Why do almost half of the ACC members want to leave the conference, only held in place by an iron-clad GOR and $100+ million exit fee?
The answer is simple and valid. Almost all the ACC members say that their athletic programs—all of their sports both men’s and women’s—cannot remain competitive with schools which are members of the Big Ten, SEC and Big12. Schools which are members of those conferences will receive TV rights payments totaling in the hundreds of millions more than ACC schools will receive over the term of their current TV deal, which doesn’t expire until 2036.
It’s not reality to think that ESPN will voluntarily increase it’s payments to the ACC in amounts that will make the conference members competitive in athletics with other schools which receive more generous distributions of TV money from their conference’s TV rights contracts.
Ultimately, the outcome is unavoidable—the ACC will break up. The only questions are when and what will the events be that will be the catalyst of the demise of the conference?
The answer is simple and valid. Almost all the ACC members say that their athletic programs—all of their sports both men’s and women’s—cannot remain competitive with schools which are members of the Big Ten, SEC and Big12. Schools which are members of those conferences will receive TV rights payments totaling in the hundreds of millions more than ACC schools will receive over the term of their current TV deal, which doesn’t expire until 2036.
It’s not reality to think that ESPN will voluntarily increase it’s payments to the ACC in amounts that will make the conference members competitive in athletics with other schools which receive more generous distributions of TV money from their conference’s TV rights contracts.
Ultimately, the outcome is unavoidable—the ACC will break up. The only questions are when and what will the events be that will be the catalyst of the demise of the conference?
