When Tim Pernetti was hired as the commissioner of The American in 2024, he said he was interested in private capital investment.
Two years later, that hasn’t changed. The league is still evaluating proposals, and Pernetti presented at least one model earlier this spring, he told Front Office Sports.
“We’re still very much in it,” he said.
Since taking the helm at The American, Pernetti has had “more meetings than I can count” regarding potential private capital partners. Pernetti has presented a couple of the proposals to conference leaders, including one that he described as “super creative and attractive” as recently as the American’s annual meeting this past May.
“I think we’re a lot better educated and smarter about how this can have a positive impact on the American,” he said. “And at the same time, we’re making sure that we understand what the opportunity is and then what the impact is long-term.”
Pernetti didn’t offer specifics about the private capital proposals he’s considering. But he said private-equity deals that would sell ownership stakes in the conference to different schools are “not realistic” for the league.
Instead, he said, the conference could use RISE Ventures as a starting point for a private capital partnership. The conference launched RISE Ventures in 2025 to “lead all aspects of the league’s revenue generation, sponsorship strategy, media rights, brand partnerships, technology, emerging business ventures, and long-term commercial innovation.”
Pernetti noted that all schools are “shareholders” of RISE Ventures, and that a private capital proposal would constitute an investment into that venture. The investment would include things like sponsorships or commercial partnerships, and would give schools ”the ability to draw down capital” as part of a private credit arrangement.
Other private capital partnership proposals within college sports—where a firm invests a certain amount into the conference in exchange for interest—have taken on a similar structure.
Earlier this year, the Big 12 finalized a partnership with Collegiate Athletic Solutions, a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and Weatherford Capital, that includes a business development partnership, a capital infusion for the conference, and a $30 million credit line option for each school.
So far, none of the Big 12 schools have used the credit line—but the option is a welcome lifeline if they need it (though schools would be required to pay back the money with interest). “You better be ready for a rainy day,” TCU athletic director Mike Buddie said during a recent interview with FOS. “Because no matter how good the forecast is, tomorrow can start raining—and all of a sudden you do need the opportunity to partner with a PE firm.”
At the school level, Utah took on a traditional private equity partnership; in June, the school finalized a deal with Otro Capital, which also required a spinoff of assets called Crimson Brand Partners.
Other conferences have shied away.
Last year, the Big Ten considered a $2.4 billion private capital investment from the UC Investments pension fund into a spinoff of conference assets called Big Ten Enterprises, which would, in turn, take a 10% ownership stake in the venture. But that deal was tanked after Michigan and other schools protested.
In May, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said the league would still have conversations at a high level about private equity investments, but that “to date, there’s nothing that has made sense.”
The American, meanwhile, isn’t in a rush to jump into a deal. But the conference isn’t afraid of it, either. “What we’re doing,” Pernetti said, “is just continuing on the journey.”
