SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference announced today that it has engaged The Raine Group, a leading global investment bank focused exclusively on sports, media and technology, to work with the Conference on its media rights strategy, including opportunities to maximize the value of its full portfolio of media assets through strategic partnerships. The Pac-12 is the only collegiate sports conference to own and control its own media company, Pac-12 Networks, and has current media rights agreements through 2024. 

 

“The Pac-12 CEO Group believes it is important to provide maximum support for our University athletic departments and our student-athletes,” said University of Colorado Chancellor Philip DiStefano, Chairman of the Pac-12’s CEO Group, the governing board of the Pac-12 Conference. “We look forward to working with The Raine Group, Conference and campus leadership to help us explore the significant opportunities in front of us, both in the short term and in preparation for 2024.”

 

Addressing the Conference’s media strategy, Commissioner Larry Scott said, “The Pac-12 is very fortunate to be in the unique position of both having all of our major media rights available in 2024 and owning our own media company, which provides us with great flexibility and optionality in today’s rapidly changing media environment. With the value of premium sports media rights continuing to rise and new entrants in the media space, now is a great time to explore with our members all opportunities to create value in the short and long term while staying true to our vision that controlling our own destiny is a great position to be in.”

 

Joe Ravitch, Partner and Co-founder of Raine Group who will lead the team working with the Pac-12, said, “We are honored to be selected by the Conference of Champions for this important role. The Pac-12 has demonstrated great foresight by designing all its’ media and licensing agreements to be coterminous in 2024, maintaining unique optionality for the Conference and creating an exciting opportunity to reassess and capitalize on its rights. We are confident that this process will enable the Conference to fully evaluate its options and further allow its member universities to benefit from the future growth in value of its media assets. There is a significant opportunity for the Pac-12 both domestically and internationally where the conference continues to build its presence.” 

 

The Raine Group is one of the foremost financial advisory firms with deep experience working with rights holders in asset creation and monetization.  Raine’s past work in the sports space includes advising UFC, NBA, MLS, Yes Network, City Football Group, Fanatics and more. 

 

The Conference has a tradition as the “Conference of Champions,” leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 52 of the last 58 years, with 516 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities - the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to Pac-12.com/conference.​