Big 12 votes to approve private capital deal with RedBird Capital

The Big 12 has voted to approve a private capital deal with RedBird Capital, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported. It’s the first such agreement for a major college conference.

The five-year agreement will see an infusion of at least $12.5 million in capital to the league office, according to Yahoo! Sports, with RedBird and Weatherford Capital on board. Schools can opt in to receive a capital credit line of $30 million apiece, though it’s unclear how many schools will do so.

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Through the agreement, the Big 12 is also building a strategic business partnership that could loom large when the next media rights contract comes around. The conference will be the exclusive college partnership with RedBird, which also has Paramount Global in its portfolio, as Dellenger noted. Paramount not only owns CBS, but is also in talks to land Turner Sports and TNT.

The Big 12’s current media deal is with ESPN and FOX Sports, with a handful of football games sublicensed to TNT. The deal expires in 2031.

News of the Big 12’s pursuit of a private capital deal with RedBird came in December 2025. Of note, the agreement would not require the conference to sell a stake or give up any equity, as was reported at the time.

While the Big 12 is the first major college conference to strike a private capital deal, one of its members announced a landmark partnership late last year. Utah signed a deal with Otro Capital, which would infuse up to nine figures in cash and create a for-profit entity, Utah Brands and Entertainment. The expectation is the Big 12’s deal will not impact Utah’s partnership with Otro Capital, Yahoo! Sports reported at the time.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark previously confirmed the conference did not plan on selling an equity stake. But while speaking at the SBJ Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in December, he voiced his support for a “strategic partnership, which is what the agreement with RedBird and Weatherford presents.

“We are not in the private equity business,” Yormark said. “We believe that the trajectory of our conference is terrific. We’ve got a lot of growth. We don’t want to share that. Having said that, strategic alliances, whatever they look like, that help us create value for our member institutions is something I sign up for.

“PE as we all think about is something that is not in the cards, but a strategic partnership that helps to create value, that helps to drive our business forward is certainly something that we will continue to explore.”