The Indiana Hoosiers will take the field for college football's National Championship game Monday night as the darlings of the sports world. Their head coach, Curt Cignetti, perpetually scowling beneath his 1950s crew cut, is fuel for countless memes. Their Heisman Trophy'winning quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, baby-faced and giving 'glory to God' in his postgame interviews, is a midwestern star straight out of central casting'nevermind that he's from Miami, the hometown of his Monday-night rivals. These two men, along with a team that Mendoza has described as 'a bunch of misfits,' have led the long-hapless Hoosiers to the cusp of a national title for the first time ever. Win or lose, they're being called one of the greatest underdog stories in recent sports history. The Hoosiers are, I will concede, a great story. As a midwesterner, a graduate of a Big Ten school, and someone who has spent a lot of time in Indiana, I will be pulling for them in the championship game. Unlike their opponent, the Miami Hurricanes, Indiana has never achieved anything notable in college football'except for one unenviable title: The Hoosiers entered this season as the leader in all-time college-football losses....
Perez said the membership-owned structure will remain in place but argued that a small external stake could strengthen the club. 'If someone is willing to invest significant amounts of money for a symbolic stake, this is the greatest demonstration of Real Madrid's value,' he told members, adding that any investor must respect the club's values and contribute to its long-term growth. Real Madrid is one of only four major Spanish clubs still owned by its members. About 2,000 of those members serve as delegates responsible for electing the president, approving accounts, and voting on structural changes. The move comes as private equity firms increase their presence in European football. Earlier this month, Apollo agreed to become the majority shareholder in Atletico Madrid, joining a series of international investors drawn to stable, predictable revenue streams in elite football. Real Madrid reported '1.19bn in revenue for the 2024/2025 season, the only club globally to generate more than '1bn. Net profit rose 56% to '24.3m. Forbes values the club at $6.75bn, placing it at the top of the global rankings....
Speaking at the USC Next Level Sports conference in Los Angeles, Goodell said private equity investment has become 'a source of capital, a source of liquidity for our teams,' allowing franchises to reinvest in infrastructure and strengthen their balance sheets. The NFL approved private equity investment last year, permitting funds to acquire up to 10% of a franchise through passive, non-voting stakes. Since then, several prominent alternative asset managers have taken positions in teams at record valuations. Arctos Partners has acquired shares in the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers, while Ares Management purchased part of the Miami Dolphins at an $8.1bn valuation. The Las Vegas Raiders sold 7.5% stakes each to Silver Lake Management's Egon Durban and Discovery Land Company's Michael Meldman. Earlier this month, Sixth Street agreed to buy 3% of the New England Patriots, valuing the franchise at more than $9bn. The move reflects the NFL's broader effort to modernise its ownership structure and tap into alternative capital markets, as rising franchise valuations have made full ownership increasingly difficult for individuals or families....
Kennedy v. Bremerton, the case of a high school football coach praying on the field after games, has been in the spotlight since the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling. But another football controversy first emerged in 2015, when two Christian schools in Florida made it to the state championships. The games were run by the state's high school athletic association, a government body. Association officials barred the teams from conducting a joint prayer over the loudspeaker at the public stadium before kickoff. Allowing a prayer, they said, would violate federal and constitutional law. The First Amendment's establishment clause forbids the government from establishing an official religion, from giving preference to a specific religion and from giving favor to or disfavoring religion in general. Officials at one of the schools, Cambridge Christian, filed suit, arguing that banning the prayer violated its right to free speech and to the free exercise of religion. Lower courts entered orders in the association's favor, but attorneys for the school petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case....
