#361 - Jeremiah Donati - Director of Intercollegiate Athletics @ TCU - The Business and Future of College Athletics

The Fort - An Entrepreneurship Podcast

Jeremiah Donati was appointed as TCU’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics on December 11, 2017.

Since his arrival at TCU in 2011, Donati has played a major role in enhancing the TCU student-athlete experience through donor-supported facility upgrades totaling nearly $500 million.

During Donati’s tenure as athletics director, the Horned Frogs have won eight team national championships and 11 Big 12 Conference titles. In the 2023-24 athletics season, TCU was one of just five schools nationally to win multiple NCAA Championships with its titles in rifle and men's tennis.

The 2022-23 athletics season was the most successful in TCU's 150 years. TCU became the only school in the College Football Playoff era to reach the CFP, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and College World Series in the same academic year.

We discuss:

- The changing landscape of NIL, recruiting, and Private Equity entering athletics

- The process of raising capital and the business side of college athletics

- The future of conference realignment in football, coaching hiring and firing, and more

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Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:45) - Jeremiah’s career and background

(00:10:40) - The evolution of TCU as a University

(00:13:05) - Building a Power 5 School mentality

(00:16:01) - Raising money for an Athletic department

(00:19:41) - Becoming Athletic Director at TCU

(00:26:03) - The NIL dilemma

(00:33:13) - Transfer Portal issues

(00:37:57) - Is PE going to become involved in college athletics?

(00:42:52) - How do universities make money via athletics?

(00:44:04) - Coaching: Recruiting, hiring, and firing

(00:59:02) - The Caitlin Clark effect & the value of winning

(01:02:45) - The Big 12 realignment

(01:07:21) - The entertainment business within college sports

(01:09:31) - Are we moving to super-conferences?

Links:

Jeremiah on X - https://x.com/JDonati_TCU

TCU Athletics - https://gofrogs.com/

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