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Howard men’s basketball coach Kenny Blakeney’s ambitious plans to sell a stake of his program to private equity investors in exchange for a huge influx of cash has seemingly hit a snag. Blakeney’s designs, reported earlier this month by the Washington Post as a first-of-its-kind idea wherein he proposed selling a 1/3 stake of the Howard program for $100 million, was repudiated by Howard athletic director Kery Davis. Davis told ESPN that Blakeney’s plans “reflect his own personal ideas and have not been vetted by University leadership.”
“Men’s Basketball Head Coach Kenny Blakeney is a terrific leader of young men and has made a significant contribution to our Athletics Department and the University at large, recruiting phenomenal student-athletes and navigating the program to consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances the last two seasons,” Davis told ESPN. “Like all of our coaches and athletic administrators, Coach Blakeney continues to enthusiastically explore ideas to generate financial support that will allow our student-athletes to be more competitive as they represent the University. Over the years, we have been extremely fortunate to secure sponsorships and gifts that have tremendously helped our 21 Division I teams, from a multi-million-dollar renovation of our training facility to covering expenses for student-athletes to engage in cultural enrichment programs allowing them to travel and compete abroad.”
Blakeney told the Washington Post in July that his intentions to put a stake of the program up for bid stemmed from frustrations over what he perceives to be a two-tiered system in college athletics. To keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the sport, which will soon allow schools to share revenue with athletes, he consulted with a private equity firm in June. He also met with private equity investors in Las Vegas in July to pitch the proposal. Proceeds from any potential sale, he says, would go towards improving the arena and roster and eventually going independent or joining a larger conference.
“I don’t want to have a two-tiered system where we’re not able to compete for the NCAA tournament or the national championship,” Blakeney told the Post. “And from what I’m hearing right now, that is a real possibility, that there’s going to be an NCAA tournament that isn’t going to include everyone else; it’s just going to include those Power Four [conference] universities and maybe the Big East. That’s not what I signed up for.”
Because of a seismic agreement between the House and the NCAA last month, schools beginning in 2025-26 will be allowed to share up to 22% of total revenue with future athletes in a huge development for Name, Image and Likeness. This development could set coaches and administrators out on similar quests to secure funding for the future. Discussions with private equity have already taken place in the Big 12 and elsewhere in recent months.
