First Page
235
Abstract
The recent House settlement with the National Collegiate Athletic Association was another blow to traditional collegiate governance in an age of uncertainty in college athletics. In the wake of the House settlement and other recent decisions, multiple private equity funds have shown interest in investing on a school-by-school basis or buying out dozens of teams to form a new commercialized league in select sports. Many questions remain with the viability of private investment in college athletics. Unlike traditional private equity investment, schools are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations typically operating within an athletic conference. This creates an additional hurdle to for-profit investing because colleges want to protect their nonprofit status. This Note theorizes an entity creation mechanism that allows schools to maintain their tax status which could be scaled for investment on a school-by-school basis or through a league formation. Further, this Note postulates that if private funds elect to form a sports league, a key consideration will be the selection of entity form to minimize potential antitrust liability. This Note analyzes the decision between a single entity structure and joint venture seen in most professional sports leagues in the United States. Based on the entity formation and antitrust considerations, the most viable option for private investment is a full buyout leading to the league operating as a joint venture with traditional sports league collective bargaining.
Recommended Citation
Michael Ilg,
Private Equity’s Viable Path to College Athletics Investment: Potential Entity Mechanisms and Antitrust Considerations,
28 Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law
235
(2025)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol28/iss1/3