SBJ Behind the Scenes: College sports finding stability in Las Vegas

The SBJ Intercollegiate Athletics Forum, presented by Learfield, saw more than 600 leaders around college sports gather at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. It’s long been one of those conferences where the action takes place onstage, not in the halls and corners of the conference center.

Of course, when you gather 20 athletic directors from the Power Four and Group of Five, six conference commissioners, a half-dozen student athletes, two college sports GMs (a growing trend in the industry), one head coach, one university president and the president of the NCAA, it makes sense that attendees wanted to pay as much attention to those in the room as they tend to those in the hallways.

Those onstage discussions highlighted several trends in college sports as well. News of Utah’s groundbreaking private equity deal rippled throughout Tuesday’s Day One sessions, with even NCAA President Charlie Baker praising the deal’s design. Elevate’s Jonathan Marks noted what while he may not be “a popular guy,” his “phone has been blowing up” since the news broke. But even as one of his members celebrating an investment victory, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said his conference wouldn’t sell a stake to private equity.

Such is the state of college sports. Generating revenue is one of the biggest topics on everyone’s minds in every corner of the enterprise in the wake of the House settlement and other legal rulings enabling revenue-sharing with student athletes. But stakeholders from inside and outside athletic departments are also grappling with a waterfall of other issues, such as preserving Olympic and women’s sports, the various questions surrounding FBS football (think playoffs, coach compensation and the need for pro sports-style general managers) and approving a new format for an oversight agreement.

Oh, and they’re tackling all of this while still making sure those students who want an education earn their diplomas.

College sports, everyone agrees, is experiencing an era of transformation. From the stage at this week’s Intercollegiate Athletics Forum presented by Learfield, Ohio State AD Ross Bjork namechecked a few — COVID, social unrest, NIL, the Alston case, the House settlement, a presidential executive order, sports betting, attempts to pass the SCORE Act — but then added an important top-line summary:

“All the things then, but it’s never been more popular,” Bjork said. “Revenues are up, attendance is up, viewership is up. But structurally, we are messy right now.”

Many of the brightest minds in the industry tried to provide leadership on how to revamp that infrastructure and provide the long-term stability and financial viability of college sports. From best practices on revenue sharing to the prospect of private equity infusions and the preservation of traditionally non-revenue, Olympic sports, there are plenty of avenues for action, but many leaders echoed what ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips preached: patience and grace.

“We need some time to digest everything and for things to settle down. It’s hard to address so many different moving parts,” said UCLA AD Martin Jarmond, reminding everyone that the House settlement and the College Sports Commission are less than a year old. “A lot of times, people are so fast to rush to judgment.”

• Revenue generation: “The answer is money, now what’s the question?” Bjork said, explaining that the need for revenue has never been greater, and so the time is ripe for “alternative, creative thinking.”
• Private equity: NCAA President Charlie Baker advised all schools and conferences to be cautious in seeking outside capital, but he praised Utah’s deal as “really well designed” because the school retained control. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark flatly said his conference wouldn’t take PE money but would consider strategic partnerships. JP Morgan’s Eric Menell said everyone should first be asked, “If I gave you $100 million dollars to invest, what would you do with it?” His advice: Have a plan for investment, not just offsetting operating losses.
• Transfer portal: Baker shared that a third of transfer portal enrollees don’t land with another school on the other end, often enticed into the process by misrepresentations. Alabama AD Greg Byrne expressed his concern, too, noting that coursework get overlooked in the process; because not all credits transfer, some students fall short of their academic potential. Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman added that she worries how constant transferring might look on someone’s long-term résumé “and what that signals about stick-to-it-iveness or fighting through adversity.”
• Women’s sports: Many fear that revenue sharing could lead to cutting some women’s programs. Knight Commission member Bob Bowlsby said, “I wouldn’t call it an imminent threat, but I think it’s eventual and unavoidable.” Title IX compliance has largely been enacted through litigation, not legislation, and Tulane sports law professor Gabe Feldman believes the industry is on the “cusp” of significant changes due to ongoing cases. ESPN’s Nick Dawson, however, noted that men’s and women’s college basketball now sell ad units at the same price. Featuring a women’s game is no longer a negative-revenue decision, which should lead to more exposure.

IAF is one of the must-attend conferences on the college calendar because of the bold-faced names who grace the stage. And this year, a number of athletic directors, conference commissioners and other leaders made some big statements.

None may have made as many waves as Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark and his comments on the latest unhappiness around the College Football Playoff. When asked about the field — and Notre Dame’s absence from it and the reaction from AD Pete Bevacqua — Yormark said that the committee “overall, they did the right job.” He soon added: “I will say this, and I’m a little outspoken about it — I don’t like how Notre Dame has reacted to it. I think Pete, his behavior has been egregious.”

Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell, who’s on a campaign to rescue college sports, offered a take that fits his perspectives as both a former college and pro athlete and a billionaire oilman. “We have this very professionalized cost side where coaches and athletes are getting paid a bunch of money, but we have this disjointed, amateur model for generating revenue.”

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips touted the conference’s record revenue from the past 12 months onstage to SBJ Publisher and Executive Editor Abe Madkour: “Over $700 million in the last four-and-a-half years since I’ve been commissioner. We’re at 56% increase in revenue.” He credited the additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU and their markets in California and Texas, which “catapulted us from a revenue standpoint, viewership standpoint, to the highest levels that we’ve ever seen in the ACC.”

Talking about the evolving role of the AD on campus, South Carolina’s Jeremiah Donati shared what he tells decision-makers about the rising costs when talking about planning and resources: “This is the cheapest it will ever be to run and operate our businesses.”

Tennessee AD Danny White, who won SBJ’s Athletic Director of the Year award this year Danny White’s path to AD of the Year, touched on the how different it is to relate to and handle students with NIL and the transfer portal. “Is the relationship for some kids more transactional? It certainly is. ... We’re negotiating with their agent to get them to come enroll at our school, and for some of them, it’s for one year.”

Retiring Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione outlined the formula for success he’s employed at every stop in his career as “setting a culture, being disciplined around it, and then hiring and retaining people who are absolutely willing to live it, not be just part of it, but live it.”

American Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti offered his insight into another hot topic: joint conference media rights: “All you need to do is look at professional sports and how they’ve operated to realize that you can, with a single seller, generate more value. ... The reality is there’s billions of dollars on the table.”

College Sports Commission CEO Bryan Seeley talked about the importance of getting schools to sign a revised oversight agreement, saying that “right now, I’ll tell you there’s perception among a lot of people that everyone is breaking the rules — I hear this a lot. Signing that agreement gets us another step to strong, fast and fair enforcement. That’s what people want.”

Oregon State President Jayathi Murthy celebrated the Pac-12’s rebirth as it prepares for its relaunch: “You’ve got yourself a beautiful bouncing baby Pac-12, and we’re off and running.”

NCAA President Charlie Baker took a moment to reflect on something he felt he should’ve been more aggressive about: sports gambling. “I probably would’ve gone harder at the [prop betting] stuff earlier,” Baker said.

SBJ’s intrepid college sports reporter Ben Portnoy drew a crowd wherever he went, at one point Tuesday stopping at the bottom of an escalator and remaining there for more than a half-hour as a makeshift receiving line of sources approached. One could be overheard asking, “Are you tired of talking to people yet?” (Asked for comment, Portnoy quipped, “Can confirm. I will be consuming more coffee today).”

Playfly CEO Craig Sloan, A&W Capital’s Andrew Brown and PJT Partners’ Joe Lenehan all chatted in the breakfast area before the start of the conference. Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman was also seen chatting with Sloan later Tuesday, and she later caught up with former Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, outside the green room.

When Learfield Sports Properties President Kim Damron introduced Washington running back Jonah Coleman, she touted his impressive 3.91 GPA — only for AD Pat Chun to correct her with a “3.93.” Chun later added that Coleman, a Campbell Award finalist as the top college football student athlete, will be the first from his family to graduate from college.

Tulane sports law professor Gabe Feldman prefaced one comment by saying he didn’t want to be glib as he noted the clearest way schools could avoid Title IX scrutiny — “Treat women equitably, and then you can avoid Title IX scrutiny” — at which point fellow panelist Jessica Mendoza of ESPN playfully mimed her head exploding at the obvious but, too often, overlooked remedy.

Erika Barnes, the former executive senior associate director of athletics and SWA at Arizona, stopped Mendoza for a photo in front of the IAF stage. The two have a long history, playing softball together since they were teens.

JP Morgan’s Eric Menell and Frank Azzopardi of Davis Polk saw “The Wizard of Oz” at the Sphere on Tuesday night.

College Sports Commission CEO Bryan Seeley held meetings with roughly two-to-three dozen FBS athletic directors to discuss its work and the ongoing conversation around its participation agreement, which remains in mark-ups within the Power Four conferences.

The Power Four commissioners met this week in Las Vegas to discuss the College Football Playoff and the aforementioned participation agreement. The group has set a late-January deadline to make changes to the CFP field in order for it to take effect for next year.

The Pac-12 scheduled meetings on Monday in Vegas for their ADs in a deliberate pairing with IAF and NFF.

Wednesday night was the 67th National Football Foundation annual awards dinner at The Bellagio Resort & Casino. The event offers one of the best rooms in sports during the year, with so many bold-face names at the reception and the dinner, from college and media executives to football legends and student athletes. More than 1,800 people attended, and CBS announcer Charles Davis was the emcee. Two members of the 2025 Hall of Fame Class, Urban Meyer and Nick Saban, sat for a fireside chat with Davis. The evening also included a tribute to Steve Hatchell, celebrating his 20th year leading the NFF. This was the fifth consecutive year it was held in Las Vegas, and the foundation announced it will return in 2026.

Spotted at the Holland & Knight mixer in the Aria Lobby Bar were Tulane’s Gabe Feldman, UMass Boston’s Jacqueline Schuman and NCAA SVP/Chief Legal Officer Scott Bearby, who chatted with some of the firm’s partners, including Ray Bonilla, Ty Thomas and Keith Carroll.

Several members of the Holland & Knight delegation at the conference were heading straight to L.A. to host a dinner with some of the firm’s sports and entertainment clients on Thursday night.

Here are the headlines from this year’s event:

• NCAA’s Charlie Baker praises Utah PE deal, but cautions on outside investment
• College Sports Commission faces early test as states push back
• College basketball leaders discuss improving product amid increasing costs
• Tackling challenges to Olympic, women’s sports among collegiate model changes
• OSU’s Ross Bjork on private equity in college: ‘The answer is money, now what’s the question?’
• Oklahoma’s Joe Castiglione talks evolving role of ADs, maintaining success
• The new Pac-12: Inside the conference’s strategy for reinvention
• Cody Campbell calls for overhaul of college sports’ ‘disjointed, amateur’ revenue model
• ACC’s Jim Phillips explores CFP format, revenue, PE’s role in college sports
• Brett Yormark says Big 12 won’t sell equity stake to PE
• Brett Yormark says CFP got it right, calls ND AD Pete Bevacqua’s reaction ‘egregious’
• Collegiate ADs detail their evolving roles amid new challenges
• Power 4 ADs share revenue strategies in new era
• American’s Tim Pernetti, others go deep on navigating change in college sports
• College Sports Commission seeks adoption of member agreement

SBJ would like to express our sincere gratitude to each of our sponsors for their participation and support for the Intercollegiate Athletics Forum presented by Learfield.

This also concludes 2025 for SBJ Events. We return in 2026 with the National Sports Forum on Feb. 22-24 in St. Louis. It’s the 30th year for the event but its first under the SBJ banner. Learn more about it here. Also: See our event slate for 2026.