The ACC's monster run through the NCAA Tournament so far means that the conference is going to clean up financially no matter what happens.
Thanks to the Syracuse Orange, Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels, Virginia Cavaliers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and Miami Hurricanes (but no thanks to the Pittsburgh Panthers), the ACC has dominated the 2016 NCAA Tournament to the tune of a 12-1 record and six Sweet Sixteen teams.
It's a run that's sure to continue beyond the Sweet Sixteen for at least some of them and keeps hope alive for the first-ever All-ACC Final Four, which, isn't that crazy to consider at this point.
More importantly to the powers-that-be, this fantastic run by conference squads means that the ACC is going to clean the f*** up financially.
According to ESPN, the money comes from the basketball fund, a pool set aside by the NCAA to reward conferences for their teams’ success in the tournament. Each game this season is worth $265,791 and is to be paid out across the next six years, through 2022.
According to ESPN, the ACC became the first conference to guarantee itself more than $30 million in one tournament. Because no ACC team faces each other in the Sweet 16, it’s possible (but highly unlikely) to have them all in the Elite Eight, which would mean even more cash.
Last year the ACC took in $32.8 million overall and, assuming that at least a few ACC teams will keep advancing, this year's total is likely to surpass that.
If the ACC is looking for a bar to reach, they can try to surpass the all-time best total in "units" which was 29 earned by the Big East in 2009. That run included five teams in the Sweet 16, four in the Elite Eight and two in the Final Four. May we all be so lucky, except Duke.
