Michigan Leads Resistance to Billions in College Sports Deals

College athletics conferences are desperate to open up potential billions in investment. The problem is their own members keep saying no.

The University of Michigan and the University of Southern California have become the latest to spurn institutional investment, last week effectively downing a deal to sell a 10% stake in Big Ten Enterprises to the University of California Investments for $2.4 billion. Big Ten Enterprises is a proposed entity that would manage media deals and sponsorships for member schools.

Michigan’s staunch opposition to the partnership is the latest big name in college athletics to refuse money from investment ...