For this week’s post, we spoke with KC Smurthwaite, a consultant in the college sports world. He offers his thoughts and insights on a variety of topics for us.
MWCConnection:
Can you explain where your role as a consultant fits into the sports world? I’m sure it’s a broad role, but what do you tend to focus on?
Smurthwaite:
There are many reasons to bring in a consultant, but I’m usually called in to help with what I’d call the “blindside” of an athletic department—the things that get overlooked or don’t have a dedicated staff member handling them. Because I work with multiple schools and sports organizations, I bring real-time insights into industry trends, best practices, and strategies that are working elsewhere.
At times, I take the lead on key projects, like managing an apparel search. I have existing relationships with industry partners, which allows me to streamline the process and provide insight into the market. These searches are time-consuming, and bringing in a consultant for a short-term, focused effort is often more efficient than pulling an internal staff member away from their primary role for months.
I’ve also stepped in as an interim leader when departments lose key employees. This industry moves fast, and losing the wrong person at the wrong time—especially in revenue generation—can be a major setback.
One of our most popular programs is the jersey program—we partner with schools to purchase jerseys and auction them off. Lately, we’ve also become a go-to for creating alternate identities for schools, taking inspiration from the MiLB approach. We take on the financial risk by covering the upfront costs, but it’s a program we believe in and have been running for several years. It also helps that I’m a total logo and branding nerd—I could talk about this all day, but I’ll stop here to spare everyone!
Overall, most of my work ties back to revenue generation because that’s what drives the bus. Whether it’s fundraising, sponsorships, ticketing strategies, or apparel deals, I take on projects that pay for themselves and then some.
Unlike many consultants, I don’t just provide a report and walk away. I prefer to roll up my sleeves, get in the trenches, and execute the plan. Athletic directors get plenty of free advice from fans and donors—I want to ensure we make money for these student-athletes.
MWCConnection:
How did you get into the sports world, and what roles have you held? What led you to consulting?
Smurthwaite:
I started as a JUCO baseball player, but injuries piled up, and I transitioned into coaching as an undergrad assistant. That turned into a full-time coaching role in college baseball and softball, where I helped turn around two programs with a combined 35-year losing streak.
From there, I moved into compliance, then into revenue generation and sport oversight at two different schools. I also worked for ESPN’s nonprofit, the V Foundation, which gave me tremendous insight and opportunities with some high-level individuals and organizations.
Consulting wasn’t something I planned—it all started to line up. As I built my career, I kept getting calls from people in the industry asking me to work for them. Instead of picking just one opportunity, I built a role where I could work across multiple organizations.
That said, I don’t see myself as a traditional consultant. I think of myself more as a contract employee brought in for specific projects. I work as an extension of the department.
MWCConnection:
Conference realignment is a hot topic out west, especially with the Mountain West and the Pac-12. Any thoughts on when the Pac-12 will add its eighth football member? Is the Mountain West done expanding?
Smurthwaite:
I don’t expect any major moves until after March Madness. Conferences and schools use that time for networking, coaching interviews, and strategic planning, so realignment talks tend to stay quiet until after the tournament.
That said, I expect more concrete developments by mid-to-late spring. Right now, a lot of the discussion revolves around non-Saturday game slots—weeknight games are valuable for TV deals, and if the Pac-12 embraces streaming and schedules more Thursday and Friday games, that increases the value of their media package.
At this point, realignment is more about content than context. Networks care more about filling valuable TV windows than which schools are playing. While adding the right schools matters, the core value is already there.
As for numbers, I don’t see the Pac-12 reaching $20 million per school in media payouts, but even doubling or tripling their previous revenue is a win. I also expect the Mountain West’s next TV deal to grow—media rights don’t trend backward. They’re well-positioned for an increase with limited schools in their time zone. Remember, context and content are at play here.
On paper, the Mountain West is done expanding, but they’ll always be open to the right opportunity. I’d bet on UC Davis becoming a full member by the end of the decade—probably sooner.
There’s been a lot of social media buzz about UNLV, but the reality is that nothing is in motion. Unless their new president makes a push, a move isn’t happening. Financially, they’re not in the best shape, but that’s nothing new in college athletics. UNLV also has the unique challenge of managing the Thomas & Mack Center within their athletic budget, and with new attractions in Las Vegas, they’ve struggled to keep up there.
That said, UNLV remains a long-term target for the Big 12. If the Big 12 expands again in the next five years, UNLV is in the mix, in fact, a top-three target. They don’t need Pac-12 money to make that jump. They can dominate a rebuilt Mountain West, with the conference HQ to Vegas (which was part of the expansion deal), and collect a nice payout while setting themselves up for the next move.
MWCConnection:
Some fans still hope for a Mountain West-Pac-12 merger….
Smurthwaite:
On paper, a merger makes a lot of sense—especially for the Mountain West. But mergers take two willing parties, and the Pac-12 doesn’t need that to happen.
A lot hinges on the legal battles surrounding poaching fees and the House settlement. If that settlement forces the Pac-12 to reconsider its position, a merger could become more viable. But for now, it’s not a real option. Then there is the revenue sharing changes coming to college football.
I believe the news around the block is they are all opting in. However, the real question is how much will they be sharing.
It’s going to vary—a lot.
Some schools across the country are opting in but not planning on revenue sharing. Look for some more insight, well, a course correction from the NCAA on that topic shortly, which will add another layer to the drama that currently isn’t being discussed.
It’s all a PR and recruiting narrative at play—some schools feel pressured to opt in to attract recruits. But in reality, athletes can still receive NIL money, and schools can expand their Alston payments (capped at roughly $6,000 per year from the school).
This whole situation is forcing universities to ask a fundamental question: What do we really want from our athletic programs? Too often, athletics and academics have conflicting priorities. This shift is making schools define their commitment more clearly.
MWCConnection:
You’ve been involved in two conference realignment transitions (Southern Utah and Hawai’i). What happens behind the scenes when a school changes conferences?
Smurthwaite:
Southern Utah and Hawai’i were two very different situations.
With Hawai’i, I was a consultant—not in the office daily, but working closely with them. One of my roles was putting together pitch decks and data for both Mountain West and Pac-12 presentations. There was real interest in a full Mountain West or Pac-12 membership from the fans and donor base. The goal was the Pac-12, and that’s still an option down the road.
Some people think Hawai’i settled for the Mountain West, but that’s not the case. It was a strong move that didn’t prevent them from future opportunities. The feedback was given from the conversations is that there was an interest, but the “cost-benefits” were aligned at the time with the direction of the conference. I believe they thought the media numbers would be higher and could attract more central and eastern time zone candidates.
Southern Utah’s realignment was an entirely different process—it came out of nowhere, fell apart, and then resurfaced. Realignment is always about positioning a school for a better future, whether financially or by aligning with like-minded institutions.
Initially, a media partner played a key role, but when that fell through, the approach shifted to the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. A few individuals were sold on the dream of moving to FBS, but it was a long shot, a very long shot. The decision was polarizing, and many of us (coaches to administration) wrestled with it, but we were team players and did our best to make it work.
MWCConnection:
Look into your crystal ball—what does collegiate athletics look like at the end of the decade, specifically out west?
Smurthwaite:
I believe we’ll see massive cuts to higher education, which will put even more pressure on the athletic-academic fault line. The enrollment cliff is looming, and while money is booming in sports, that imbalance is bound to trigger a major reaction.
I see some form of a new division emerging in collegiate athletics—not necessarily a formal NCAA division, but a breakaway driven by private equity or a major player launching a new league outside the NCAA’s umbrella. We’re already seeing hints of this, like U.S. Soccer’s move to create a new league separate from the NCAA. And that won’t be the last sport to make that shift. Let’s just say… hockey conversations are gaining traction, too.
Unfortunately, schools will cut sports, and some may drop athletics altogether. Others might take an Idaho-like approach—moving down a division or dropping football scholarships.
I’m especially curious to see how Sacramento State’s worst-kept secret—a move to independence—plays out. It could be one of the fastest rises to the top, or it could completely bankrupt the school. Either way, I’m here for the ride. Where’s the documentary crew? They better be leveraging this for a series. Sign me up. Go Hornets!
A few more predictions:
- Tarleton State goes FBS and pays the higher transition fee.
- UNLV joins the Big 12.
- A major issue surfaces in the Pac-12 v2.0, with tension centered around Washington State and Oregon State’s stacked power.
- Utah State makes the Sweet 16.
- Craig Smith takes another Western school to the Big Dance.
- Another Utah State basketball coach leaves, struggles elsewhere, and “Spectrum Magic” continues.
- High Point Basketball makes the Sweet 16. It’s not a western thing, but trust me on this.
- More schools reclassifying up and down for D1 schools. Look for D3 to become a popular landing spot for those schools.
- New Mexico State changes conferences.
- Third-party corporate partnership giants like Learfield start losing schools as revenue-sharing reaches an all-time high, leading programs to bring those operations in-house.
- And of course—Athletics Admin keeps growing as a respected partner in collegiate athletics.
Want to continue the conversation? Feel free to follow KC on Twitter/X (@KcSmurthwaite) or on LinkedIn
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