How exactly has the ACC delivered on the academic side for VT thus far?

As best I could tell, the real bump in academic profile as a result of athletics occurred while VT was in the Big East. The recognition of VT as a national brand occurred then. Things have pretty much leveled off since then.

The only athletics conference in which academics even remotely matters is the Ivy League, and to a much smaller extent, the B1G.

And oh, I see schools like Bama utilizing all that extra cash in ways that might benefit their U. Them, along with a number of other SEC schools, have began to pluck quality out of state students by offering full rides. Heard of quite a few kids here in NC getting such offers.