Nine Schools Are Building Companies to Run the Business Side of Athletics

Welcome back. Fred Mangione was chief business officer of the New York New Jersey World Cup host committee, leading its commercial work for the matches at MetLife Stadium, including this summer's final. In July, Scarlet Knight Enterprises named him CEO. Today's feature looks at the schools building companies like the one he now leads.

Rutgers extended its ticket sales contract with Playfly Sports on Oct. 14 and added help selling national sponsorships, pricing consulting and fan research to the deal. Scarlet Knight Enterprises, the affiliated nonprofit Rutgers formed to run the commercial side of its athletic department, manages the contract. A.J. Smith, Playfly's vice president of business development, said in the school's release that Playfly had helped Rutgers reach "50% growth in ticketing revenue since 2019."

Eight other schools have approved or announced companies of their own to handle commercial work including sponsorships, media rights, ticketing and NIL. Five of them came in the past 12 months.

The First Four Companies

Rutgers was first, in June 2022, when its Board of Governors approved the creation of Scarlet Assets Management Company, an LLC. The university's multimedia rights contract with Learfield expired in 2024, and Rutgers didn't extend it, so the LLC took over sponsorship sales. In December 2025, the board voted to fold the LLC into Scarlet Knight Enterprises, which has outside directors and is chaired by Oliver Luck, a former West Virginia athletic director and NCAA executive.

Clemson followed in August 2024, announcing Clemson Ventures to oversee the multimedia rights program its athletic department already ran in-house, along with original content, the Clemson+ streaming service and an NIL agency. Michael Drake, who had managed a $73 million annual budget as senior vice president of global partnerships for the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena, became the company's first CEO in February 2025.

Kentucky put its whole athletic department into a new company. Trustees voted in April 2025 to shift the department into Champions Blue LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Beyond Blue, a university-affiliated corporation. The Champions Blue board includes Keeneland CEO Shannon Arvin and former Fanatics executive Chris Prindiville. At the board's first meeting, Kentucky extended its JMI Sports rights deal through 2040, at an estimated value of more than $465 million. Under the new model, 80% of net revenue from all inventory and advertising goes to the university and Champions Blue.

Kentucky's budget counts on that contract. Athletics revenue rose from $184.0 million in 2024-25 to a projected $197.0 million in 2025-26, according to a June financial report to the trustees. The report budgets $218.3 million for 2026-27, citing the JMI deal, SEC distributions and donor gifts. That would let the department break even after two years of losses.

Two months after Kentucky's vote, West Virginia's athletic department launched Gold & Blue Enterprises, once the Board of Governors authorized an agreement with it. The company named Don Robinson, a former president of MVB Financial, its CEO the next month. Gold & Blue's partners include Omaha Steaks, which pays the company 10% of every purchase made through a Gold & Blue link, and the payment processor MiCamp Solutions, which shares a percentage of its profits.

Outside Investors

In December 2025, Utah's trustees voted 10-0 to have the university's foundation form a for-profit company and sell a minority stake to outside investors, with Otro Capital as the primary investor. Crimson Brand Partners, as the company is called, began running Utah's ticketing, sponsorships, licensing and events on July 1. The university kept coaching and recruiting, and the foundation holds a majority of the seats on the company's board. Matt Webb, the CEO, spent eight years selling corporate partnerships for the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans.

Otro's investment is meant to cover near-term gaps including Utah's revenue sharing with athletes, which the university put at $20.5 million for 2025-26, rising 4% a year. In a January release, Tony Wagner, Utah's chief financial officer, said the school is "not actually putting at risk capital."

Michigan State reached investors through a different structure. Its trustees approved Spartan Ventures, a nonprofit, in October 2025, and in December authorized a brand management agreement that lets Spartan Ventures pursue investment capital, which flows through a for-profit subsidiary, Spartan Media Ventures. That same month, Greg and Dawn Williams committed $401 million to the university, $100 million of it as an investment in an entity controlled by Spartan Ventures, according to Katten, the law firm that represented the family. Spartan Ventures opened on July 1 with 46 employees. In a launch letter, then-CEO Jon Palumbo and two other executives wrote that staff can now be "incentivized around financial goals" in ways that were not available before.

The man who set up Spartan Ventures has since moved to Kentucky. The university hired J Batt in June to lead its athletic department and Champions Blue, and its announcement credited him with establishing Spartan Ventures as Michigan State's athletic director. In September, Batt brought Palumbo to Lexington as deputy CEO of Champions Blue.

Three More This Year

Louisville went first, in April, when its trustees signed off on Cardinal Ventures with a phased rollout to follow. Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors approved Hokie Ventures in June, along with an interest-free loan of up to $15.2 million for startup costs, and the school's FAQ on the company names Louisville and Michigan State as schools with similar models.

In September, Murray State's Board of Regents approved two LLCs. One of them, Racer Sports & Entertainment, will oversee the Racer Entertainment Village, which the university describes as a year-round destination with housing and hospitality.

Boards That Slowed Down

UNC's trustees are waiting. In August they tabled a proposal for a university-owned company covering sponsorships, licensing, ticketing, NIL and events until they see a final operating agreement.

Kansas has put rules in place. Its Board of Regents adopted a policy on Oct. 9 governing private equity deals in athletics. The six state universities it oversees must notify board leadership before entering material talks with a private equity or venture capital firm over a deal that would give the firm ownership, governance rights or an equity stake in athletics. The board must also approve any contract with such a firm before it is signed. The policy excludes sponsors, multimedia rights holders, broadcasters and banks from its definition of a private equity firm.

An early draft would have gone further, requiring approval before any university or affiliate organized as a for-profit company or granted a revenue-sharing interest. An issue paper prepared for the vote says private equity firms are "seeking ownership stakes in college athletics programs or claims on revenue streams."

Our Fan Sentiment Index has climbed 13 points over 16 weeks, and its momentum reading of 58 shows more of the conversation warming than cooling. Falling playoff prices won fans over, with the get-in price for ALCS Game 6 dropping below $100 on SeatGeek. The Brewers drew praise for honoring the $1,000 "Timeless Tickets" they sold in 2015 for World Series redemptions. NBC got the most credit of any company this week, after its WNBA Finals ad inventory sold out across NBC and USA.

Brian Smiley → Senior Vice President of Marketing, Florida Panthers
Smiley takes charge of marketing, content, social media, game presentation and community relations across the Panthers' four venues. At Overtime he was vice president of marketing, and his work there included apparel partnerships with Foot Locker and a product launch in 1,400 Target stores. He has also worked at Inkbox and Universal Music Group, and he started his career at Red Bull, where he led the 2016 Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal.

Marissa Bataille Daly → Chief Marketing Officer, PGA of America
Daly started Oct. 5 in Frisco, Texas, and reports to CEO Terry Clark, with responsibility for brand, marketing, social and content. She was senior vice president of studios and marketing for the Rams, managing a 50-person staff through six playoff seasons that included two Super Bowl runs. Earlier she held marketing jobs at Yahoo Sports, and her career began at Goldman Sachs. The PGA has more than 30,000 golf professionals as members.

Austin Tyrrell → Associate Athletic Director, Revenue Generation and Membership Development, Boise State
Ticket sales, premium seating, parking and Bronco Athletic Association membership now fall to Tyrrell. He spent five years with Learfield Amplify at Vanderbilt and St. Thomas, and most recently Alabama, where his staff raised softball ticket revenue 31% and sold out men's basketball season tickets in consecutive seasons. He played tight end at Stetson.

Meg Patten → Vice President of Fan Experience and Marketing, LOVB Miami
Patten will run game presentation, venue operations and brand campaigns when LOVB Miami plays its first season in the league's new Eastern Conference. She was FIFA's head of event marketing for the 2026 World Cup. As senior director of marketing at the Washington Spirit, she grew the season-ticket base by more than 70% in 2024, the year the club reached the NWSL Championship. Pri Shumate, previously chief marketing officer for the Miami Dolphins and the F1 Miami Grand Prix, is the club's new president of business operations.

Tory Goodman → Vice President of Ticketing, Tucson Roadrunners
Before joining the Utah Mammoth's AHL affiliate, Goodman was vice president of sales and service at Birmingham Legion FC of the USL Championship. In Tucson he sets ticketing and revenue strategy and is developing the sales team for season tickets, groups and premium seating. He was in Minor League Baseball for more than a decade before soccer, including a stretch with the Fredericksburg Nationals as assistant general manager and vice president of partnerships.

Aaron Palmberg → Assistant Athletic Director, Ticket Operations and Sales, University of San Francisco
For the past year Palmberg was at Learfield's Saint Mary's Sports Properties, helping manage a $910,342 sponsorship portfolio that hit 103.6% of its 2025-26 goal. He was at Cal from 2019 to 2025, first in ticket sales and later as assistant director of ticket operations. USF named Ali White chief revenue officer in September, a month after Brent Blaylock became athletic director.

Adam Rabon → Associate Athletic Director for Facilities and Operations, The Citadel
Rabon joined the athletic department in November 2022 as assistant director of facilities, grounds and operations and became an assistant AD in 2025. He has been on campus since 2004, when he took over as supervisor of the college's grounds shop, and a state employee since 1999. In the early 1990s he sold sno-cones to cadets at Citadel football games.

Director, Partnership Sales, PGA of America (Frisco): Sells strategic partnerships for the PGA of America and runs each deal through negotiation, contracting and onboarding. Proposals can draw on the PGA's championships, media, hospitality, licensing and PGA REACH, and are built with teams across the Association. The job carries new business and renewals, with direct relationships at brands and agencies. Learn more and apply here.

Associate Director, Digital & Performance Marketing, Los Angeles Lakers (El Segundo): Oversees paid social, email, Lakers.com and the mobile app for the Lakers and manages a digital coordinator and a performance marketing manager. The role directs ticketing promotions for more than 40 home games a season and is the main digital contact for sponsor programs. The job also covers Lakers fan club development, with a focus on acquisition and revenue. Learn more and apply here.

Director, Digital Content, Chicago Fire FC (Chicago): Leads the club's content strategy and its social media team, with responsibility for audience growth and monetization across 3M+ followers. It works with corporate partnerships on sponsored content and partner integrations. Chicago Fire FC plans to open a privately funded, $750M+ soccer-specific stadium in 2028. Learn more and apply here.

Manager, Fan Engagement, Chicago Cubs (Chicago): Develops the Cubs' annual calendar of more than 50 seasonal promotions with marketing and ticketing leadership. That means ticket bundles, souvenir items, brand collaborations and Theme Games, including cultural and heritage celebrations. The manager handles vendors and budgets for each promotional item and coordinates game-day distribution at Wrigley Field. Learn more and apply here.

Director, Talent Acquisition, Athletics (Las Vegas): Directs recruiting strategy for the A's and leads the Talent Acquisition team. The work spans full-cycle hiring across functions and levels, along with oversight of the internship program. The opening of the new Las Vegas ballpark adds a round of seasonal and ballpark hiring to plan. Learn more and apply here.

Director of Ticket Operations, Baylor University (Waco, TX): Builds out ticket office operations for Baylor Athletics and manages full-time staff. Day to day, the director handles renewals, online sales and game-day operations and shares data with the revenue generation team. Travel can include postseason play, Big 12 championships and NCAA Championship events. Learn more and apply here.

Doppel × San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers named Doppel, an AI cybersecurity company, their Official Social Engineering Defense Partner in a multiyear deal that is Doppel's first with an NFL franchise. Its rights include digital and physical signage at home games, gameday promotions, social content and custom events. Costa Kladianos, the 49ers' executive vice president and head of technology, said the team chose Doppel after seeing its products in action and trusts it to make the organization safer.

Texas Capital × SMU Athletics: Texas Capital, a Dallas-based financial services firm, expanded its SMU Athletics partnership to a jersey patch worn by all 17 varsity programs, weeks after it became the first end-zone sponsor in SMU Football history. SMU says it is the first deal of its kind for a Power Four program in Texas.

Expedia × NHL: Expedia became the NHL's Official Travel Partner in North America in a multiyear agreement that gives it U.S. and Canadian marketing rights plus exclusivity in online travel, vacation rentals and hotels. The deal puts Expedia on the league's digitally enhanced dasherboards through the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs. Expedia also presents the playoffs' Bracket Challenge and Second Chance Bracket.

Principal Financial × Big 12 Conference: The Big 12 signed Principal Financial to a multiyear uniform patch deal that starts at this season's men's and women's basketball tournaments in Kansas City and covers Olympic sport championships such as track and field. Principal is the conference's second uniform sponsor, after Monster, which holds court and field logos and the Monster Energy Big 12 Football title.

Ford Australia × WNBL: Ford Australia moved up from an existing relationship with the Women's National Basketball League to become its official Presenting Partner for the 2026-27 season. The automaker is part of the league's "FULL POWER. FEEL IT LIVE." campaign on digital and broadcast. Through its 180 dealerships, Ford supports more than 200 community basketball clubs in Australia.

See you next Wednesday.