Why Oklahoma State’s Chad Weiberg Made Right Call Passing on Private Capital

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are the latest school to pass on the Big 12’s private capital deal. Here’s why they’re smart to pass.

Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One by one, each of the Big 12 Conference’s members considers the private capital line of credit being offered by the league’s new deal. One by one, they pass.

Oklahoma State is the latest school to take a pass on the one-time, $30 million line of credit being offered through RedBird Capital and Weatherford. Athletic Director Chad Weiberg announced that during an appearance on Inside OSU Athletics, the school’s official podcast hosted by Dave Hunziker.

While Weiberg credited Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark’s deal-making, he said the line of credit is not something he’s pursuing.

“As of right now, that is something that Oklahoma State will not do at this point,” he said. “Should we need something like that, we believe we have other avenues or levers we could pull first before that. But again, I applaud the commissioner for making those options available to us.”

There are two good reasons for Oklahoma State to pass, though it can accept the line of credit anytime during the first year of the Big 12’s five-year deal with the private equity firms that was reported in April.

Why OSU is Right to Pass on Private Capital

OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg. | DOUG HOKE/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The first reason is what the Cowboys might have to do to pay back the money. No one was under the impression that the $30 million was free. But it comes with more strings attached than some may have expected.

Not only would Oklahoma State have to pay back the $30 million, but it would have to pay a double-digit interest rate overtime, according to a report in ESPN. That double-digit interest rate is akin to the interest rate an ordinary consumer might pay for a credit card. It's an option that clearly wasn't palatable for Weiberg and his leadership team.

Second, when Weiberg said he has other levers to pull, he’s not kidding. Matt Brown of Extra Points (subscription required) reports on the business side of college athletics. He recently wrote about the revenue that each athletic department generated per public disclosures for the 2024-25 fiscal year. This is money the athletic department generated, not money it received in subsidies from the school.

Per Brown’s reporting, no Big 12 school that was required to report its revenue generated more revenue for 2024-25 than Oklahoma State. Brown reported it was $150.6 million and OSU generated nearly 100% of it on its own from everything including tickets saves and television rights to booster contributions and sponsorships. On Brown’s list, OSU was ranked No. 31. The list did not include any schools that are not required to disclose revenue, including private schools.

It’s not that OSU couldn’t use more revenue. It’s that between what it has and the terms of the private line of credit, Weiberg has better choices to increase the athletic department’s revenue. He’s right to take a pass.