Eben Novy-Williams, Scott Soshnick and Daniel Libit
5 min read
Penn State and UCLA are denying they have partnered with Elevate in its $500 million College Investment Initiative. When the fund was announced, Elevate told Sportico and other outlets that there were two schools that had already signed with the new college sports fund. Sportico reported on Monday that those two schools were Penn State and UCLA, based on three individuals familiar with the situation, who were granted anonymity to speak about private conversations.
Elevate formally introduced its college sports fund on Monday. The fund is backed by private equity firm Velocity Capital Management and the Texas Permanent School Fund, a special-purpose government corporation that supports the state’s schools. In a telephone interview, Elevate chief business officer Jonathan Marks declined to confirm the schools, but said they would be announced in the coming weeks along with potentially others.
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After the story was published, a UCLA spokesperson said that while the school is currently partnered with Elevate for ticketing, it has not engaged with the new college sports fund. The spokesperson did not provide any additional details about conversations between UCLA and Elevate about expanding its relationship. Shortly thereafter, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft released a statement saying, “Elevate serves as our partner in ticketing strategy and operations. To clarify, our relationship is strictly limited to these services, and we have no affiliation or involvement with any private equity firm or fund.”
Elevate said in a statement that it has “longstanding relationships” with both UCLA and Penn State, in ticketing operations and strategy. “These partnerships were established prior to the launch of the initiative and are reflective of our broader commitment to supporting the long-term success of collegiate athletic programs,” the statement said. A spokesperson declined further comment on the two schools that Elevate previously said were already part of the fund.
While neither Big Ten institution had previously been considered a frontrunner in the movement toward private financing, both rank among the top 25 in athletic spending among FBS public universities, per Sportico’s college sports finance database. UCLA’s athletics department has experienced a prolonged period of fiscal distress. Now competing in the Big Ten following the dissolution of the Pac-12, the Bruins have grappled with persistent deficits over the past decade.
