MSU trustee raises concerns about proposed Big Ten investment deal

A member of the Michigan State Board of Trustees is speaking out about the $2.4 billion investment the Big Ten Conference is considering taking on, even as Michigan and Southern California remain staunch holdouts.

Mike Balow, elected to the MSU board in November 2024, said in a statement provided to The Detroit News that the proposed deal, being pushed by Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, has left him with questions that continue to go unanswered. Balow also suggested the process hasn’t felt completely transparent, and said that school boards, not presidents and chancellors, should be the ones deciding whether to move forward with the proposed landmark deal.

Balow’s statement is among the first public comments made by any Michigan State official about the proposed investment deal.

“Speaking as just one MSU trustee, and not for the board as a whole, I appreciate all of the hard work that Commissioner Petitti and his staff have done on this, but it does seem highly appropriate that everyone take a pause, and let’s ensure that the board members of all 18 member schools have a chance to have all of their questions answered fully,” Balow said in the statement. “I myself have questions on the implementation of the deal, most importantly on governance and the projected increases in future conference revenues that are part of this deal.”

The statement comes just days after UC Investments, which oversees the University of California pension fund and is seeking to purchase a 10% stake in the Big Ten for its $2.4 billion investment, announced a pause in negotiations, as two of the Big Ten’s 18 schools, Michigan and Southern Cal, remain strongly opposed to the deal.

Petitti has expressed a desire to move forward with or without the blessing of Michigan or Southern Cal, but UC Investments chief investment officer Jagdeep Singh Baccher said Monday his firm wants all 18 universities on board.

Michigan is arguably the biggest brand in the Big Ten, and its exclusion in any deal greatly affects the valuation of the deal, which, at $2.4 billion, would provide immediate cash infusions to member schools of over $100 million each at a time when athletic department costs have never been greater, especially now with student athletes sharing in revenues. Michigan State, like most schools, could use the cash, given its athletic department is more than $100 million in debt, but the question is at what cost, given the potential earnings of the Big Ten in coming years, likely including a new lucrative TV deal by the end of the decade.

Balow said the MSU Board of Trustees was briefed for one hour in person by Petitti in early September. The briefing including a slide show, but trustees were not provided copies of materials to take home and further examine.

Michigan State president Kevin Guskewicz is among the Big Ten presidents and chancellors said to be on board with taking on the investment, but he hasn’t spoken publicly about the proposed deal.

Guskewicz, through a school spokesperson, didn’t respond to a request for comment from The News earlier this week, nor did Michigan State Board of Trustees chair Kelly Tebay.

Any proposed deal with UC Investments must be approved by the Big Ten’s presidents and chancellors, and not university boards, another sticking point for Balow, who participated in a call last week with leadership from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. ACTA blasted the Big Ten’s process in considering this massive investment.

“For a contract of this magnitude and duration, it seems appropriate and a hallmark of good governance that Big Ten university boards, and not just university presidents, should approve it,” Balow said.

The Big Ten and UC Investments have been in discussions since July and any deal would extend the Big Ten’s grant of rights through 2046, essentially keeping the conference together for at least two more decades while there’s chatter about the formation of so-called “super conferences.” But if the Big Ten moves forward without the blessing of Michigan and/or Southern Cal, it’s unclear what the future would hold for those two schools.

Jordan Acker, a member of Michigan’s Board of Regents, of which several members have spoken out publicly while Balow is the first at Michigan State, suggested this week in an interview on Sirius XM Radio that any deal that goes forward against Michigan’s wishes could lead to Michigan one day leaving the Big Ten.

Michigan was one of the founding members of what now is known as the Big Ten, the oldest conference in Division I college athletics. Formed in 1896, it even predates the NCAA. Michigan left from 1907 before returning in 1917. Michigan State joined the conference in 1950, with its football program joining three years after that.

This piece was originally published by The Detroit News on November 19, 2025.