A Bold New Play

As college athletics undergoes sweeping change, the University of Utah is stepping forward with a new approach designed to strengthen Utah Athletics long-term while protecting the university’s core missions of education, research, and patient care.

In December, the university’s Board of Trustees authorized the University Foundation to create Utah Brand Initiatives, a new for-profit company that will manage select revenue-generating activities within Utah Athletics, including ticketing, licensing, and sponsorships. The company will benefit from expertise and investment from Otro Capital, a firm with operating experience in sports, media, and entertainment. 

University leaders say the new model addresses a growing financial reality in college sports. Athletics expenses are rising rapidly—driven by conference realignment, the transfer portal, expanding name-image-likeness opportunities, and the House v. NCAA settlement—while universities face mounting pressure to hold down tuition and student fees and absorb broader financial headwinds. 

At the December board meeting, leaders emphasized that traditional options—raising student fees, cutting academic programs, or eliminating sports—were not viable. “We have to maintain our vision of the university—a place that inspires students, accelerates discovery, and serves communities,” said U President Taylor Randall HBA’90. “We also recognize that we have to preserve our elite athletic tradition. This brings an exciting solution and new future to Utah Athletics.”

The new structure is intended to modernize how certain revenue-generating business functions of athletics are managed, while keeping competitive, academic, student-athlete, and coaching decisions firmly within the Athletics Department. University leaders have emphasized that the arrangement does not involve selling any part of Utah Athletics or ceding control of programs, facilities, or operations, but instead separates commercial activities from the core responsibilities of running a collegiate athletics program.

For Athletics Director Mark Harlan, the new structure also brings an opportunity to enhance the fan experience. “Hospitality and how we treat our fans are among the most critical things we do,” Harlan told trustees. The new company, he said, will be “laser-focused on improving how we serve our fans.”

 Utah Brand Initiatives will report annually to the foundation and the Board of Trustees.