David Teel has a very good – detailed article on the ACC Revenue numbers for the 2016-2017 year. Revenues are up 12 percent, but they are still behind the other Power 5 conferences.
There were a couple of very noteworthy quotes from the piece.
“That’s one reason Virginia Tech is 40th to 44th out of the Power 65 (schools) in budget,” Hokies athletic director Whit Babcock said recently of the gap between the ACC’s distributions and those of its peers. “Love the conference, best one out there, but that network and that revenue piece are a challenge.”
As Teel pointed in his article, the ACC is still thriving athletically, but how long is that sustainable? When your peers can spend you in the ground, it’s a concern.
“We’re all probably kicking around numbers in our head,” Babcock said, “but it would be premature of me to throw one out there. … Early indications on some of the (network) distribution (on cable systems) have been very favorable.”
There is nothing that can be done about mis-steps in the past. It is what it is, but Babcock’s comments sound very encouraging.
The success of the ACC Network is crucial to the ACC ability to remain competitive.
