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Pete Thamel, ESPN
The Big 12 is exploring selling its naming rights to a title sponsor, with potential revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of the deal, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
The commercial sponsor would potentially take the name “Big” out of Big 12 and replace it with the sponsor’s name. It could end up as one of the largest commercial deals in collegiate athletics history, not including media rights.
The conference, which has explored this option for the past six months, has had in-depth discussions and a decision is expected in the upcoming months, sources told ESPN. A deal could mean millions of dollars annually for the conference’s member schools.
The Big 12 distributed nearly $470 million to its member schools in overall distribution last year, and that number projects to be higher once its new media deal comes to fruition in 2025-26. That projects to be tens of millions of dollars less per school annually than those in the Big Ten and SEC, prompting the league to find new revenue streams.
The Big 12 has also been in discussions with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for a stake in the league between 15% to 20%, sources confirmed to ESPN. That could give the Big 12 up to a $1 billion cash infusion and would be the first known large-scale private equity investment in college sports.
Sources, however, cautioned that the private equity pieces include some skeptics, especially among presidents. Regardless, there is a clear desire to boost revenue in the Big 12 in the near future.
“Every commercial opportunity the commissioner is bringing is a way to close the financial gap between the Big 12 and SEC,” a Big 12 source told ESPN. “The No. 1 priority of the Big 12 is maintaining competitiveness, and these opportunities potentially help.”
Discussions between CVC Capital Partners and the Big 12 were first reported by CBS.
The Big 12 will have a new look amid the shuffled college landscape in 2024. Gone will be conference stalwarts Texas and Oklahoma (to the SEC), and a new 16-member lineup will include Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joining the 12 returning members from last year.