00 The Infrastructure Thesis for College Sports
Owning the
fan relationship.
A scalable college sports infrastructure platform for identity, engagement, and commerce.
01 Market Signals
Fragmented ecosystems are breaking down.
Capital is entering sports assets faster than the infrastructure that monetizes them.
01 ▸
Capital entering college athletics
Private Equity
Utah / Otro transaction
Donor Equity
Project Northstar — donor-funded NewCos tied to athletic programs
02 ▸
Athletic departments restructuring revenue
Rutgers Scarlet Knights Enterprises centralizing athletic revenue and growth. Advisory firms forming around commercialization (Field Level Advisors).
03 ▸
Vendor dissatisfaction accelerating
Schools are questioning vendor ecosystems (Sidearm, Learfield); teams recognizing the need to modernize digital monetization.
02 Case Study · Utah 360
Where this started.
A direct-to-fan platform built with Utah Athletics — proving identity, engagement, and monetization could live in one system.
50K
Verified fans
of 350K addressable
80%
Monthly active rate
across registered users
20
Integrated surfaces
content · commerce · social
What it proved
Fans will consolidate around a team-owned surface if the experience is unified, personalized, and rewarding.
Where it hit limits
Monetization stalled against fragmented identity, ticketing vendors, and siloed commerce data.
Engagement proved the model.
Monetization hit the limits of fragmented identity, data, and systems.
Monetization hit the limits of fragmented identity, data, and systems.
◆ Utah 360 · v1 Product Surface
One app. Twenty surfaces.
Built with Utah Athletics
01 / 18
Onboard
Landing
Direct · team-owned · measurable
→ precursor to Digital Spine
03 From Tools to System
A connected system for fan experience and revenue.
Two views · one spine
Identity · engagement · commerce
Identity · engagement · commerce
◇ Fan Experience View
One fan. One login.
Personalized content, loyalty, tickets, merch — in flow.
IDENTITY · ENGAGEMENT · COMMERCE · UNIFIED
04 The Thesis · Structural Gap
The Thesis
Assets appreciate.
Infrastructure compounds.
The asset layer has repriced. The infrastructure layer has not. Early control of identity, engagement, and commerce defines the category.
Today · Exposure
Asset ownership
Team equity, media rights, stadiums — the visible layer of sports capital.
LINEAR · CAPEX-HEAVY
Emerging · Leverage
Infrastructure layer
Identity, engagement, commerce — the compounding layer across sports assets.
COMPOUNDING · PORTFOLIO LEVERAGE
The four-part thesis
Assumption → Path Forward
01
Assumption
Essential. Infrastructure now defines fan value.
02
Problem
Fragmented. Teams don't own the fan relationship.
03
Opportunity
Unified. One platform becomes the infrastructure layer.
04
Path Forward
Portfolio. Consolidate before category winners harden.
05 Category
The infrastructure opportunity in sports tech.
▸
Rapid growth at 22% CAGR — $18.9B → $61.7B.
▸
$8B in VC/PE funding (2023).
▸
Fragmented systems beginning to converge into unified platforms.
▸
First-party identity emerging as the core value driver.
SOURCES: GRAND VIEW RESEARCH · PITCHBOOK · DELOITTE SPORTS TECH OUTLOOK
Global Sports Tech TAM
+22% CAGR
2024 → 2030
06 The Problem
Schools don't own the fan relationship. Vendors do.
The infrastructure that monetizes fans is controlled by vendors, not schools.
What schools rent
The dependencies.
Ticketing platforms↳ vendor
Sponsorship representation↳ vendor
Web & app vendors↳ vendor
NIL marketplaces↳ vendor
CRM systems↳ vendor
What they don't own
The value.
First-party fan identity◆ core
Persistent engagement history◆ core
Unified data — tickets · media · commerce◆ core
Direct-to-fan monetization engine◆ core
As a result, engagement is fragmented. Revenue does not compound.
07 Lived Example
Life without a digital spine.
Example: one athletics email = nine separate systems.
Ticketing
Ticketing
Merchandise
Merchandise
Content / Podcasts
Content / Podcasts
Fragmentation prevents fan identity and monetization.
Ticketing
Event Schedules
Merchandise
ESPN Viewing
Podcasts and Videos
Ticket renewals / Interest Lists
Mobile Wallet Instructions
Utah 360 app
AD and coach podcasts
×
No unified fan identity
×
No persistent engagement history
×
No compounding revenue loop
08 College Sports
Massive scale.
Missing infrastructure.
Massive fan scale, but no unified digital infrastructure to monetize it.
◆ Scale
$4.3B
Annual ecosystem
190M+
National fan base
New capital entering college athletics — NewCos, PE, donor capital — now expects institutional-level revenue growth.
× Structural & Monetization Gap
—No unified fan identity across channels
—No scalable direct-to-fan engine
—NIL commerce not integrated into identity systems
—Revenue is episodic, not compounding
Per-school Opportunity
Illustrative · platform-enabled addressable
$1.5M – $3M+ per school
Sponsorship & advertising
Commerce (merch, upsell)
NIL / marketplace
Secondary sports + in-venue spend (tickets, concessions, upgrades)
Scale Math · Supporting
A platform serving 50–70 schools — the scale lens behind the per-school economics.
College sports fans, nationally
190M
× Engaged direct-to-fan audience
1%
× Monthly value per fan
$5
= Annual revenue opportunity
~$110M
09 The Digital Spine · The Missing Revenue Layer
The Digital Spine — the missing revenue layer.
A unified system for recurring revenue and long-term value.
Assembled for speed & control ·
BUILD
proprietary spine
ACQUIRE
proven vendors
INTEGRATE
existing systems
Today's state
Vendor-controlled systemsticketing · NIL · sponsorship · web
No unified fan identitysame fan, eight systems, no memory
Data fragmented across platformsno feedback loop, no compounding value
No direct-to-fan revenue enginemonetization leaks to intermediaries
The Digital Spine replaces these gaps with a single loop.
Own the identity.
Own the revenue loop.
Identity
BUILD
Unified, verified first-party accounts.
Foundation of every monetizable interaction.
Content
ACQUIRE
Player access, BTS, live scores, streaming.
Premium pre-roll & mid-roll inventory.
Engagement
ACQUIRE
Trivia, predictions, streaks, prizes.
Passive fans → daily active users.
Loyalty
BUILD
Points, tiers, badges, unlocks, discounts.
Drives habit formation & retention.
Commerce
INTEGRATE
Shoppable moments, tickets, merch, NIL.
Direct revenue capture layer.
Data
BUILD
Predictive models, churn, segmentation.
Feeds intelligence back — compounding value.
10 The Sports Technology Stack
The sports technology stack is fragmented.
Every vendor touches the fan. No platform owns the relationship.
Leagues / Teams
▸ own the asset
Content · Media
video · rights · distribution
Fan Engagement
apps · content · community
Commerce
ticketing · merch · payments
Infrastructure · Data
cloud · data · identity
The Fan Relationship
Today · Scattered
Identityunowned
Engagementfragmented
Commerceoutsourced
Datasiloed
Digital Spine unifies
Tomorrow · Owned
One owned
relationship.
relationship.
IdentityEngagementCommerceData
Owned by the team. Compounding every touch.
Representative Vendor Categories
Four dimensions · four vendor sets
Identity
Engagement
Commerce
Data
The conclusion
Every vendor touches the fan. No platform owns the relationship.
↓ §12
11 The Digital Spine Platform
The Digital Spine Platform.
Identity, Engagement, Commerce — connected through data and AI.
01
Identity Layer
Own the fan relationship.
— Account creation
— Fan profiles
— Cross-platform integration
Unified identity across all fan touchpoints.
02
Engagement Layer
Turn passive fans into active users.
— Video & content systems
— Fan engagement platforms
— Loyalty programs
— Gamification
Drive daily usage and creation.
03
Commerce Layer
Convert engagement into recurring revenue.
— Ticketing integrations
— Merchandise
— NIL retail
— Membership & subscriptions
Turning fan engagement into recurring revenue.
Connected through a unified data layer.
Identity + Engagement + Commerce = The Digital Spine
12 Business Model
How the platform captures value.
Three compounding revenue streams — aligned with how fans, schools, and brands already spend.
Revenue flow
Three streams · one platform
01 · Recurring
Platform Fee
Paid by schools & programs.
— Annual license to run the Spine
— Seat-based pricing for staff tools
— Scales with program tier & size
02 · Variable
Transaction Participation
A share of commerce on the platform.
— Tickets, merchandise, NIL retail
— Memberships & subscriptions
— Take-rate scales with fan activity
03 · Expansion
Advertising & Sponsorship
Brand dollars routed through first-party data.
— Programmatic & direct inventory
— Sponsored surfaces & rewards
— Attribution tied to verified identity
Recurring base. Variable upside. Brand-funded margin.
Fee + Take-rate + Sponsorship
13 Why College, Why Now
College is the entry
point.
College is the first scalable entry point to prove and own the infrastructure layer. The window is open now — and it closes once the category consolidates.
Contact
Derek J. Mattsson
Digital Spine · May 2026
Proprietary &
Confidential
Confidential
Three converging forces
01
Capital is repositioning
— NewCos, donor capital, and PE interest accelerating
— Institutional pressure to modernize revenue
— NIL reshaping the economic structure of the sport
Inflow
02
Infrastructure is un-owned
— Vendor-fragmented digital systems across every program
— No unified fan identity layer exists today
— No recurring DTC revenue engine at the program level
Vacuum
03
First mover owns the category
— 50–70 Power Conference programs — addressable now
— Proven engagement model (Utah 360) de-risks the wedge
— The window closes once the category consolidates
Window
Assets appreciate. Infrastructure compounds.
The asset layer has repriced.
The infrastructure layer has not.
The infrastructure layer has not.