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Can Vanderbilt Enterprises drive meaningful impact for the Commodores?
It starts with driving revenue.
Matt Brown
July 07, 2025
Good morning, and thanks for spending part of your day with Extra Points.
Quick note: I am actually on vacation right now. If everything has gone correctly, I should be on a flight to Brazil. I will return to the United States on July 18. But worry not! There will be Extra Points newsletters publishing while I’m away!
I suspect I could write a story just about every week about how different schools are trying to secure new revenue streams. Some of those strategies will be relatively conventional: to sell more tickets, raise prices, increase multimedia and licensing revenue, etc.
Others will be completely different. And that’s what caught my attention about Vanderbilt.
Last month, the school announced the formation of a new entity called Vanderbilt Enterprises, with Markus Schreyer, a former hospitality executive, as the new CEO. Per the release:
Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier has appointed global hospitality leader Markus Schreyer as CEO of the newly created Vanderbilt Enterprises, a strategic initiative designed to advance mission-aligned ventures that generate sustainable new revenue streams and support strategic priorities. Schreyer will begin his role on June 1, 2025. An initial focus will be on enhancing Vanderbilt Athletics resources, support for student-athletes and the fan experience.
…
Schreyer will work closely with Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director Candice Storey Lee and her team to explore new approaches that generate new financial resources to support Vanderbilt Athletics and the university’s broader ambitions. This work reflects Vanderbilt’s bold vision for the future of college athletics and will draw on a range of industry best practices, including from professional sports organizations and hospitality, and adapt them for the university setting.
…
The scope of Vanderbilt Enterprises will expand to include new ventures and partnerships that unlock the potential of the university’s resources—such as campus facilities, services and merchandising—in ways that support the academic mission and position the university for long-term growth.
It makes sense that if Vanderbilt were to create some separate entity to help support athletic department or university priorities, it would lean on the hospitality and tourism industries. Nashville is increasingly important as a tourism and event destination, and since Vanderbilt doesn’t have the same brand identity or assets as some other SEC institutions, the school would be smart to lean into its own competitive advantages.
But is Vanderbilt Enterprises something akin to Clemson Ventures as a supporting organization? Is it closer to the new LLC model for Kentucky? Is it something else altogether?
I didn’t know. So I asked Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Storey Lee.
Priority one? Revenue.
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