EP 139: Matt Brown (NCAA Expert) on Athlete Pay Drama, Realignment of Power, and Transfer Portal Chaos
Episode description
College sports are going through massive changes—from athlete pay drama to superconference realignment and transfer portal chaos, not to mention the giant class action lawsuit playing out now.
Matt Brown, the publisher behind Extra Points and one of the top experts on the business of college athletics, joined the show to break it all down. We walked through the full history of college sports, the current money dynamics, and where things could be headed.
(00:00) Meet Matt Brown: Expert in College Sports Business
(03:09) The Origins of College Sports
(06:31) The Evolution of College Sports Broadcasting
(14:53) Title IX and Its Impact on College Athletics
(17:53) The 1984 Supreme Court Decision and Its Aftermath
(20:03) The SMU Death Penalty Scandal
(22:19) Conference Realignment and the BCS Era
(28:22) The Rise of Conference Television Networks
(30:23) The Arms Race in College Sports Facilities
(34:41) The Role of Boosters in College Sports
(36:03) Financial Breakdown of Major College Sports Programs
(37:04) Understanding Nonprofit Accounting in College Athletics
(38:20) Revenue Generation in College Sports
(40:34) Athletics as Enrollment Management
(42:04) The Flutie Effect and University Applications
(44:37) Conference Realignment and Financial Instability
(48:58) The O'Bannon Case and Video Game Licensing
(53:59) The Northwestern Unionization Attempt
(58:19) The Alston Case and Educational Awards
(01:02:11) Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Marketplaces
(01:05:51) The Role of Collectives in College Sports
(01:12:08) Dependability of Young Campaign Partners
(01:13:03) Transfer Portal and Its Impact
(01:15:56) Rise of NIL Agents and Handlers
(01:17:40) Economic Incentives and Transfer Market
(01:20:37) Challenges in NIL Enforcement
(01:22:48) House Settlement and Future Implications
(01:25:38) Allocation of NIL Funds by Universities
(01:44:26) Potential Super Leagues and Investment Challenges
(01:48:07) Concluding Thoughts on College Sports
Executive Producer: Rashad Assir
Producer: Leah Clapper
Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky
Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA
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About the Show
Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.