Out of bounds: College sports is becoming more like the pros

College sports are undergoing a seismic shift, with name, image and likeness (NIL) deals turning athletes into brands, athletic departments adopting professional structures –– and billion-dollar media contracts blurring the line between amateur and professional sports. But inconsistent regulations between states have sparked debates about fairness and how college athletics will operate in the future. Business as usual for college sports is starting to look more and more like, well, business. Here’s how.

Private equity (PE) is rapidly emerging as a game-changing force in the professionalization of college sports. Traditionally focused on professional leagues, PE firms are now eyeing college athletic programs as opportunities for investment and growth. They view college sports as underleveraged assets with significant revenue potential through media rights, ticket sales, sponsorships and merchandising.

We’ve already seen private equity firms investing millions to secure stakes in collegiate sports marketing and multimedia rights –– as well as signal that they’re poised to invest college athletic departments, especially football. These moves reflect growing confidence in the profitability of college sports, particularly as schools increasingly commercialize their athletic programs. Such investments can help provide universities with advanced resources to monetize their fan bases while enhancing the quality of the product on and off the field.

While private equity investments bring financial resources and professional expertise, critics worry about their long-term implications. Some fear that the profit-driven motives of private equity could prioritize commercialization over the educational mission of college athletics. Additionally, concerns linger about whether investments will benefit all sports programs equally or further concentrate resources in revenue-generating sports like football and basketball.

The business of college sports has become more sophisticated, and institutions are responding by adopting professional management practices. Once the domain of athletic directors and coaches, college sports programs are now hiring professionals for roles typically associated with professional leagues.

Some examples include:

• Athletic departments hiring general managers to handle responsibilities such as player recruitment, roster management and NIL deals coordination
• Hiring top-tier professionals to manage the business and rosters of their football and basketball teams — a concept unfathomable just a few years ago

We’re already seeing colleges start to hire executive “business” roles to manage their teams, including chief revenue officers and even chief operating officers. Universities are also investing in analytics teams and marketing specialists. These changes signal a move toward a corporate model, where success is measured not only in championships but also in revenue growth and brand equity.

The recent House v. NCAA settlement marks a transformative moment in college sports. Pending final approval, this $2.8 billion agreement introduces a revenue-sharing model that allows schools to compensate student-athletes directly. Starting in the 2025-26 academic year, institutions will be able to allocate dollars and share revenue with athletes.

The settlement also lifts scholarship limits, replacing them with roster caps, providing universities with flexibility in how they allocate resources. To address concerns surrounding NIL deals, the agreement introduces measures to regulate and enforce fair market value, reducing the risk of recruiting inducements disguised as NIL agreements.

This settlement represents a major step toward aligning college athletics with professional sports models, offering student-athletes compensation reflective of their contributions to multibillion-dollar revenue streams. However, challenges remain, including the need to balance equity across sports programs, comply with Title IX regulations and adapt to the evolving financial landscape of collegiate athletics.

The growing influence of media and streaming rights is perhaps the clearest indicator of college sports’ professionalization. For example, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) signed a deal with ESPN, granting the network exclusive broadcasting rights starting in 2024.

Streaming platforms are also reshaping how fans consume college sports using interactive features like real-time stats and fan voting. While this diversification benefits fans, it also increases financial stakes for institutions as programs vie for visibility and market share in an increasingly crowded media landscape.

As college sports navigate this new era, stakeholders must strike a delicate balance — one that honors the spirit of competition while embracing the realities of a rapidly professionalizing landscape. We predict the NIL and media deal trends will expand beyond football and basketball as the profile of college sports continues to grow. We also anticipate that as college athletics become more professional, rules and regulations will surface in attempts to regulate and put guardrails around the evolving landscape. At many schools, the complexities and challenges of the new system will likely give rise to revenue-generating business functions that become more important than traditional coaching staff at many schools. As college programs increasingly operate like businesses, they’ll have to play –– and work –– by pro-level rules.