Private Equity Firm Has Met With Athletic Directors to Pitch College Football Super League – Sports Illustrated

A private equity firm led by former Disney executives has met with more than 25 power conference athletic directors to discuss "Project Rudy," a proposal for a college football super league, according to a report from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo.
At the core of the proposal from private equity firm Smash Capital is a plan to incorporate the four power conferences in a 70-team structure that would expand the postseason, modify scheduling, tier revenue distribution and infuse as much as $9 billion in private capital cash for the schools involved in the super league.
Additionally, the proposal includes a plan to eliminate all power conference games against Group of Five and FCS opponents in order to schedule more games that pit power conference opponents against one another. Perhaps more importantly, media rights of the 70 schools that are involved in the super league would be consolidated. The media rights deals (and revenue associated with them) that are currently separated amongst conferences and television networks are the driving force behind the current prolonged wave of conference realignment that has warped college athletics over the last few years.
Smash Capital's presentation to athletic directors projects an increase of media and sponsorship revenue of approximately $15 billion over a 12-year period.
It remains to be seen whether or not this will ever come to fruition, but the long-held idea that college football's power conferences could be heading for a split from the broader NCAA may be taking another step closer to reality.
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Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.
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