Utah’s Private Equity Athletics Deal Surprised Lawmakers. Now One Wants to Control the Process — Including Updates to the U.’s.

Utah’s private equity athletics deal surprised lawmakers. Now one wants to control the process — including updates to the U.’s.

The University of Utah’s plan to bolster its athletics program with private equity took some state lawmakers by surprise.

Can Private Equity Save Athletics at the University of Utah?

In December, Dennis Romboy and Art Raymond of Deseret News reported that the University of Utah’s board of trustees approved a first-of-its-kind private equity deal between the school and Otro Capital to fund athletics. The decision to partner with private equity appears to be based on a crude assessment of the contributions (revenues and expenses) that can be traced directly to sports, which ignores the value added from the promotion of the uni…