Private Equity is Coming for College Football: What’s Happening… and What’s Next?

By: Jonathan Tunney February 16, 2026

Photo Credit: Associated Press

While the only thing anybody seems to care about in relation to the University of Utah’s football program this offseason is what it has lost to Michigan, the real story is what the program has gained. Sure, program legend Kyle Whittingham and 5-star recruit Salesi Moa have departed for Ann Arbor, but the Utes now have the support of… checks notes... a New York-based private equity firm named Otro Capital

That’s right. In an almost dystopian turn of events, Otro Capital is pledging an infusion north of $500M into Utah athletics. In return, a for-profit entity called Utah Brands & Entertainment LLC will be created, with Otro owning a minority stake and the University of Utah’s foundation owning the majority. Certain donors will also have the opportunity to buy a stake in Utah Brands & Entertainment LLC, which will be in charge of creating new revenue streams and increasing existing revenue through things like ticketing, concessions, corporate sales, and sponsorships. Utah athletic director Kevin Harlan maintains that the school will retain full control of scheduling, hiring, firing, and the handling of student-athletes, and Harlan will serve as chairman of the board that will include two Otro members and a Utah donor. It is expected that Otro Capital will receive a large percentage of Utah Brands & Entertainment LLC’s annual revenues, but specifics will be decided at deal close. 

Some say the move will result in the death of college athletics, while others champion it as an innovative business that takes advantage of one of the fastest growing products (college sports) that America has to offer. The truth, however, is that we don’t really know what PE will mean for college athletics. The B1G’s PE deal with UC Investments got shot down by Michigan, and Michigan State’s Spartan Ventures endeavor seems to be much less farther along than the Utah-Otro deal. However, I still have fun hypothesizing, so below are a few potential outcomes that I find especially interesting.

1. Utah athletics becomes a POWER.

Fueled by an unparalleled influx of cash, Utah turns around and invests that cash back into athletics. They quickly begin to spend with the biggest programs in traditional revenue generating and storied Utah programs, including football, men’s basketball, and the ski teams. This is an incredibly interesting reality to think about. Would the increase in spending result in a corresponding increase in revenue, keeping Utah as a power for decades? Or would their run at the top be short lived?

2. Non-revenue sports start getting cut.

While the University of Utah maintains that the University will retain full control over decisions like cutting varsity sports, money talks. What if Otro Capital isn’t receiving close to the return they were promised? They may begin to look at the budget and find not only that the athletic department is running at a 15.8% deficit, but the only two programs that make a profit are football ($26.8M) and men’s basketball ($2.6M). Private equity has turned college athletics into a business, and unprofitable companies don’t stay open. If cutting the women’s field hockey team is the difference between Otro’s CEO receiving an end of the year bonus or not, what do you think will happen?

3. The fans turn on the University of Utah.

The good people of Salt Lake City decry that their beloved Utes have been turned into a pro sports conglomerate by private equity, and support for the Utah Athletic Department drastically decreases. This is even more of a risk for the University of Utah than other schools, as they have to compete with the prevalence of mormonism (even amongst University of Utah fans) and the presence of in-state rival BYU. If fans make a mass exodus to support the team in Provo, it would make it nearly impossible for Otro Capital to recoup their initial investment, much less make a return, which would derail much of the future momentum for more private equity influence in college athletics.