On Wednesday afternoon, the ACC Board of Directors announced it endorses a “success incentive initiative” that will begin in 2024-25.
The news comes a week after the league’s athletic directors, head coaches and administrators gathered in Amelia Island, Fla. for the ACC’s spring meetings last week. A group of schools, including Virginia Tech — “The Magnificent 7” — met over the past few months to discuss and examined the league’s grant of rights, which runs through 2036. That drummed up some speculation about another wave of conference realignment last week.
However, it’s likely that the group was simply trying to create some leverage to institute a new revenue distribution plan, which seems to have worked. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips told reporters that the conference must “look at revenue differently,” and this decision from the ACC presidents is a step in that direction.
“The specifics of the plan are in progress and will be solidified in the coming months,” per the ACC’s release. However, the new model is expected to reward schools who achieve success in football and men’s basketball with a greater share of the profits. All other revenue splits will remain the same.
“The ACC Board of Directors continues to be committed to exploring all potential opportunities that will result in additional revenues and resources for the conference,” ACC Board of Directors Chair and Duke University President Vincent E. Price said in a statement. “Today’s decision provides a path to reward athletic success while also distributing additional revenue to the full membership.”
The implementation of the plan coincides with the College Football Playoff’s expansion to 12 teams in 2024. Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said there are potential scenarios in which a CFP berth could add more than $10 million in revenue annually for a school. Per the Business of College Sports, a conference currently receives $6 million for each team that makes a College Football Playoff semifinal and $4 million for each team that makes a non-CFP New Year’s Six bowl.
As far as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is concerned, revenue is based on financial units. “A team earns one ‘unit’ for every game it plays before the championship, including the first four games held in Dayton,” per Sportico, which projected one game was worth just over $2 million this March. It pinned the ACC at 12 units in the 2023 NCAA tournament, equaling a projected payout of $24 million.
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Is this the SEC model?
In a basketball dominated league hopefully this will force all ACC schools to put an emphasis on Football this new formula will be interesting
Transfer portal. NIL. Uneven revenue sharing. How would you like to be a football coach in the middle of this mess?
The teams with a losing record should have to pay, not get paid.
Given our recent success in football, not sure that works too well for us. lol
Will
Non-rev sports like women’s basketball, softball and baseball play in the success equation at all? They don’t produce revenue like football, but what is say a Final Four appearance in the Women’s Final
Four worth? Clearly it’s good for the school, but will the ACC recognize it in any way for income distribution?
No, they won’t play a factor. Per Sportico, “The NCAA… distributes no money based on teams’ success in the women’s March Madness.”
So l guess Clemson and FSU in fooball, and Duke, UNC and Miami in hoops will see a big raise while Hokies of course will lose revenue. Sounds familiar huh?!!
Money is ruining college athletics. The NCAA should put budget caps on all D1 athletic programs. If the school makes a lot of money on sports, great. The extra money should go back to the school to support academics and the students that really make it all possible. The primary mission of our universities.
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Agree with all except I would have said ruined, instead of ruining.
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I agree, but this will NEVER happen.
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This marks the beginning of the end for the ACC. Unequal revenue sharing hurts relationships and creates a situation whereby if you have a dry spell, a team just falls further behind and gets worse. This doesn’t help the strength of a league rather weakens it. What conference has ever been made stronger by doing this? You want all teams to succeed. If VT wants to compete in football and basketball with the big boys then they may have to cut non revenue sports like Clemson which is sad. Football is ruining college athletics in my opinion.
I tend to agree. Eventually, BE/BEFC redux, all over again.
Seems fair to me. Now let’s win.
Sad but necessary.