By Luke Fountain

Copyright cnbc

For his part, Yormark dismissed the notion that college sports are in “financial crisis,” saying warnings were “overly provocative.” But he stressed that schools are doubling down because athletics has become central to their brands.

“Our presidents, our boards, our athletic departments, understand that athletics sits at the front porch of all these universities. They recognize that now it drives everything in the ecosystem,” Yormark said. “[The schools] understand that investing in athletics is the right thing to be doing.”

That investment may soon include private capital. Yormark said the Big 12 has studied outside partnerships, though he ruled out a direct equity sale. Phillips and Ackerman said their conferences are each fielding proposals from Wall Street.

“We’re not going to sell a stake in this conference,” Yormark said. “But do we partner with someone strategically that provides different types of resources, capital, strategic resources? That potentially could happen.”

Conferences are also rethinking how to carve up television money. The ACC has shifted to an incentive-based model that distributes media rights revenue partly by TV viewership and postseason performance.

“You can go hunt what you kill,” Phillips said. “If you’re 4-8 in football or 12-2 and make the playoff, you’re going to get a bigger slice.”

Yormark said the Big 12 may consider similar changes but not immediately, given the integration of eight new schools.

As for pooling television rights across conferences ——— a move some say could mirror the NFL — Yormark dismissed the idea.

“Scarcity drives demand. Demand creates value,” he said. “Hope isn’t a strategy… In theory, it works, but the devil is in the details.”

Despite the cost pressures, all three commissioners saw growth potential in new sports, particularly women’s volleyball, which is drawing record TV audiences and sellout crowds.

“I think volleyball is a safe bet,” Yormark said.