Penn State, UCLA Deny Partnership with $500M Private Equity Fund

Penn State and UCLA athletic directors have strongly denied reports that their schools are involved in private equity funding through Elevate's $500 million College Investment Initiative. Penn State AD Pat Kraft emphasized that their relationship with Elevate is strictly limited to ticketing strategy and operations, rejecting any involvement with private equity, and stated that Penn State has no need to take private equity money. UCLA AD Martin Jarmond echoed this stance, confirming that while Elevate is a ticketing partner, no private equity funding is part of their collaboration. The denials follow reports from Sportico claiming both schools were initial partners in Elevate's initiative, which is backed by private equity firms including Velocity Capital Management and the Texas Permanent School Fund. Elevate's program aims to provide capital and strategic planning for college athletic departments, focusing on credit deals rather than equity stakes, but both schools maintain they have not engaged in such funding. These clarifications come amid a changing financial landscape in college sports following the recent House v. NCAA settlement.