Latest news with #RyanBrowne
Indianapolis Star
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Why this quarterback left Purdue football for Bill Belichick, and returns to 'home for me'
Ryan Browne spent two seasons at Purdue before transferring to North Carolina in December. In nine games (two starts) at Purdue, Browne completed 55 of 92 passes for 636 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions, and rushed for 240 yards. Ryan Browne's return to Purdue football comes with a potential windfall – though not necessarily in financial terms. Browne said he lost over a semester's worth of academic progress by transferring to North Carolina in December. He majored in sales at Purdue, but the Chapel Hill campus did not offer an equivalent degree focus. While his quarterback skills transferred, the same could not be said for all of his credit hours. Browne, who committed to Purdue out of the transfer portal last week, expects around 20 credits back toward that sales degree when he reenrolls this summer. He first needs to take final exams in advertising and communications classes a UNC. He's optimistic those credits will travel, too. At the time of his transfer decision, Browne thought what he could gain at North Carolina under new coach Bill Belichick warranted the cost of leaving Purdue. Four months later, with the Tar Heels ' quarterback situation still in flux and additional transfers coming in, Browne decided to return to the place he called "home for me." 'I learned a lot here, but I think I was always supposed to have been at Purdue,' Browne told IndyStar from Chapel Hill on Monday. 'When I went back this weekend it felt exactly right.' So why leave in the first place? After spending most of last season as Hudson Card's backup, Browne made a memorable starting debut in an overtime loss at Illinois. He started once more, against then-No. 1 Oregon, before Card returned from injury. With Card out of eligibility, Browne would have merited strong consideration to start, even with Barry Odom's coaching staff coming in after Ryan Walters' firing. Browne kept open the option of returning to Purdue after entering his name in the NCAA transfer portal Dec. 3. He met with Odom and spoke with quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw and offensive coordinator Josh Henson on the phone. He said he was 'really close to coming back.' Then, North Carolina hired Belichick on Dec. 11. Soon, he was on the phone with the New England Patriots' six-time Super Bowl-winning coach. 'The opportunity to play for Bill Belichick is unbelievable,' Browne said. 'I think it would have been silly of me not to take that opportunity and see football at its highest level from coach.' Browne committed to North Carolina on Dec. 19. For the next four months, while a four-way quarterback competition unfolded in West Lafayette, Browne participated in a similarly wide-open battle in Chapel Hill. Over those four months he spent numerous meetings and film sessions with Belichick. Each one contained valuable minutiae, which Browne said piled up over time. 'Looking at really small things – linebacker alignments and what the front says for the coverage,' Browne said. 'Really breaking down the game to Xs and Os. Learning how to see what a defense is going to do before they do it pre-snap – that's something I learned a lot about." In addition to the signal callers who practiced alongside Browne this spring, North Carolina recently brought in former South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez. Former Arizona State and Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada – the top-ranked quarterback in the portal this spring – will reportedly visit Wednesday. Browne left behind that ongoing competition for Purdue's. Bennett Meredith, Browne's teammate the past two seasons, Arkansas transfer Malachi Singleton and Washington State transfer Evans Chuba remain from the spring battle. Browne only knows Purdue's coaches like him and he will be given a chance to compete. After finally meeting and watching film with Hinshaw and Henson in person on his visit, he's eager to catch up on what he missed during the spring. As is customary for official visits, Purdue blocked off some time on the itinerary for tours. In a true sign of the times in college football, on this visit, the recruiting target made for the better tour guide. 'Coach (Neal) Posey showed me around a little bit - well, I guess I showed him around a little bit,' Browne said.
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Private Equity's Next Big Shopping Spree: College Football
Wisconsin's Xavier Lucas (6) breaks up a pass intended for Purdue's Ryan Browne (15) during the ... More second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) The latest shockwave to hit college football may come from private equity. As billions of dollars in TV revenue have flooded into Power Four football and top players are able to bring in six and seven figure name-image-likeness (NIL) deals, it's impossible to ignore the fact that college football is a business. Big business. These are professional student athletes, and the teams are major sports franchises. But, at the same time, it's an industry that is being heavily disrupted. In other words, college football is a ripe hunting ground for hedge funds and private equity. We've arrived at this point because of a potent mix of explosive growth and poor leadership. The NCAA has fumbled repeatedly during the NIL transition, and most athletic directors are ill-equipped to run businesses generating tens of millions in revenue annually. For proof, look no further than two clear examples: This deficit, coupled with an explosion of revenue, creates an opportunity for savvy institutional investors to get in on the action by actually owning a college football program. This is virtually guaranteed to happen at some point in the near future, and the results will be a cautionary tale to the rest of college athletics. While many in college athletics may scoff at this idea, it's entirely plausible under current conditions. Investors are already out pitching to schools and conferences. The Big Ten Conference is already taking bids with an assist from Evercore. In all likelihood, the first university to sign a major deal will likely be a smaller Power Four football program. While the biggest programs will have no problem paying players and putting together big NIL packages, smaller schools will likely struggle to be competitive. This is the opening that a firm needs. They'll approach one of these smaller programs with an offer of $150 million (or more) for 51% of the say in how they run their football program. For an AD with little business experience trying to put together a winning program, this will look like a good deal. Cash up front to build a team and a promise from the guys in suits to juice revenue in the future. The problem, of course, is that as soon as this deal is done, revenue growth will become the only priority. The investors won't balk at putting in their own athletics director and putting profits ahead of players, education, fans, and the institution. That's a horrible, horrible long-term decision for the university, but it's entirely plausible. What would it take to insulate college athletics from these forces? For one thing, the D1 revenue sports need to spin off from the NCAA so that they can establish common sense rules around revenue sharing, pay-for-play, binding contracts, transfer rules and a salary cap. For another, university's need to get smart quick on the world of professional sports. They can't wait until a deal's put in front of them to have their own experts in house. They need to start hiring people who can run their football programs like a business now. Private equity definitely has an interest in college sports, and college football is a business, but that doesn't mean that it has to lose its soul in the name of profit. Instead, it needs smart, responsible people ready to make some tough decisions. That's the only play that counts.
