Introducing CAS: A Platform for Smart Capital Investment in Collegiate Athletics
As a participant and lifelong, passionate supporter of collegiate athletics, I’ve asserted publicly that we are quickly approaching a watershed moment. Last fall, on the heels of the largest conference realignment in history, I stated:
“The days of amateur sports at the Power 5 college level sports are dead and gone; the age of the commercialization of college sports has arrived and is here to stay. We have entered an era where athletic department decisions should be made and evaluated through the lens of making good business decisions above all else”.
That statement was made before the recent House vs. NCAA antitrust settlement, which is expected to require the NCAA and Power 4 institutions to pay $2.7 billion in damages and share 22% of revenue with players moving forward. Hypothesis confirmed.
The cost of competing at the highest level in collegiate athletics will increase at a pace with which collegiate leaders are unaccustomed. Anticipating and judiciously addressing what happens next will be the difference between the “haves” and the “have-nots.”
It’s no secret that universities with robust investment in their athletic departments have consistently won on the playing field and found themselves at the forefront of growth and development at the university level, overshadowing and outpacing peer institutions. And with the quickly approaching revenue-sharing settlement expected to take effect next year, the exacerbation of the financial divide is all but assured.
Collegiate Athletic Solutions
In light of these inevitable seismic shifts, we are thrilled to introduce Collegiate Athletic Solutions (“CAS”), a partnership between Redbird Capital and Weatherford Capital that will directly address the ever-expanding need for smart capital investment in athletic departments across the country.
We will provide dedicated capital and a business-building platform for public and private university athletic departments and act as a trusted advisor to university presidents, CFOs, and athletic directors. CAS will equip leaders with the strategies and resources to operate more efficiently and professionally, pinpointing opportunities for development and giving their athletic programs the ability to compete at the highest level.
CAS is focused on the future growth of athletic departments, understanding that wise capital investment will fuel a given school or conference's ability to build a competitive edge in a disrupted environment.
Our mission at CAS is to offer athletic departments a unique capital solution to invest when and where they see fit to compete at the highest level during this tenuous paradigm shift.
—Drew Weatherford