- Utah spun its commercial operation into Crimson Brand Partners, a private-equity-backed company built with Otro Capital to run sponsorships, ticketing, and media for all 19 Ute programs. Here's what it actually changes.
- Utah Football connect back to University of Utah and the wider football picture.
- The story is backed by 3 sources and a visible last-verified date.
July 10, 2026
July 11, 2026
4 min / 886 words
3 official links
Utah just did something no other major public university has done with its athletics business. On July 1, 2026, the Utes launched Crimson Brand Partners, a stand-alone company — backed by private-equity firm Otro Capital — that now runs the commercial side of Utah Athletics. On July 10, the department published an update on its multimedia-rights relationship with JMI Sports, the clearest public signal yet that Utah's old vendor model is being folded into something the school controls.
This is not a naming-rights press release. It is a structural change to how a Power Four athletic department makes money, and it lands while Utah competes in the Big 12 against schools chasing the same sponsorship and media dollars.
What Crimson Brand Partners actually is
Crimson Brand Partners is a commercial operating company. The University of Utah, through the University of Utah Growth Capital Partners Foundation, partnered with Otro Capital to build it. The University of Utah Board of Trustees authorized the model on December 9, 2025, and the company began operations on July 1, 2026.
The company controls the revenue-generating machinery: events at Rice-Eccles Stadium and the Huntsman Center, branding, licensing, corporate sponsorships, ticketing, and digital media. What stays inside the athletic department is everything that touches competition — coaching, recruiting, scheduling, student-athlete support, private fundraising, and ownership of the facilities themselves. Athletic director Mark Harlan chairs the company's board; Matt Webb, who previously worked with the NFL's New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns, is the CEO.
Why a school would hand its business to a separate company
The logic is the same one that reshaped college sports over the last two years. Media-rights money, the House settlement's revenue-sharing era, and direct athlete payments have turned athletic departments into businesses that need real commercial expertise and real capital. Bringing in Otro Capital gives Utah both — outside investment and an operator-led front office — without touching the parts of the program fans actually watch.
For Utah, the payoff is meant to be sustainable revenue that funds all 19 of its athletics programs, from football and men's and women's basketball down to gymnastics, softball, skiing, and lacrosse. The risk is the one that comes with any private-equity partnership: a school is trading some independence for capital, and the arrangement has to generate enough new money to justify the outside stake.
How this connects to the JMI Sports era
Utah's multimedia rights had been handled by JMI Sports under a 10-year partnership that began on July 1, 2024. The July 10, 2026 update on that relationship is the timely piece of this story: as Crimson Brand Partners takes over commercial operations, the sponsorship and media inventory JMI packaged is exactly the kind of asset the new company is built to run in-house. The move follows a national pattern of schools deciding they would rather own their commercial upside than rent it to a third-party rights holder.
What it means for Utah athletes and local brands
The most interesting question for readers of this site is what a school-controlled commercial company does for athletes and Utah businesses. A single operator running sponsorships, ticketing, and digital media can package athlete-facing deals more directly than a traditional multimedia-rights vendor — a live thread given how much Utah's NIL market has grown. Local companies that want access to the Utes now have one commercial front door rather than several. None of that is guaranteed to favor athletes, but the structure at least puts the decisions inside a Utah-owned entity.
It also fits a broader statewide trend. Utah State launched a $2 million July fundraising match as it enters the Pac-12, and BYU is scaling its Big 12 commercial operation. The business of Utah college sports is consolidating and professionalizing at every level — a shift we track through our Utah sports partnerships coverage.
Is this the first deal of its kind?
Yes, in an important sense. School officials and national coverage have described Crimson Brand Partners as the first operating company of its type built around a major public university's athletics department. Plenty of schools have hired multimedia-rights firms or sold naming rights. Standing up a private-equity-backed company that runs the entire commercial operation is a different model — and if it works, other athletic departments will study it closely.
What to watch next
The measure of success will be revenue that shows up in Utah's programs, not the announcement itself. Watch for new sponsorship categories, changes in how Ute athletes are marketed, and whether the Crimson Brand Partners structure spreads to peers. Utah spent 2024 and 2025 adjusting to the Big 12 on the field. In 2026, its biggest change may be off it.
Key facts:
- What: Crimson Brand Partners, a stand-alone commercial operating company for Utah Athletics
- Partners: University of Utah + University of Utah Growth Capital Partners Foundation, with private-equity firm Otro Capital
- Timeline: Authorized by the Board of Trustees Dec. 9, 2025; operations launched July 1, 2026; JMI Sports relationship update published July 10, 2026
- Manages: stadium/arena events, branding, licensing, sponsorships, ticketing, digital media
- Stays with the university: coaching, recruiting, scheduling, student-athlete support, private fundraising, facility ownership
- Leadership: AD Mark Harlan (board chair); CEO Matt Webb (ex-Saints, Browns)
- Scope: funds all 19 Utah athletics programs; described as the first model of its kind at a major public university
