merchandise? Are these fees making as much money as they can? Who in an athletic department has the experience and knowhow to sell stadium rights (as an example)? Is an athletic department set up to run a "for profit" business? Take Ohio State as an example. Their athletic revenue rises to $270M per year, and miraculously, their athletic budget rises to $270 per year - going to great lengths to not show a profit? Do schools or athletic conference have the expertise to go international? Did the NBA? Yet, that is exactly what the NBA did, using PE's expertise, connections, experience, and management. keep in mind, there is risk/reward for both parties. Without knowing any of the details, one can only speculate - but PE would only buy a % of a conference if they felt it was undervalued, and they could take that portion and manage it to different levels. There are probably many different ways to do that for a conference and the teams. It could be the apparel, and other revenue streams that are not realized yet. I would not dismiss the notion out of hand - and keep an open mind. It could be a win win, but there just isn't enough info to know. Right now, it was just an announcement that the B12 is looking to sell 10% to 15% of the conference to a PE firm - no other info was provided. I know what I would do to increase the value of the B12 - but I'm a fan, and like many, know what I would like to see. reality tends to be a bit different though.