Univ. of AZ is "Cash-Strapped"

Per Sportico: “The cash-strapped university handed its athletic department $10.5 million in direct institutional support, $22.3 million in indirect institutional support and $3.4 million in student fees.”

February 14, 2025

U of Arizona Reports $36.2M in FY24 Athletic Subsidies Amid Deficit Woes
Sportico’s Daniel Libit and Eben Novy-Williams write, “The University of Arizona reported $36.2 million in athletic department subsidies during the 2023-24 fiscal year—likely among the highest in the country—as the department’s money-losing history took center stage across campus. 

“According to a copy of the school’s latest financial disclosures to the NCAA, which was obtained by Sportico, the cash-strapped university handed its athletic department $10.5 million in direct institutional support, $22.3 million in indirect institutional support and $3.4 million in student fees.”
^Sportico

Ten Minute Overtime? Longer TV Timeouts? 4 Nations Face-Off is an NHL Testing Ground
AP News’ Stephen Whyno writes, “Canada and Sweden traded chances back and forth, skating up and down the ice for 3-on-3 overtime that provided dazzling entertainment in the opener of the 4 Nations Face-Off. By the time Mitch Marner scored the winner for Canada, more than six minutes had elapsed. Had it been during the NHL regular season, the horn would have sounded at the 5-minute mark and the game decided in a shootout.

“Extending OT to 10 minutes is one of the experiments taking place at the tournament that could go into use as soon as next season. There’s still plenty of debate over whether it should, and Marner’s goal made it a hot topic in Montreal.”
^{AP News}

Stake in Giants on the Market, Sources Say
The team will not sell a majority stake or cede control, which has rested with current President John Mara or his family since his grandfather, Tim Mara, founded the team in 1925, sources said. Since 1991, the Tisch and Mara families have each owned 50% of the club, with a large roster of individual family members holding small stakes. Their precise reason for exploring an LP sale is not known, but the NFL allowed private equity firms to buy up to 10% of teams under a new policy approved last August. The team and Moelis & Co. declined to comment.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Fox Sells Out of Daytona 500 Ads in Record Time
Fox Sports sold out of ads for Sunday’s Daytona 500 at a record pace, with the network leveraging a hot market and its broadcast of Super Bowl LIV to help reach the mark, according to people familiar with the matter. While the amount of revenue Fox will make in total from the 500 is unclear, sources say the network landed several advertisers paying over $500,000 for a 30-second spot while the majority of advertisers ended up in the $400,000 to $450,000 range. That compares to around $8M a pop for a 30-second spot during Super Bowl LIX last week.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Trump Jr. Backs Enhanced Games, an Olympic Disruptor That Would Allow Some Steroids in Sports
A group led by Donald Trump Jr. is infusing funding and some political muscle into the Enhanced Games, a sports festival that would hold track, swimming and other events free of anti-doping measures. Trump’s group, called 1789 Capital, is bringing what Enhanced Games founder Aron D’Souza said was “double digit millions” to a project set to kick off with an event in the United States next year.
^{AP News}

DraftKings Shares Jump on Fourth Quarter Results, New Revenue Data
Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams reports: “For the first time ever, DraftKings also broke out its iGaming revenue, including historical quarterly numbers going back to 2022. For the most recent quarter, iGaming revenue was $426 million. That contrasts with $825 million in sportsbook revenue, showing the potential financial impact of online casino offerings should more states legalize them. iGaming is about half the size of DraftKings’ sportsbook business, despite being live in only five states that reach 11% of the U.S. population, as opposed to 25 legal-sports betting states that reach 49% of the population.”
^Sportico

NBC Hiring Carmelo Anthony as NBA Studio Analyst Next Season: Sources
Anthony, 40, retired from playing in May 2023 and is a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame nominee this year.

NBC, along with Amazon Prime Video, joins incumbent ABC/ESPN as NBA partners under the league’s new 11-year, $76 billion broadcast deal. This is the final season that TNT Sports will broadcast NBA games, though its “Inside the NBA,” featuring Charles Barkley, is expected to continue on ABC/ESPN.
^{The Athletic}

CBS, CBS Sports Set to Go Dark on YouTube TV on Thursday, Making March Madness, Masters Potentially Unavailable
Yahoo Sports’ Ian Casselberry writes, “Sports fans excited about March Madness and the Masters face a significant obstacle if they subscribe to YouTube TV. Paramount announced on Thursday that its contract with YouTube TV is set to expire Thursday by the end of the night if a new agreement is not reached. That means CBS and CBS Sports, among 21 other networks under the Paramount umbrella, won't be available to YouTube TV subscribers as of Thursday night at 11 p.m. ET.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

The CW Names Michael Perlman SVP/Sports
Perman will report to CW President Brad Schwartz, and will oversee all strategy, programming and media rights on behalf of CW Sports. He arrives from media agency Aggregate Sports, where he served as SVP/Global Media Rights. He previously was VP of programming at NBC Sports and spent time at the NBA.

Perman’s hiring for the newly created position comes as the company increasingly shifts its overall strategy to sports. The CW now has rights to the ACC, NASCAR Xfinity Series, WWE NXT and LIV Golf, and just wrapped a one-year deal with the Pac-12.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Yankees Unveil Spring Training Facility Renovations
The Yankees have completed a two-year renovation project of their spring training facility. The team unveiled a new building on the first-base side of Steinbrenner Field, which features 27,000-square feet of player amenities.

The new building includes a brand-new, 10,000-square foot weight room, trainers’ area, hydrotherapy space, red light therapy rooms and a sauna, with a focus on individual player routines. It also features a dedicated kitchen for player meals and nutrition, with indoor-outdoor dining areas and lounge space for coaches, players and staff.
^{Sports Business Journal}

Penn State, Populous Share New Interior Renderings of $700M Beaver Stadium Renovation
Populous has shared new interior renderings of Penn State’s $700M Beaver Stadium renovation project, specifically the venue’s new concourses and premium areas. The overall project has been underway for more than a year, but the work that begins this offseason and will be completed by the 2027 season will remake the west side of the 106,572-seat stadium. Demolition began as soon as Penn State’s football season was finished. Nearly 8,000 temporary seats will be installed there for the 2025 season.
^{Sports Business Journal}

NHL, NHLPA Commit to 2028 World Cup of Hockey
The NHL and NHLPA have committed to putting on a World Cup of Hockey in 2028 and will begin soliciting bids in the next few months from potential host cities and venues in North America and Europe. The event will continue the league and union’s effort to establish a regular cadence of international competition, beginning with this month’s 4 Nations Face-Off and continuing with NHL players’ return to Olympic participation at next year’s Milan-Cortina Games.
^{Sports Business Journal}

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College Football Players Sign Agreement to Be Paid for Likeness in Video Games
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports: “Hundreds of college football players have signed group licensing agreements for their likeness to be used on video games in what is expected to be the single largest commercial deal in the industry’s history, eclipsing $20 million and, perhaps, touching more than hundred schools.

“Pathway Sports and Entertainment, a new company focused on monetizing athlete NIL rights, is launching into the space by providing players with four-figure guarantees as part of video game NIL agreements, the company’s executives told Yahoo Sports this week. Pathway, guided by a three-member leadership team that includes former Altius and NFLPA executive Casey Schwab, has signed up more than 450 players at Alabama, Illinois, Georgia, Texas Tech, Wisconsin and Oregon.”
^{Yahoo! Sports}

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