Elevate, a global leader in sports and entertainment strategy, today bolstered its prominent collegiate division by entering into a definitive agreement to purchase Intersect Partners, a transaction that remains subject to customary closing conditions. The move accelerates Elevate’s ability to pursue the most visible and commercially impactful partnerships in college athletics, particularly as jersey patches emerge as a critical new revenue category.
Intersect Partners has established itself as a premier firm in brokering the landmark commercial partnerships that define the modern college athletics landscape. Led by Owen Shull, the team has generated more than $180 million in college venue naming rights sales since 2020 and more than $200 million overall. Their work includes venue naming rights secured at Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, University of North Texas, Texas State University, Florida Atlantic University, UC Davis, West Virginia University, and Washington State University.
With this strategic acquisition, Elevate is now positioned to integrate naming rights and other major asset partnerships into a school’s broader revenue strategy. This alignment is critical as these agreements are not standalone transactions, but part of a coordinated approach that connects ticketing, sponsorship, capital planning, and data to drive sustained growth. This reflects Elevate’s ‘Enterprise Rights Management’ model, bringing venue commercialization, jersey patches, live experiences, and data together under one unified framework.
The transaction builds on Elevate’s $500 million Collegiate Investment Initiative and reflects its continued focus on combining capital and operating expertise to support the evolving business of college athletics.
“Our collegiate partners are looking for growth strategies that go beyond traditional sponsorship sales, and naming rights and marquee assets play a critical role in that evolution."
Jonathan Marks
Chief Business Officer, College, Elevate
"By bringing this acquisition into our global partnerships team of 30+ executives spanning the world, we are accelerating a proven model for success.” This team, led by Craig Martin, Chief Partnerships Officer, has secured transformative, high-value partnerships for some of the most iconic franchises across the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and Premier League, collectively helping clients secure billions of dollars in partnership revenue against marquee assets. Expanding these capabilities allows us to better align premium partnerships with ticketing, operations, and capital planning to support the full commercial vision of an athletic department.
“I’m incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished and the relationships we’ve built across college athletics."
Owen Shull
Former CEO of Intersect Partners and now part of Elevate’s College leadership team
"We’ve always focused on trust, alignment, hard work, and delivering for our partners. Elevate operates from that same philosophy and brings the scale, capital, and infrastructure to expand what we’ve built. I’m excited about what this means for our team and, most importantly, for current and future university partners.”
“In our quest to find the right naming rights partner for our football stadium, Vanderbilt desired the support of a valued and trusted team that understood our university culture and market."
Candice Storey Lee
Director of Athletics, Vanderbilt University
"Owen and his team delivered and helped us collaborate effectively with multiple stakeholders, yielding a successful process and partnership that we are proud of. Their expertise and focus were critical to our vision coming to fruition.”
“As college athletics evolves and the demand for revenue increases, we continuously look for new and creative ways to best position Gopher Athletics."
Mark Coyle
Thomas O. Moe Director of Athletics, University of Minnesota
"That led us to pursue a naming rights partner for our historic Williams Arena. We partnered with Intersect Partners to lead the process and have been pleased with their approach. They are strategic, proactive, and collaborative, balancing strong market expertise with a clear understanding of what matters most to Minnesota. We are confident in securing the right partner, and the move to Elevate only strengthens that confidence in this team.”
About Elevate
Elevate is a global, award-winning agency committed to helping properties, brands, and universities forge deeper connections with their audiences to unlock growth. Serving more than 1,000 clients across sports, entertainment, consumer products, retail, and more, Elevate drives deeper audience engagement and sustainable commercial growth. Elevate leverages EPIC, its proprietary intelligence platform powered by advanced data and AI technology, integrating tools for consumer insights, ticketing, property analytics, and revenue optimization. Founded in 2018, Elevate partners with clients worldwide from offices across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.
