ICYMI: Stevens Sounds Alarm on Big Ten’s Reported Private Equity Deal

December 2, 2025
Press Release
Stevens: “The integrity of college sports must not be sacrificed for short-term financial gain”


WASHINGTON, D.C. – ICYMI: Congresswoman Haley Stevens criticized the Big Ten’s consideration of a $2.4 billion deal with UC Investments – a move she warned would put corporate greed ahead of Michigan students, athletes, and long-held traditions.

In a letter sent to Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti on November 25, Stevens warned the proposal would open the door to private equity firms buying their way into college sports, escalating realignment chaos, and undermining the mission of public universities.

Here’s what Michiganders are reading about the bill:

Michigan Advance: Stevens says Big Ten’s private equity deal marks ‘dangerous expansion’ of influence

By: Kyle Davidson

  • Reports that the Big Ten Conference could sell a stake of its media rights to a private equity group have led Michigan U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) to send a letter to the conference’s commissioner stating her opposition to the deal and requesting additional information.
  • Publicly reported details show the Big Ten would sell 10% of its media rights to UC Investments, a group affiliated with the University of California system pension fund, for $2.4 billion.
  • In her letter to the conference commissioner Tony Petitti, Stevens warned the deal would be a “dangerous expansion of private equity influence over our nation’s universities, harming the quality of college sports and the integrity of university governance.”
  • The influence of wealthy non-university interests has already created issues for college sports, Stevens said, pointing to the role of television networks in eliminating the regional nature of conferences through realignment.
  • The deal would open the door for other conferences to seek investment from private enquiry groups, Stevens said, arguing it would further undermine regional cohesion. She also warned that giving private investment firms control of sports television revenue would create undue influence over university decisionmaking.
  • Big Ten member universities should be focused on their mission to educate and prepare young people for fulfilling and productive lives instead of maximizing television revenue in partnership with wealthy financial institutions.
  • Stevens requested Petitti respond with an answer to the following questions by Dec. 12.

 

Deadline Detroit: Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens Fires Off Letter to Commissioner Opposing Big 10 Private Equity Deal

By: Allan Lengel

  • Michigan Democratic U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens fired off a letter Tuesday to Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti warning against a proposed plan that calls for the conference to sell a 10 percent stake in its media rights to UC Investments for $2.4 billion.
  • Stevens insists the deal would put corporate profits ahead of student-athletes, college sports, and university integrity.
  • "Such an agreement would be a dangerous expansion of private equity influence over our nation’s universities, harming the quality of college sports and the integrity of university governance," she wrote in the letter.
  • "The influence of extremely wealthy, non-university interests has already created significant problems in college sports. Television networks’ quest for increasing market share of fan viewership has led to nonsensical conference realignment that destroyed the regional nature of college sports cherished by generations of fans."
  • "These race-to-the-bottom deals in search of more athletics media revenue will inevitably create future conference realignment, further undermining regional cohesion in college sports. There are already reports that legacy Big Ten member universities opposed to the deal are considering leaving the conference if it is adopted, further contributing to the revolving door of conference realignment."

 

Crain's Detroit Business: Pressure on Big Ten mounts as Michigan lawmaker questions $2.4B private equity deal

By: Jay Davis

  • A Michigan Congresswoman has joined those questioning whether a proposed $2.4 billion deal with a California-based investment fund is good for the Big Ten.
  • U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens on Tuesday sent a letter to Big Ten Commissioner Tony Pettiti saying the league’s reported proposal to sell a 10% stake of its media rights to the University of California’s investment arm risks putting profits ahead of student-athletes, college sports and university integrity.
  • Stevens, D-Birmingham, in the letter criticized the proposal, calling it the latest step in a troubling pattern of corporate influence overwhelming college sports and leading to nonsensical conference realignment.
  • “College sports are a uniquely American tradition that have provided valuable experience for generations of college athletes, students, and fans. Nowhere is that more true than in the Big Ten,” Stevens said in the letter.
  • “As policymakers, we have a responsibility to ensure that the integrity of college sports, the Big Ten, and its member universities is preserved for future generations, not sacrificed for short-term financial gain.”
  • Stevens in her letter demanded answers from Pettiti by Dec. 12 on three questions related to how the Big Ten would protect the independence and internal governance of its member schools from private equity influence; how the league would safeguard non-revenue and Title IX athletic programs in a TV revenue-driven environment; and how leadership would ensure that the financial interests of UC Investments or other potential PE investors do not supersede the public-serving mission of Big Ten schools.

 

WLNS:  University of Michigan ‘committed’ to Big Ten despite private equity deal

By Brad LaPlante

  • The University of Michigan governing board declared its opposition to the possibility of giving up a stake in the Big Ten for $2.4 billion in private investment.
  • U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) said she sent a letter to Big Ten Commissioner Tony Pettiti this week, saying, “The influence of extremely wealthy, non-university interests has already created significant problems in college sports."
  • “College sports are a uniquely American tradition that have provided valuable experience for generations of college athletes, students, and fans,” Stevens wrote.
  • “Nowhere is that more true than in the Big Ten. As policymakers, we have a responsibility to ensure that the integrity of college sports, the Big Ten, and its member universities is preserved for future generations, not sacrificed for short-term financial gain.”

 

###