FCS playoffs offered plan to go private

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A proposal to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) commissioners could eventually turn over management of the NCAA’s Division 1 FCS playoffs to a private equity firm, Front Office Sports learned on Thursday.

Sequence Equity, a private equity firm, recently presented a plan to transfer the management of the NCAA’s Division I FCS playoffs to a private entity. Under the proposal, FCS conferences would hold a majority stake in the playoffs, with the firm in a minority position providing capital in investment to boost playoff revenue.

Per Front Office Sports, the NCAA has not responded to a request for comment, nor have multiple FCS leagues. The news of the proposal was first reported by Hero Sports.

If approved, the proposal would have a similar look to the College Football Playoff, an LLC owned by Football Bowl Subdivision conferences and Notre Dame that operates outside the NCAA and holds a six-year, $7.8 billion media rights package. FBS schools receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the LLC.

While the FCS wouldn’t come close to matching the FBS’ media rights, Sequence Entity — which describes itself as “a multi-strategy investment platform based in Los Angeles, investing in sports, media, entertainment, technology, and infrastructure” — believes FCS schools are missing out on media-rights dollars under their current setup.

The 24-team postseason bracket in the FCS, which includes 13 leagues and more than 100 schools with football programs, is owned and operated by the NCAA. The NCAA also owns the media rights for the championship game, agreeing to a deal last year as part of a bundle with several other championships airing on ESPN. The network forks over approximately $115 million each year for those rights.

–Field Level Media