On the latest episode of JohnWallStreet Presents: Big Business on Campus, a college sports podcast powered by Playfly Sports, JohnWallStreet Founder Corey Leff and Playfly Sports Chairman Michael Schreiber sit down with DePaul University Senior Vice President & Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy.

In this 50-minute conversation, the trio touch on a multitude of actionable insights including:

Why Facilities Still Matter

DePaul raised $20 million and plans to break ground on a new basketball building this summer. While college sports’ arms race has shifted from facilities to player compensation —and the money raised could theoretically be directed toward athletes— Peevy explained the project complements the school’s NIL efforts.

“If NIL is about attracting talent, facilities are about developing and retaining that talent. You can't gain and sustain success without both in this transfer portal era.... Let's say we bring in someone that develops into the freshman of the year in our league, those are targeted [players] for other leagues. So, if we don't have [resources] in place to retain first our best, we're going to be behind consistently,” he said. “A dedicated facility also improves our operational capabilities every day, including [with] recovery [and] film.”

Market Presence Fuels Growth

DePaul Athletics views its Chicago location as one of the program’s greatest advantages. 

“We're in the third largest media market in the country, and of those, the most college focused… [But] we're still underfunded for revenue based on our market position,” Peevy said. 

To close that gap, the school has spent much of the past five years raising its local profile through media appearances, tie-ups with the city’s professional sports teams and other high-visibility activations (see: sponsorship of a car in NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race, coaches leading the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley). The next step is converting the increased awareness into spending.

“Corporate partnerships, obviously, but [there are opportunities to grow the top line via] alumni engagement events, premium game day experiences, NIL opportunities tied to local brands [and men’s basketball ticket sales]. Those are still [revenue streams] that we can really grow,” Peevy said. “Chicago's looking at us differently now for the first time [since the early 80s] and it's exciting.”

Relevancy > Legacy

Next-gen fans and recruits are more likely to be influenced by a brand or program’s recent momentum than past results (see: Champion and Abercrombie & Fitch enjoying resurgences).

“Young people only know what's happened in the last two or three years. So, the history doesn't matter,” Peevy said. That explains “why you're seeing people talk about the bluebloods [not having] as many advantages [as they used to. There is now an opportunity for any University to become] a major school in a young person's mind in a short period of time.”

📺 Watch the full video on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube page. 
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

We’ll be back with the next episode of JohnWallStreet Presents: Big Business on Campus in two weeks. East Carolina University Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert will be our guest.

Previous episodes of BBOC, including sit-downs with Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, Arizona AD Desiree Reed-Francois, Maryland AD Jim Smith, American Commissioner Tim Pernetti, Pittsburgh AD Allen Greene, Wake Forest AD John Currie, Kansas AD Travis Goff, Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris, Big Sky Conference Commissioner Tom Wistrcill, SMU AD Damon Evans, Ohio State AD Ross Bjork, West Virginia President Michael Benson, Weatherford Capital Founding Partner Drew Weatherford, IMG Academy CEO Brent Richard and USA Fencing CEO Phil Andrews on the Enrollment Cliff, Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould, St. John’s AD Ed Kull, Army AD Tom Theodorakis, Alabama AD Greg Byrne, Clemson AD Graham Neff, and Rutgers AD Keli Zinn and Scarlet Knight Enterprises Chairman Oliver Luck can be found on  JohnWallStreet’s YouTube channel.

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In the latest episode, The Sports Advisors talk local sports media.

We explore how the NBA and NHL’s competing models are expected to affect team finances and reshape the buying and selling of local inventory, the role of emerging technology, and whether centralization is ultimately the inevitable end state across the NHL, NBA, and MLB.

As always, you can connect with a member of the JohnWallStreet Advisory team by sending a note to [email protected]. In fact, we encourage it!

📺 Watch the full video on JohnWallStreet’s YouTube page. 
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.