The Big Ten’s $2 Billion Sellout: When the “Student” Left the “Student-Athlete”

Well, it’s finally happened. The Big Ten has decided that its soul is worth exactly two billion dollars — plus or minus a few yachts and a luxury suite or two. The conference that once pretended to value academics has now gone full Wall Street, forming a shiny new corporate shell called Big Ten Enterprises. I suppose “Big Ten, Inc.” sounded too honest.

This new Frankenstein’s monster of a “business development entity” will hold all the media rights, sponsorships, and anything else it can milk for a buck. And because there’s never enough cash to fuel the modern football arms race — what with the need for gold-leaf locker rooms and head coaches making more than university presidents — the Big Ten is inviting a private equity partner to join the party. Nothing says “higher education” quite like a pension fund from the University of California buying a ten-percent slice of your conference.

Not Selling a Piece of the Conference?

The propaganda line is that this isn’t “selling a piece of the conference.” Oh no, perish the thought! They’re just letting someone else own a chunk of all the money-making stuff while the academics — scheduling, officiating, championships — remain safely in the hands of the same bureaucrats who’ve already turned college football into a bloated, tax-exempt NFL farm system. It’s like saying you’re not selling your house, you’re just giving away the deed and renting it back for eternity.

Think of it this way — the conference is not selling a piece of the conference. Traditional conference functions would remain 100 percent with the conference office — scheduling, officiating and championships. The new entity being created would focus on business development, and it would include an outside investor with a small financial stake.
— League Source

The $2 billion “infusion” (their word, not mine — sounds more like an IV drip of greed) will go to schools that are allegedly “struggling with debt service.” Translation: they built too many damn luxury boxes and can’t make the payments. Meanwhile, professors still make less than offensive line coaches, and the English department can’t afford toner for the printer. But hey, Go Big Ten!

And let’s not forget the noble justification — this cash grab will “help middle-tier schools compete with the SEC.” Sure. Because Illinois is just one private-equity windfall away from becoming Georgia.

Methinks a reason for this high-finance shenannigan is protecting the conference’s autonomy and identity in an era of conference consolidation. Pundits talk about a “superconference” amagamating the Big Ten and SEC, which is now less likely to occur.

Recertifying the Mythology of the “Student-Athlete”

This whole charade obliterates any remaining pretense that these are student-athletes. While half of them can barely string together a coherent sentence, we’re still pretending they’re pursuing degrees while running a billion-dollar media empire on the side. Universities now exist primarily as glorified training and merchandising divisions for the football-industrial complex. The only “academics” left are the accountants.

Verily, welcome to the new era: Big Ten Enterprises™, where education takes a permanent knee while the conference sells off its legacy to whoever waves the biggest checkbook. The Big Ten presidents will call it “innovation.” I call it pimping out the ivory tower.

Think this is the end of the slide into decadence? Just wait until they start auctioning off naming rights to commencement!

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I just came across this crap, which triggered me, so I wanted to share my pique. What a way to start a Saturday of big-time College moneyball viewing! I’ll now return you to your regular Nittany Turkey bullshit.