...  the exchange but spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the deal. But in the end, the two sides agreed to the biggest TV rights contract in college sports history — a 12-year, $3 billion deal, which works out to a per-year average of $250 million. Some of the power behind the deal came from Evolution Media Capital, a boutique investment bank and advisory firm founded in 2008 by Rick Hess, who was head of Creative Artists Agency’s Film Finance Group, and Robert Stanley, who had been in charge of Merrill Lynch’s entertainment and intellectual property group. EMC has quietly become a force in both the entertainment and sports worlds. Staying out of the limelight, the firm, which counts CAA as one of its owners, has orchestrated more than 20 deals with a combined value of $15 billion. “We’ve built a very formidable company below the radar,” said EMC partner Alan Gold, who specializes in sports media. EMC had a lot to do ...