Last fall, I stood at the center of what would have been one of the biggest deals in sports: a $2.4 billion public pension fund investment in the Big Ten Conference. In the end, it failed. Congress fired off letters, and trustees balked. The deal was an attempt to provide schools with the capital to compete like professionals; its collapse was one data point in a season of upheaval. That same fall, Lane Kiffin walked out on an 11-1 Ole Miss team weeks before its first playoff game, lured to LSU by a war chest the Rebels couldn’t match.
A month into the new season, last winter’s transfer portal jumpers are starring in new colors, Coach Kiffin’s latest exploits have put LSU at odds with its own league, and administrators are chasing lawsuits, lifelines, and someone to blame. Everyone agrees the sport is in crisis. Most are wrong about why. The turmoil doesn’t stem from a shortage of money or rules. It stems from the fact that universities haven’t learned how to run their most valuable franchises.
