Penn State is again faced with a decision that could have a wide-ranging impact on the future of the university and the Big Ten — and, once again, officials are being criticized for their lack of transparency and shared governance.
The conference is basically looking at selling 10% of its TV rights and sponsorships to an investment-minded California pension fund, which wants partial ownership for as long as the deal lasts. The proposal is reportedly for 20 years and $2.4 billion.
If the proposal is approved by schools in the conference, each school is expected to receive more than $100 million in a lump sum. The obvious trade-off is that more money at this moment almost certainly means less money later, a dynamic that caused one Michigan regent to liken the deal to a “payday loan.” (Another said it was like opening a new credit card to pay off debt.)
National officials are starting to sound the alarm on the deal, concerned both for the potential consequences of introducing private capital into higher education and for how university leadership across the Big Ten appears to be ignoring its governing boards.
In an open letter Monday, Michael B. Poliakoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), expressed concern that governing boards have “received insufficient information.” He also wrote that university leadership bypassing such boards risks “undermining the legitimacy” of any future deal.
“The universities of the Big Ten have earned global respect for their commitment to integrity, excellence, and public trust,” Poliakoff wrote. “That trust now rests on whether their governing boards will insist upon proper oversight in a moment of historic consequence.”
The Centre Daily Times reached out Tuesday to Penn State’s full board of trustees, three university spokespeople and board chair David Kleppinger. But it received no responses. Questions ranged from whether this will be decided by the board, whether conversations have already taken place and how they feel about private capital at Penn State.
The chair of the university’s faculty senate, which is not directly involved in such decision-making, deferred comment to academic trustee Nicholas Rowland — who also did not respond to a message.
The university’s board of trustees formally approved new bylaws a week ago that further limit its interactions with the media.
Michelle Rodino-Colocino, president of the Penn State chapter of the American Association of University Professors, was unfamiliar with the issue until reading Poliakoff’s letter. After learning more about it, Rodino-Colocino said she was “outraged” faculty weren’t brought to the table sooner — and she questioned how private capital could possibly benefit the university in the long run.
“The Penn State experience is not up for sale,” she added. “If we sell to private equity firms, it’s going to tank.”
Again, these issues aren’t limited to just Penn State. Several unnamed trustees at multiple Big Ten schools told Front Office Sports they were not given details of the proposal. (One board member told Front Office Sports the process was “ass-backwards.”)
Typically, such boards are designed to oversee and protect the long-term interests and assets of their schools. But, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger, at least some chancellors and presidents have informed their respective boards this is not a voting issue for them and any presentations are “informational only.”
Regardless, the respective boards of USC and Michigan have still publicly opposed the deal. Because the current offer requires unanimity, Dellenger reported Sunday that the Big Ten might ultimately choose to move forward without the Trojans and Wolverines in the deal, although it’s not clear what that might mean for the conference’s distant feature — specifically beyond 2036, the end of the existing grant-of-rights agreement.
“The Big Ten doesn’t need to be sold to save college sports,” Michigan regent Jordan Acker said during a public meeting last month. “It needs to lead to save college sports.”
A Big Ten vote on the matter — involving the presidents and chancellors — is reportedly scheduled around Nov. 21, although nothing has been publicly confirmed. Penn State trustees have not discussed the matter publicly, and the next trustees meeting is slated for Feb. 19-20.
This piece was originally published by Centre Daily Times on November 13, 2025.
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