Howard University basketball coach seeks $100M investment

Howard University head basketball coach Kenny Blakeney is reportedly searching for a buyer or group of buyers to accumulate one-third of the Howard University basketball program for as much as $100 million.

According to Blakeney it’s in search of a solution to give HBCUs any possible advantage in the brand new university labor market after the introduction of NIL.

As he told the outlet, “College sports is a legitimate business now. The whole idea is to not get left behind. It’s, ‘How do we get ourselves involved?’ I don’t want to have a two-tiered system where we can’t compete for the NCAA tournament or the national championship.”

Blakeney continued, “And from what I’m hearing now, it’s a real possibility that there’s going to be an NCAA tournament where it’s not everybody else, just these Power Four universities and maybe the Big East. That’s not what I signed up for.”

For this purpose Blakeney has I spent a lot of the summer throwing potential investors. But Ricky Volante, an attorney and former CEO of the Professional Collegiate League, says such a deal can be an issue unless the coach proves he can provide investors with a return on their investment.

“As far as the revenue part goes, it’s a chicken and egg thing,” Volante said. “The coach is going to have to show that someone sees this as a real investment, not something that’s altruistically driven. They’re going to have to show how that person is getting a return, and in college sports, ultimately it’s driven by media revenue. Outside of Notre Dame and Texas, everyone else’s media revenue is driven by the conference.”

Volante added that how the NCAA settlement is resolved may have a significant impact on how Blakeney’s plan is implemented, if not whether it’s implemented in any respect.

“The potential unknown here is how the House case and the settlement could affect all of this. If this settlement is indeed approved and enforced by a court as part of the federal legislation, would the NCAA have the authority to look at this and say, ‘Absolutely not?'” Volante said.

According to , Blakeney has not discussed the matter together with his bosses at Howard, and is waiting to see if he can persuade potential investors. Blakeney told the newspaper that he desires to get ahead of the chance before it’s too late and sees it as crucial for the Howard University basketball program.

“We’re just at the beginning,” Blakeney said. “But I feel like there’s a short window of opportunity because NIL is moving at such speed, the transfer portal is moving, the professionalism of our company is changing. This sh— has to happen quickly. There have to be some conversations.”

Blakeney continued: “I don’t care (what other people think). This is what we’re dealing with. And if we don’t pay attention to what’s hitting us in the face, then we’re not looking at it the right way.”