http://www.postandcourier.com/sports/clemson-given-the-most-money-by-acc-for-monetary-support/article_3f4ce462-51ed-11e7-b8f0-676e88dba2ab.html
Clemson was the only university of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 15 member schools to receive more money from the ACC in 2015-16 than it did the year prior, according to the conference’s Form 990. The ACC recently released its federal tax return for 2015-16, and while total revenue as a whole was down, Clemson bucked the trend as the lone university granted more cash for the allocation of general support. The increase is almost certainly a direct result of Clemson’s football program, one that competed on a national stage and did not drop a game in 2015-16 until the national championship against Alabama.
According to 2014-15 documents, Clemson was given approximately $26.6 million from the conference for general support. The Tigers’ share was lower than that of league-leading Florida State, followed by Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Duke, N.C. State, Boston College and Virginia Tech.
But 2015-16 records show the Tigers led the conference, receiving nearly $1.3 million more in general support than they did the year prior. Clemson’s 2015-16 distribution was about $27.9 million —some $3 million more than the school with the next highest share, which was Florida State.
While the document does not specifically explain why schools receive the amount of money that they do, it is clear that football is the driving force of college athletics.
In 2014-15, Florida State’s football team was on top of the conference, securing a berth into the College Football Playoff, and received the largest conference distribution. A year later, in 2015-16, all rang true for Clemson, which has now been in college football’s national championship game two years in a row.
From a bigger picture standpoint, while the ACC’s 2014-15 total revenue was $403,126,767, the 2015-16 revenue fell to $373,368,024.
There are two reasons, the ACC said, that explain the decrease in revenue — a dip that was expected. The first is directly related to Maryland leaving the conference. When the Terrapins officially became a member of the Big Ten in July of 2014, they paid the ACC a mutually agreed upon one-time exit fee on their way out.
The other explanation for the decrease in revenue is the Orange Bowl. In December of 2015, the College Football Playoff semifinals replaced the ACC’s contract bowl spot in the Orange Bowl, which will continue to happen every third year. Clemson played in that Orange Bowl, beating Oklahoma 37-17 to punch its ticket into the first of two matchups with Alabama in national championship games.
As the conference moves forward and turns its attention toward the future, television will continue to drive revenue, and the ACC plans to push further digital and television agendas. Revenue increased in 2015-16 for television and bowl partnerships — not including the Orange Bowl — as well as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament payout.
As part of a partnership with ESPN, the ACC Network is expected to launch in 2019.
Below, are statistics from the conference's 2014-15 and 2015-16 federal tax returns, showing how much the ACC paid each school both years.
School/2014-15 payout/2015-16 payout
Boston College/ $26.8 million/ $22.8 million
Clemson/ $26.6 million / $27.9 million
Duke / $27.0 million / 24.0 million
Florida State/ $27.6 million/ $24.8 million
Georgia Tech / $27.4 million/ $22.6 million
Louisville/ $24.0 million/ $23.7 million
N.C. State/ $26.8 million / $23.9 million
Miami / $26.6 million / $23.8 million
North Carolina / $27.0 million / $24.2 million
Notre Dame / $6.2 million / $4.3 million
Pittsburgh/ $25.0 million / $23.6 million
Syracuse / $24.0 million / $22.8 million
Virginia/ $25.8 million / $22.9 million
Virginia Tech / $26.7 million / $23.8 million
Wake Forest / $25.5 million / $22.6 million
