The Kansas Board of Regents amended policy to require officials at the six state universities to notify the higher education board’s leadership of discussions about partnerships between intercollegiate athletic departments and private equity or venture capital firms.
Text in the policy regarding disclosure of “material discussions” likely to lead to proposed agreements was left intentionally vague, but the rule required university officials at some juncture to notify the Board of Regents’ CEO and the board’s chair. In addition, the policy says all contracts and agreements between a university athletic department or athletic-affiliated corporation and entities engaged in private equity or venture capital must be approved by the Board of Regents before implementation.
It’s unclear why the Board of Regents convened a special meeting Friday to unanimously approve the policy rather than wait until a regular meeting Wednesday in Wichita.
The Big 12 Conference’s university presidents and chancellors in April ratified a five-year financial arrangement with College Athletic Solutions, which is a partnership between RedBird Capital Partners and Weatherford Capital. RedBird Capital is a private equity firm with ownership ties to networks offering sports programming. The investment firm Weatherford Capital has a stake in IMG Academy, a $102,000 per year boarding school for athletes in Florida…