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DePaul University Senior Vice President & Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy joined JohnWallStreet Founder Corey Leff and Playfly Sports Chairman Michael Schreiber on the latest episode of JohnWallStreet Presents: Big Business on Campus. During the 50-minute conversation, Peevy addressed several key topics, including the role of facilities, NIL dynamics, and the strategic advantages of DePaul's location in Chicago.
Peevy highlighted that DePaul has raised $20 million and plans to break ground on a new basketball building this summer. While the college sports landscape has shifted from a facilities arms race to player compensation, he argued that the new building directly supports the school's NIL efforts. 'If NIL is about attracting talent, facilities are about developing and retaining that talent,' Peevy said. 'You can't gain and sustain success without both in this transfer portal era.' He noted that top performers from DePaul become targets for other programs, and without proper facilities, retaining them becomes a challenge. The facility also enhances daily operations, including recovery and film study.
Market Presence Fuels Growth
Peevy emphasized DePaul's Chicago location as a major asset. 'We're in the third largest media market in the country, and of those, the most college focused,' he said. However, he acknowledged that the program remains underfunded relative to its market position. Over the past five years, DePaul has worked to raise its local profile through media appearances, partnerships with professional sports teams, and high-visibility activations such as sponsoring a car in NASCAR's Chicago Street Race and having coaches lead the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field. The next step, according to Peevy, is converting that awareness into spending through corporate partnerships, alumni engagement, premium game-day experiences, NIL opportunities with local brands, and men's basketball ticket sales. 'Chicago's looking at us differently now for the first time since the early 80s, and it's exciting,' he added.
Relevancy Over Legacy
Peevy also discussed how younger fans and recruits prioritize recent momentum over historical success. 'Young people only know what's happened in the last two or three years. So, the history doesn't matter,' he explained. This shift, he said, explains why traditional bluebloods may have fewer advantages, as any university can become a major school in a young person's mind in a short period of time. The full episode is available on JohnWallStreet's YouTube page, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. The next episode will feature East Carolina University Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert.
Originally reported by yahoo.