going to argue with you here because this is the football board, but your issue is that your analysis of this situation starts and ends with "My daughter makes a lot of money so PE is good". Superficial analysis is beneath you. If you want to continue this discussion, let's do it some place other than the football board.

Posted
1 minute ago, SimkinsMan said:

Yes, the US academic and scientific establishment absolutely dominated the world in research during the latter half of the 20th century and the early decades of the current one. For that we can thank Vannevar Bush and other visionaries who, after World War II, realized that the funding basic research, largely at universities, was essential to being an economic and military superpower in the modern era. No one is disputing that the United States dominated Nobel Prizes. But that is fading into the past. Nobel Prizes are often awarded for work done 5, 10, or even 20 years earlier. What people are concerned about is the future of academic research. Federal funding for this is being gutted on one end, and on the other universities are turning to private equity to run what is effectively a pro sports franchise. So yes, the US has done awesome in Nobel Prizes during the last century. But nothing lasts, friend. And the trends right now are pretty shitty.

Great points and totally valid about cutting research.

However, the Time of London has one of, and possibly the most highly regarded metric for world university rankings in the world. For their 2026 rankings, the US, as usual, has 7 of the top 10 universities in the world, and 13 of the top 20, as well as over 50% of the top 100. That is a fact. 

My point is that we always complain and think everything is at its most terrible.

Do we have a lot of dumb, anti-education morons in this country? Hell yes. Do we have a crazy weird world of college sports? For sure. Do we have the most and best universities in the world. Also true. 

Posted
3 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

I promise I'm not going to argue with you here because this is the football board, but your issue is that your analysis of this situation starts and ends with "My daughter makes a lot of money so PE is good". Superficial analysis is beneath you. If you want to continue this discussion, let's do it some place other than the football board.

I also mentioned that we are every impressed with the company and the brands they own. I'm not going to mention them here, as she would kill me. And yes, I am a very proud father, so I apologize for that.  

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