In settling its lawsuits with Florida State and Clemson, the ACC adopted a new revenue share distribution model that will factor in television ratings into the annual payouts to its member schools.
The new model is set to benefit the league's most popular programs at the expense of those that draw fewer eyeballs. While it makes some sense that the ACC would make a significant change to hold on to its most valuable members, the model has even raised some questions about college football's dominant leagues, the Big Ten and SEC. While they make far more money annually than the other college sports conferences, it stands to reason that the top tier programs like Ohio State and Alabama might consider whether it makes sense for them to bring in the same amount of annual revenue as conferencemates like Rutgers and Mississippi State.
In a Q&A with The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.), SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was asked about whether the ACC's new system could be a model for other leagues moving forward. He made it pretty clear that he doesn't see it as something that makes sense for his league.
"There's a history of unequal revenue sharing, and those conferences, it just hasn't worked well for a long-term situation. In fact, the conferences that have chosen to do so have generally, either they don't exist at a high level, or they've gone a different direction."
"I'm sure that what others have done will introduce the conversation. I would hope we’re careful and responsible in how we do that. They made the decision for their purposes. That doesn’t necessarily mean that fits our purposes or our values."
Sankey represents all 16 SEC programs, so its no surprise that he didn't openly call into question the futures of a chunk of his schools. However, eventual conference contraction has been floated as a possibility, if not an inevitability, for years. The ACC's settlement is just the latest in a long line of conference moves further stratifying college sports.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as SEC Commissioner Was Asked About League's Plans After ACC Implements Uneven Revenue Split.
