April 29, 2026
By Ross Dellenger, Yahoo Sports: The Big 12 has struck its long-discussed private capital deal — the first such publicized conference-wide agreement in major college sports.
The league’s presidents and chancellors ratified the five-year agreement with capital partner RedBird last week, as well as Weatherford Capital, finalizing a three-prong package: to deliver an infusion of capital — at least $12.5 million — to the league office to drive commercial development and business growth; offer schools an opt-in capital credit line of $30 million each; and create a strategic business partnership that could pay off when the conference next goes to market for its media rights contract.
The Big 12 is describing the deal as the “RedBird Business Development Partnership.” As part of their Collegiate Athletic Solutions partnership, the firms are co-investing the infusion into the conference with an expected return. However, the capital partners will hold no ownership in the league and the deal will not change the operation or governance of the conference, commissioner Brett Yormark told Yahoo Sports.
Read the full story…
Yahoo Sports Looking for more SuperWest team news? Find it at our Team News Feed
