ACC Earns 25 Units in NCAA Basketball Tourney in 2015-2016 and NCAA Distribution of $23.9 million

https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/acc-earns-25-units-in-ncaa-basketball-tourney-in-2015-2016-and-ncaa-distribution-of-23-9-million.121317/

What are the 25 units earned by the ACC in this year’s 2015-2016 NCAA Basketball Tournament worth?

$6,644,775 (25 units x $265,791/unit)​

• What are the 25 units earned by the ACC in this year’s 2015-2016 NCAA Basketball Tournament worth over the rolling 6 year NCAA Distribution period?

$39,868,650 (25 units x $265,791/unit x 6 years)​

• What is the NCAA Distribution to the ACC in 2017 for the 6-year rolling average of 90 units from 2010-2011 to 2015-2016

$23.9 million (90 units x $265,791/unit)​

• What percent of the Total ACC 2017 Revenue does that $23.9 million NCAA Distribution Constitute?

Most likely, no more than about 10%, given that, in 2013-2014, the NCAA Distribution to the ACC in the amount of $17.5 million constituted only 5.8% of the Total ACC Revenue​

(1) This year, the ACC set an NCAA Tournament record for the most units earned at 25. The unit record was previously held by the BIG East, which earned 24 units in 2008-2009. See “ACC on track to shatter record for money earned in NCAA tournament” at http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...d-money-earned-ncaa-men-basketball-tournament

While this showing by the ACC in the NCAA Tournament in 2015-2016 was great, even though UNC lost to Villanova, the million dollar question is what is that worth to the ACC and what percent of total ACC revenue will that NCAA Distribution constitute? FYI, the Final NCAA Basketball game does not count as a unit, so who plays in the Final game and who wins or loses is irrelevant in the unit calculation.

(2) To be honest, in the big scheme of high stakes P5 conference finances, the NCAA Basketball Tournament “value” to the ACC, while nothing to sneeze at, is simply underwhelming. Generally, the NCAA Distribution to the ACC ranges from a most recent low of about 5.8% to a high of about 11.5% of the Total ACC Revenue. The NCAA Distribution, as a percent of the total ACC revenue, has no doubt been trending down according to the ACC Tax returns and, even with this 25 unit performance in 2015-2016, I suspect that downward trending will continue. See articles cited below.

According to the ACC Tax returns, the Basketball amounts paid from the NCAA Basketball Tournament to the ACC simply pale in comparison to what the ACC earns annually from football television and Bowl games. Moreover, it underscores why the “ACC basketball first-model” under the current NCAA structure, notwithstanding the ACC’s success in this year’s 2015-2016 NCAA Basketball Tournament, is the wrong financial model, as your main or primary model, to compete financially with the SEC and BIG.

As I understand, the ACC has only released its tax returns through 2013-2014, so what percent the NCAA Distribution constitutes of total ACC revenue for the years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 is still unknown, but if the trending is correct, it too will be trending downward. The following article reports that the ACC will receive an NCAA Distribution of $20.3 million in 2016 for the 6 year rolling average from 2009-2010 to 2014-2015. See "Final Four runs by UNC and Syracuse worth at least $12.8 million to ACC" at http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...nd-syracuse-worth-at-least-128-million-to-acc

(3) According to the NCAA, the NCAA basketball fund is distributed to active Division I conferences based on their performance in the Division I Men’s Basketball tournament over a six-year rolling period. For the purpose of distributing the basketball fund, a conference is defined as an entity that is comprised of at least six member institutions that are classified as active Division I for eight preceding academic years.

Under the NCAA Division I Revenue Distribution Plan, the number of units earned determines performance. One unit is awarded to each institution participating in each game, except the championship game. Units are retained by the conference in which they are earned. All units earned by each conference within a six-year rolling period are included in the distribution calculation.

(4) In 2017, for the 2015-2016 year, each basketball unit is worth approximately $265,791 for a total distribution of about $205 million and the NCAA Distribution will be based on units earned from 2010-2011 to 2015-2016. In mid-April, 2017, the NCAA basketball fund will be sent to the ACC, addressed to the attention of Swofford.

To calculate, the ACC earned a total of 90 units from 2010-2011 to 2015-2016. Thus, since a unit in 2015-2016 is worth $265,791/unit and the ACC has earned a total of 90 units over that rolling six-year period, the NCAA Distribution to the ACC in April, 2017 will be about $23.9 million, which most likely will constitute less than 10% (more like 5-8%) of the ACC's total revenue earned in 2016.

ACC UNITS EARNED IN NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

2006-2007 - 14 units
2007-2008 - 10 units - $143.26 million - $15.1 million - payout in 2009
2008-2009 - 14 units - $154.72 million - $15.9 million - payout in 2010
2009-2010 - 13 units - $167.10 million - $18.2 million - payout in 2011
2010-2011 - 12 units - $180.47 million - $18.2 million - payout in 2012
2011-2012 - 11 units - $184.08 million - $17.7 million - payout in 2013
2012-2013 - 10 units - $188.31 million - $18.2 million - payout in 2014
2013-2014 - 11 units - $193.58 million - $17.5 million - payout in 2015
2014-2015 - 21 units - $199.29 million - $20.3 million - payout in 2016
2015-2016 - 25 units - $205.00 million - $23.9 million - payout in 2017


"ACC REVENUES LAST SEVEN YEARS
Total TV Bowl NCAA Avg. share
2007-2008 $162.8 $75.3 $29.2 $15.1 $11.8
2008-2009 $172.7 $76.9 $30.7 $15.9 $13.6
2009-2010 $158.2 $77.6 $31.6 $18.2 $11.7
2010-2011 $167.2 $79.3 $36.7 $18.2 $12.3
2011-2012 $223.6 $130.5 $43.8 $17.7 $16.9
2012-2013 $232.4 $146.6 $36.7 $18.2 $17.6
2013-2014 $302.3 $197.2 $48.8 $17.5 $19.3*
* Average full share. Partial ACC member Notre Dame received $4.9 million in its first year in the league."


"Per federal tax returns, here are the ACC’s total revenue and NCAA basketball revenue for the 2007-08 through 2013-14 fiscal years, the latest available filing.

FISCAL YEAR TOTAL HOOPS %
2007-08 $162.8 $15.1 9.3
2008-09 $172.7 $15.9 9.2
2009-10 $158.2 $18.2 11.5
2010-11 $167.2 $18.2 10.9
2011-12 $223.6 $17.7 7.9
2012-13 $232.4 $18.2 7.8
2013-14 $302.3 $17.5 5.8"

(5) In short, while the ACC’s overall revenue almost doubled between 2009-10 and 2013-14, the NCAA Basketball Tournament income has apparently somewhat flattened, becoming an even smaller percentage of the ACC’s total Revenue.

Thus, the NCAA Distribution amounts from the NCAA Basketball Tournament to the ACC clearly pale in comparison to the $197.2 million the ACC earned from football television and $48.8 million from football bowls in 2013-14, this information of course is based upon the ACC’s tax return.

See “NCAA tournament domination last two years worth about $75 million to ACC” at http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-acc-ncaa-tournament-units-2016-post.html

See “Assessing financial impact of ACC's landmark NCAA tournament” at http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-acc-tournament-revenue-post.html

See “ACC tax return shows doubling of revenue in last four years but future challenges” at http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-acc-tax-return-1314-post.html

See “Teel Time: Assessing ACC's latest tax filings and record 2013-14 revenue” at http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-acc-revenue-1314-post.html

See PDF 2014-15_Revenue_Distribution_Plan Draft.docx - NCAA
See PDF 2013-14 division i revenue distribution plan - NCAA
See PDF 2012-13 division i revenue distribution plan - NCAA

See “ACC on track to shatter record for money earned in NCAA tournament” at http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...d-money-earned-ncaa-men-basketball-tournament

See “Distributions” at http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/finances/distributions

See “NCAA revenue returned to Division I conferences and member institutions from 2010/11 to 2014/15 (in million U.S. dollars)” at http://www.statista.com/statistics/219586/revenue-returned-to-its-members-by-the-ncaa/

Just clearing up misinformation and misconceptions as to what the NCAA Basketball Tournament is actually worth to the ACC, and what the NCAA Distributions from the NCAA Basketball Tournament constitute relative to Total ACC Revenues.

Also, just providing answers to questions that many on Warchant have asked - What is the NCAA Tourney worth to the ACC and of course FSU.

FSU's cut, if the ACC shares that NCAA Distribution equally, is about $1.6 million of that $23.9 million NCAA Distribution for the years 201-2011 to 2015-2016 ($23.9 million divided by 15 members).

But as it stands, one can see that its takes great basketball effort, each and every year, to earn enough units over the 6 year period to make a real difference in NCAA Distributions between conferences. And, given how much the conferences are paid today for TV football and Bowl games, one can see that the ACC would have to earn something like 35-40 basketball units each year, every year, over the 6-year period to truly move the NCAA Distribution dial in order to make a real difference to just compete with the football Bowl payout structure, never mind the money paid for TV football games, which is virtually an impossibility.
If you look at the ACC Tax returns, the percent of total revenues that the NCAA Distribution constitutes is trending down, so I don't agree the value is twice what is reported or has a 20% value of the ACC worth. 

I do agree that a comparison between a major Bowl and the NCAA Distribution is a good post-season analysis.

So, to compare, the ACC Orange Bowl payout is $27.5 million and the 2016 ACC NCAA Distribution is $20.3 million.
In contrast, the SEC Sugar Bowl payout is $40 million and the 2016 SEC NCAA Distribution is $17.2 million.

Thus, in 2016, the ACC will receive $20.3 million in NCAA Distribution and the SEC will receive $17.2 million in NCAA Distribution. If the two are added together, respectively, the ACC will receive $47.8 million ($27.5 million + $20.3 million) and the SEC will receive $57.2 million ($40 million + $17.2). However, note that the ACC did not receive its $27.5 million this year because the Orange Bowl was a CFP venue.

In 2017, the ACC will receive $23.9 million in NCAA Distribution and the SEC will receive $16.5 million in NCAA Distribution. If the two are added together, respectively, the ACC will receive $51.4 million ($27.5 million + $23.9 million) and the SEC will receive $56.5 million ($40 million + $16.5).

"NCAA BASKETBALL FUND DISTRIBUTION
CONFERENCE 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12
Big Ten $27.9M $27.1M $24.5M $22.3M $20.4M $18.2M
ACC $23.9M $20.3M $18.4M $17.5M $18.2M $17.7M
American $22.1M $24.5M $29.4M $30.8M $28.7M $27.4M
Big 12 $19.7M $19.3M $20.2M $20.5M $20.6M $18.6M
SEC $16.5M $17.2M $15.1M $13.8M $15.2M $16.2M
Pac-12 $15.7M $13.8M $13.5M $13.3M $14.5M $16.2M"

See "Final Four runs by UNC and Syracuse worth at least $12.8 million to ACC" at http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...nd-syracuse-worth-at-least-128-million-to-acc

This of course does not take into account the other Bowl payouts each conference receives or the TV money for football games.

While the gap between the SEC and ACC may close somewhat as the 6 game rolling average moves to more units for the ACC, it will still pale in comparison and do little to close the gap significantly between the ACC and SEC, given the SEC' TV football deal, SEC network and the higher Bowl payouts for SEC teams.

In addition, the ACC Distribution, with or without the ACC's "super" basketball conference units, will remain an underwhelming percent of the ACC's total revenue stream each year because of the revenue generated from the TV football and Bowl games.

The point here is that while the NCAA Distribution from the NCAA Tournament is a nice chunk of change, surely nothing to sneeze at, the football-first model, not a basketball-first model, is what carries the day.