Private Equity in
College Athletics.

The project asks whether institutional capital can earn private equity–level returns in a college athletic department, using one of the first PE deals in major college sports as the case study. I started by breaking down the University of Utah's audited financials: revenue concentration, cost structure, and how football and men's basketball subsidize the rest of the department. I then tied those findings to NIL and the House v. NCAA settlement, which created large new financial obligations for schools.

Next, I profiled Otro Capital: its fund structure, strategy, governance approach, and comparable sports PE deals, to frame how investors price risk, control, and return in sports assets.

The model, built from scratch, includes:

• Revenue and expense projections, including media rights, capex, and revenue-sharing obligations
• A capital deployment plan and a detailed cap table
• Cash flows over a seven-year hold, with IRR, MOIC, and exit valuation via DCF
• Sensitivity and scenario analysis on key assumptions

I also mapped where PE capital creates lasting value (premium stadium experiences, sponsorship infrastructure, commercial operations) versus short-term spending like NIL payments.