http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&ATCLID=210995605

The Big12 is distributing $30.4 million to each of it's schools for 2015-2016.

For comparison's sake, the ACC distributed $26.2 million to each of its schools for 2014-2015.
http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/92520/acc-tops-400-million-in-revenue-in-2014-15


This is a fairly apples to apples comparison due to those being seasons in which the conferences received anchor bowl money, though it should be noted that the ACC "kept" some Maryland money in 2014-2015.

I feel it should also be noted that most of the Big12 schools are receiving additional income from tier three TV rights. Entities such as SoonerTV and the LHN are bringing in major major coin for those schools. Things like that are not able to exist in the ACC. Too much of the ACC schools' TV programming has already been sold off.

Furthermore, the Big12 just announced plans for a Big12 Championship Game. Have you seen what bigtime football games are bringing in nowadays? Top bowls are providing $80 million payouts. Anyhow, I feel it's safe to say that the Big12 schools will be receiving a minimum of $3 million each from that game each season.


BTW, I am not posting this because I do not "like" VT. I love VT. What I don't like is the fact that we're stuck in a league that does not provide adequate money for what VT provides in return to the league. VT has a top notch fanbase and fans are where the money comes from in the college athletics game. Academic partnerships are awesome, but I've failed to see how they are impacted either way by who schools play in softball. VT has thriving partnerships with ACC members and non-ACC members, including schools that were recently involved in lawsuits against the league.

Take a look at this:
http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/

There are at least a dozen schools well ahead of VT on this list who are there primarily due to the additional conference revenue they receive.

Also, this league does not provide compelling matchups for VT football, which is insane. As a season ticket holder, I am beyond frustrated that VT does not get to host Clemson or FSU more than once per generation. We are told that this is done in order to preserve "rivalries" with Duke, GT, Pitt, and BC. The least this league could provide is the best possible football match ups. There are numerous scheduling models out there that would bring both Clemson and FSU to Lane Stadium every 4 seasons.

Anyhow, I do feel the Big12 is the most unstable conference, primarily due to geography. There's no getting over that one. However, that does not mean the ACC is rock solid. In fact, I feel there are ACC schools ripe for the pick'ns if this "network" does not bring in an additional $5 to $10 million each season. I don't think it will and I can only hope VT is one of the schools that's considering its options.