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Penn State and UCLA have become the inaugural partners in Elevate's newly unveiled $500 million College Investment Initiative, according to three individuals familiar with the situation.

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what is elevate you ask?

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Schools will use the capital for infrastructure and commercial projects ranging from modernizing venues, expanding premium seating and enhancing multimedia and digital rights and to investing in name, image and likeness platforms for athletes.

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where is this money coming from?

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The fund is backed by private equity firm Velocity Capital Management and the Texas Permanent School Fund, a special-purpose government corporation that supports the state's schools.

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so the PUF is now investing in colleges across the nation? Pedo State's success pays off for horns and ags?


anyone have any insight on this?


https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2025/penn-state-ucla-private-capital-elevate-1234855713/

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/09/elevate-launches-500-million-college-sports-investment.html

This sport has become an absolute joke.

Hank the Grifter said:

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This sport has become an absolute joke.

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Private equity strips distressed assets and often intentionally distresses solid assets. Ultimately, PE frequently ends up with heavy handed control of their assets , and rarely does it benefit the asset in the long run.

ETA: good clarification by tango.

Slight correction- the PUF and PSF are not the same entity. The PSF is sort of the K-12 version of the PUF.

It's not Private Equity, it's a govt equity (sovereign wealth) that invests in "investment grade" opportunities like the various state pension funds do. That doesn't mean this is a good idea, but we should clear this up before some of the mouth breathers around here reignite the idea that the endowment can be used as a checking account for football coaches, etc

Some day, I hope to be as intelligent, wise and successful as you.

How's the revolutionary 6sigma business doing? I know it worked wonders for Motorola.

npc said:

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Private equity strips distressed assets and often intentionally distresses solid assets. Ultimately, PE frequently ends up with heavy handed control of their assets , and rarely does it benefit the asset in the long run.

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100% this. If PE is involved, run the other way.

npc said:

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Private equity strips distressed assets and often intentionally distresses solid assets. Ultimately, PE frequently ends up with heavy handed control of their assets , and rarely does it benefit the asset in the long run.

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Perfect example is what is happening at Southwest Airlines right now. They were finally starting to round a corner after the Christmas failure and the Boeing issues. Now a PE has come, bought 20% of the company, forced out chunks of the leadership and is forcing wholesale business changes that are going to have negative repercussions in their long term customers. Also my wife got laid off with 15% of the corporate office while those left are actively looking for ways out.

I'm not entirely sure but this looks to me like it's private equity lending for mostly stadium and facility construction projects. College athletic departments are not for profit, it wouldn't make sense for private equity to "invest" in a college athletic program which does not have a goal of returning profits to investors. Article is poorly written or the author doesn't understand the concept.

Jawbreaker said:

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Hank the Grifter said:

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This sport has become an absolute joke.

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Is that Greta's boat?

Blue Horseshoe loves ...........

The new NIL rules, the transfer portal, and conference alignments have turned major college sports into semi-professional leagues. The conference leaders are prioritizing TV network revenue over the welfare of athletes and fans. The athletes are no longer students, and college education has become an afterthought. Many traditions have been eliminated. The only sustainable solution is to implement multi-year contracts and penalties for breaking them. Still, I will stay interested in the major Aggies sports until I die. My excitement level fluctuates, but I will never lose interest.

1939 said:

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I'm not entirely sure but this looks to me like it's private equity lending for mostly stadium and facility construction projects. College athletic departments are not for profit, it wouldn't make sense for private equity to "invest" in a college athletic program which does not have a goal of returning profits to investors. Article is poorly written or the author doesn't understand the concept.

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This. Penn State is trying to do what we did with Kyle Field. I suppose if they are successful, then the additional revenue from premium seating will provide the return on investment for the private equity venture. Hard to see where we could do anything similar, and i tend to agree with those that say stay away from private equity.

Iraq2xVeteran said:

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The new NIL rules, the transfer portal, and conference alignments have turned major college sports into semi-professional leagues.

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There is no "semi" about it.

npc said:

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Private equity strips distressed assets and often intentionally distresses solid assets. Ultimately, PE frequently ends up with heavy handed control of their assets , and rarely does it benefit the asset in the long run.

ETA: good clarification by tango.

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Lol

We have a 3yr deal about to turn a 15x multiple….pretty sure ALL parties are thrilled….its not always the doom and gloom your post suggests

wangus12 said:

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npc said:

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Private equity strips distressed assets and often intentionally distresses solid assets. Ultimately, PE frequently ends up with heavy handed control of their assets , and rarely does it benefit the asset in the long run.

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Perfect example is what is happening at Southwest Airlines right now. They were finally starting to round a corner after the Christmas failure and the Boeing issues. Now a PE has come, bought 20% of the company, forced out chunks of the leadership and is forcing wholesale business changes that are going to have negative repercussions in their long term customers. Also my wife got laid off with 15% of the corporate office while those left are actively looking for ways out.

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We used to love SW, the 2nd time my family could not sit together we were out, never flown SW since

Update!

The Elevate fiasco is revealing. Thanks to @RossDellenger for fact-checking the story, we now know that UCLA and Penn State did not use private capital to fund their athletic departments but instead partnered with Elevate for ticketing services. This situation highlights that…

— Jay Ezelle (@NerdLaw_JockLaw) June 9, 2025

npc said:

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Private equity strips distressed assets and often intentionally distresses solid assets. Ultimately, PE frequently ends up with heavy handed control of their assets , and rarely does it benefit the asset in the long run.

ETA: good clarification by tango.

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Not true at all. I am speaking from experience working at a few companies owned by PE firms. Are there firms that focus on distressed assets and dismantle them for their parts? Yes. To paint the picture that this is all they do is just not true.