Players getting paid isn't going to kill college sports...

[OttoinGrotto]

PE won't kill college football.

It might, however, kill Syracuse football.

Bah gawd that's Scooch's music!

 

[orlandoorange]

Fun thread. PE is neither good nor bad. No one has any idea how it would work out in this space

The one thing that is obvious is that the current system is broken, and PE didn't break it.

 

[Atlcuse44]

 

[Chip]

I've been involved in good PE and bad PE, it depends on the firm. Not surprising to see black and white takes though.

In reality, I'm just here for the Red Lobster takes. Never been to one, never wanted to, won't miss it, and this thread is making me laugh on hump day.

 

[TexanMark]

Dying on the private equity hill is hilarious. I genuinely hope that you are wealthy. And if I can afford the $300 bill at Red Lobster than I could afford it at whatever steakhouse you think I should have taken my family to on Mother's Day.

Keep licking them boots!

So much good Haddock in Upstate NY...though

Red Lobster has a niche...just like Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel is going through issues too. However, it is a great place to stop on a long drive.

Now don't get me started on Waffle House. I'm a part time pimp and I bring my girls there at 3am.

 

[steve deberg]

More often than not, growing a privately owned business though PE capital leads to a monkeys paw situation for the original owners.

The fox is in the hen house, and your interests aren’t aligned.

Of course how PE is implemented with a multi-billion dollar business with a monopoly on their product vs. how it’s implemented with smaller businesses are completely different situations - and the possible outcomes aren’t back and white.

However I think we can all agree it’s easier to imagine outcomes of PE firms being involved that hurt Syracuse than it is to imagine outcomes that benefit Syracuse.

 

[GoSU96]

Fun thread. PE is neither good nor bad. No one has any idea how it would work out in this space

The one thing that is obvious is that the current system is broken, and PE didn't break it.

that’s the issue. How does this work? Most of these are teams on a public institutions. Are schools going to spin off their football teams?

Are schools just going to license the name and lease the facilities to the investor? What’s the players relationship to the school? Again a very, very, very, very, very low percentage of kids make it to the NFL.

 

[orlandoorange]

that’s the issue. How does this work? Most of these are teams on a public institutions. Are schools going to spin off their football teams?

Are schools just going to license the name and lease the facilities to the investor? What’s the players relationship to the school? Again a very, very, very, very, very low percentage of kids make it to the NFL.

Great questions. I wish we were back in the 90s, but unfortunately there's no going back.

 

[orlandoorange]

More often than not, growing a privately owned business though PE capital leads to a monkeys paw situation for the original owners.

The fox is in the hen house, and your interests aren’t aligned.

Of course how PE is implemented with a multi-billion dollar business with a monopoly on their product vs. how it’s implemented with smaller businesses are completely different situations - and the possible outcomes aren’t back and white.

However I think we can all agree it’s easier to imagine outcomes of PE firms being involved that hurt Syracuse than it is to imagine outcomes that benefit Syracuse.

You're right. I think it's easier to imagine all outcomes for SU going sideways regardless of what entities are involved.

 

[richmondcuse03]

Not really. You are basically saying you don’t like buyout vs growth.

This is a nuanced point that’s lost on the average person. Most people don’t get the difference between growth investors in the PE world. They hear PE and equate it with leveraged buyouts. You shouldn’t be surprised if the average person doesn’t distinguish the difference if you work in that world.

Red Lobster was also ruined by a sale leaseback deal (which have and will continue to ruin other businesses). Blame activist shareholders for that and preferential REIT tax codes pushed by the real estate lobby.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

PE is neither good nor bad.

You'll have more fun dropping scorching takes than this kind of tepid, non-committal stuff.

 

[orlandoorange]

You'll have more fun dropping scorching takes than this kind of tepid, non-committal stuff.

Meh, whatever.

 

[qdawgg]

I’ve seen a lot of threads on the board as a whole go in some strange directions since the Dan Mullen thread. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t have Red Lobster on my bingo card. Hookers, blow, enterprise, nude men (solo man) at the Schenectady exit and medical flights all made the cut. Red Lobster……. that caught me off guard.

 

[W'boro'Cuse315]

I’ve seen a lot of threads on the board as a whole go in some strange directions since the Dan Mullen thread. But I’ll be honest, I didn’t have Red Lobster on my bingo card. Hookers, blow, enterprise, nude men (solo man) at the Schenectady exit and medical flights all made the cut. Red Lobster……. that caught me off guard.

Don’t fill up on the Cheddar Bay Biscuits during Endless Shrimp. They WANT you to fill up on the Cheddar Bay Biscuits during Endless Shrimp.

 

[David321]

I don't disagree but I'm also not convinced that this is imminent; there are all sorts of regulations that Congress can impose if they so choose.

The future is to opaque right now to know what will happen next.

 

[orlandoorange]

I don't disagree but I'm also not convinced that this is imminent; there are all sorts of regulations that Congress can impose if they so choose.

The future is to opaque right now to know what will happen next.

We don't need Congress involved with red lobster

 

[qdawgg]

Sir, this is a Wendy’s…… Red Lobster

 

[bnoro]

I don't disagree but I'm also not convinced that this is imminent; there are all sorts of regulations that Congress can impose if they so choose.

The future is to opaque right now to know what will happen next.

Private equity and the government, the two worst things you can have involved in anything.

 

[Cuse181]

Remember, private equity acquisitions NEVER benefit the customer.

If you consider the fan to be the customer, you're screwed by PE looming.

It’s an irrational fear because it’ll never happen. Private equity feasts on the ability to lever up and gain an outsized return on a small up front cash investment. The problem is there are no strategics to come and buy the sports rights at a premium from the funds. They’re investing in an asset that only has rising costs (player, coach and support staff pay) and product that cannot be easily flipped.

It’s a ridiculous notion that at best would be tried once and then promptly fail.

 

[All4SU]

This entire conversation sounds like folks trying to decide what sunk the Titanic, the iceberg, the water, or the ship design. The result is the same. And yes, the fans are the passengers in this analogy.

 

[Cusefan0307]

that’s the issue. How does this work? Most of these are teams on a public institutions. Are schools going to spin off their football teams?

Are schools just going to license the name and lease the facilities to the investor? What’s the players relationship to the school? Again a very, very, very, very, very low percentage of kids make it to the NFL.

It will work by whatever makes them the most profits because that's all PE cares about.

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

I think it's safe to assume that anyone interested in investing in a college football team sees it as a an opportunity to buy into a sporting enterprise with much bigger reach than a minor league team and with a much smaller price tag than a Big 4 sports team.

 

[steve deberg]

RedBird, FSU Trustee Launch College Sports Investment Fund

Collegiate Athletic Solutions (CAS), a new college sports investment fund, is backed by RedBird Capital, Gerry Cardinale, and Weatherford Capital.

www.sportico.com

Looks like this fund plans to lend between $50M - $200M to ~ 10 athletic departments, and “its plan is to lend upfront money and operational expertise to athletic departments in exchange for a share of additional revenue generated under their partnership.”

If in anyway a PE firms upside was tied to profit (instead of simply revenue), it’s hard to imagine that “operational expertise” wouldn’t include recommendations to cut back on everything that isn’t men’s football and men’s basketball.

 

[PeteCalvin]

RedBird, FSU Trustee Launch College Sports Investment Fund

Collegiate Athletic Solutions (CAS), a new college sports investment fund, is backed by RedBird Capital, Gerry Cardinale, and Weatherford Capital.

www.sportico.com

Looks like this fund plans to lend between $50M - $200M to ~ 10 athletic departments, and “its plan is to lend upfront money and operational expertise to athletic departments in exchange for a share of additional revenue generated under their partnership.”

If in anyway a PE firms upside was tied to profit (instead of simply revenue), it’s hard to imagine that “operational expertise” wouldn’t include recommendations to cut back on everything that isn’t men’s football and men’s basketball.

This thread just reached the Groundhog Day reset. Can’t wait to relive this thing.

 

[tep624]

Say no more. You changed my mind because a MD of a PE firm was back there whipping up a bad meal at a random Red Lobster in upstate NY.

Or maybe it was because you were eating at a Red Lobster?

Red Lobster sucks. Why are we even discussing that?