UCF backs Big 12’s RedBird deal, but won’t take credit option
UCF will not be taking the money.
Athletic director Terry Mohajir confirmed Friday that UCF Athletics will not exercise the one-time capital credit option made available to Big 12 member schools through the conference’s newly ratified partnership with RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital.
“UCF supports the Big 12’s new business development partnership with RedBird Capital and the opportunities it creates across the conference,” Mohajir said in a statement. “This is a forward-thinking, proactive approach that will help drive future revenue growth. UCF Athletics will not exercise the one-time credit option.”
The Big 12 finalized the deal last week after presidents and chancellors ratified the five-year agreement — the first publicized conference-wide private capital deal in major college sports. As part of the package, member schools were offered an opt-in credit line of up to $30 million each at a rate just south of 10%, with one year to decide.
UCF is among the first programs to publicly decline.
Sources within the conference told Yahoo Sports, which first reported the deal’s details, that as few as two and as many as a half-dozen Big 12 programs are expected to take the money. That means a majority of the league’s 16 schools are likely to pass with UCF now firmly among them.
The broader agreement also includes at least $12.5 million in capital flowing directly to the Big 12 league office for commercial development and business growth, along with a strategic business partnership that could pay dividends when the conference next negotiates its media rights deal — currently set to expire in 2031.
RedBird, led by founder Gerry Cardinale, holds ties to Paramount Global, which owns CBS and is expected to soon acquire TNT — two networks that have become increasingly central to college sports broadcasting. The Big 12’s current deal is primarily held by ESPN and Fox.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark emphasized that RedBird and Weatherford will hold no ownership stake in the league and that conference governance will remain unchanged.
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