That’s been a big part of my summer posting for the last few years. How? How? How do they expect me to fill that gap if this is happening? What’s left?
The ACC is expected to announce a Grant of Rights agreement among its 15 members as early to today, CBSSports.com has learned.
ACC presidents are in the process of clearing this with their departments. The agreement will go to 2026-27, the duration of the league’s contract with ESPN. The deal is not official just yet but, barring an unforseen snag, will be completed.
Unless a league member decides to go to litigation to escape this down the road, the ACC believes a Grant of Rights will protect it from conference realignment poachers.
The North Carolina-based David Glenn Show reported the news Monday afternoon.
And all news outlets are saying their sources are saying the same thing. And unlike the raised exit fee issue from last year — where FSU and Maryland voted against it — this one is unanimous in the ACC.
In case you don’t know, the Grant of Rights is a deal where the schools assign their media rights (read: TV revenue) to the conference. As long as a school stays in that conference, it means very little. The school still gets its revenue from the TV deal per normal. But… if the school left for another conference, the revenue from their media deal in the new conference would go to the conference where they assigned the rights.
So if, say UNC left for the Big Ten, the money they get from the B1G in their media contract would go to the ACC rather than to UNC for the duration of the Grant of Rights.
The Big 12 made this a centerpiece of their salvage plan. It was seen as a huge stabilizer, more than a huge buyout clause. The Pac-12 also has a Grant of Rights.
What does that mean for the expansiopocolypse scenario of the Big Ten picking off Virginia and North Carolina, while the SEC grabs NC State and Virginia Tech. Then the Big 12 picks off Florida State and Clemson? Leaving Pitt in an ACC that is a lot like the old Big East only with Wake Forest instead of WVU?
Well, it means that vision is dead. It means that a lot of WVU message boards and blogs — along with their inside sources — are now looking for new conspiracy theories.
Does this truly mean the end of expansiopocolypse? I wouldn’t go that far. There is always a chance a school decides to challenge the Grant of Rights (GoR) contract in court. The same way that Maryland is fighting that $50 million exit fee from the ACC. But, a legal challenge to the GoR would be more terrifying for the Big 12 than the ACC.
Effectively, this means the Big Ten isn’t expanding for at least a decade unless it can pick off someone from the SEC (no GoR or exit fee) and/or BYU, USF, UConn and/or Cinci. This seems highly improbable. The Big 12 may actually have to stay at 10 whether it really wants to or not. Same with the SEC.
Some forced stability. At least until the next round of conference TV deals starts.
UPDATE: And here’s the official press release:
April 22, 2013
Greensboro, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents announced today that each of the current and future 15-member institutions has signed a grant of media rights, effective immediately.
“This announcement further highlights the continued solidarity and commitment by our member institutions,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “The Council of Presidents has shown tremendous leadership in insuring the ACC is extremely well positioned with unlimited potential.”
“The ACC has long been a leader in intercollegiate athletics, both academically and athletically,” said the collective ACC Council of Presidents. “Collectively, we all agree the grant of rights further positions the ACC and its current and future member schools as one of the nation’s premier conferences.”
The ACC’s current and future 15-member institutions include:
Boston College
Clemson University
Duke University
Florida State University
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Louisville
University of Miami
University of North Carolina
North Carolina State University
University of Notre Dame
University of Pittsburgh
Syracuse University
University of Virginia
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Wake Forest University
If the Rangers make the playoffs I’ll stay awake for at least awhile. I’ll also follow the baseball team ’cause their family members love my dog.
When these 2 teams go down I’ll probably hibernate.
i guess it just covers there BB and the 5 games they give the acc.
BUT could you explain that.
but i am sure no one leaves the acc now and do
you know when we sign the new tv deal for nd and there 5 games and how much more per school for
the acc.
new AAC gets picked apart when any one wants to expand. and take bets on who comes to the ACC when we go to 16 ucon or cinci.
I’m already starting to go into withdrawal.
Does Pitt really have to sign on the dotted line.
They should also include in the Grant of Rights agreement, “no conference school will attempt to breach the agreement by any legal means”.
And I suppose this does mean the Hoopies are eternally, forever on the frequent flyer mileage reward program.
Hey, can you buy sets of new teeth with reward points ? (inquiring hoopies want to know)
We now need an ACC Network!
did ND sign up for this too? That would tie them into the ACC more than I thought they were prepared to do… assume Football is excluded?
definitely could now lead to ACC network?
UConn has the academics, geography and fits much more into the overall profile of an ACC school… remember the brand of ACC is as much about the total academics and athletics of the university than other conferences.
Pitt wanted in to ACC in large measure for the increase in its academic prestige as well.
Cinci is like Lville… strong athletics, weak academics…
Also does ACC care more about the midwest or locking up the northeast geographically speaking?
So who they choose will say a lot about the future focus of the conference…
I guess I’ll just have to work on my golf game and suntan (in that order) until Labor Day weekend. Darn it!!
WILL NOW PAY EACH SCHOOL 20 MILLION BIG BUCKS
pitt has a good home at last.hail to pitt
The big ten has greater distribution of a diluted brand. The ACC has greater distribution of an enhanced brand. I’m nit suggesting the ACC brand is equal to the Big ten. But it’s closer now.
Nice of Mike Rice to make a name for the big ten even though entry is a year away.
Maryland. Is it still a state or did DC annex it.
Love the game with Navy. Wait until the OSU, PSU throngs of alums demand and get their games with the shell less turtles moved to DC. MD will look like the cheap prostitute it is.
UCONN would look good in the ACC. BC can’t have that much clout can they?
so it is not a back loaded thing which is very
good.
with that and the grant in rights no one will leave
any time soon.way to go ACC.
so how committed is ND now to ACC? Do they still keep their football $$ to themselves?
Nice bump in $ and its own channel is still an option?
It seems to me the real threat was B10 pouching some schools… that is done and SFPITT is right… his ‘brilliant’ strategy really weakend the brand into new markets that don’t give a s$%^ about college football.
I could never see FSU and Clemson in B12 hell of 1000 mile travel to dustbowl locations around the far middle of the US… WVU had no choice, they did.
Can’t believe the Big 2 and little 12, took Rutgers instead of UConn. I guess they want no competition in football or basketball, although they did take Nebraska.
Disappointed that Dixon can’t seem to land a big guy. We got Ontario Lett when we were so-so, seems odd that no one wants to fit into a pretty good situation. Where’s a Chevy Troutman when you need one?
Anyway, it looks like the late spring is finally here and I am going to spend my first year of retirement on the golf course (if the lower back holds up).
Go ACC and Hail to Pitt!, not necessarily in that order.
Home run leaders in the Big East with 40… 2nd in conference has 18.
Three real nice starters.
NCAA tournament is nearly a lock. on TV against Louisville later to end regular season. May be for the conference title.
How cool would a trip to the College World Series be? We saw two northern surprises break in last year. Why not Pitt?
H2P
H2P
Big10 fans allready mad, saying, “Maryland and Rutgers wasn’t the end game for us, now it is?”
And Big12 fans, “guess we’re done at 10”, “who else can we get, Cincy, Boise??”
Great news. Still not happy about Maryland leaving. Louisville has it all over them athletically, just thought they’d be a good, close rivalry.
However, since they’ll be taking those montrosity of uniforms with them, so long.
Delaney of Big10 has got to be shaking his head. He’s gotta be getting calls, “Jim, Rutgers and Maryland, that’s it, they’re the final pieces of the puzzle”.
SWEET BLOCK!!!!!!!!
Big10 fans allready mad, saying, “Maryland and Rutgers wasn’t the end game for us, now it is?”
And Big12 fans, “guess we’re done at 10”, “who else can we get, Cincy, Boise??”
Great news. Still not happy about Maryland leaving. Louisville has it all over them athletically, just thought they’d be a good, close rivalry.
However, since they’ll be taking those montrosity of uniforms with them, so long.
Delaney of Big10 has got to be shaking his head. He’s gotta be getting calls, “Jim, Rutgers and Maryland, that’s it, they’re the final pieces of the puzzle”.
SWEET BLOCK!!!!!!!!
Perhaps by their own reading into it, however, no matter the spin, Delaney could not have been trying for Rutgers and Maryland and calling it a night.
Goodnight Jim!!!
And as for the WVU’ers, wishing and hoping the ACC would fall apart, enjoy your rivalry with Iowa State, and back to back hoop trips to Waco and Lubbock!!!!!!!!!
LMAO at B10… blahaha….
Maryland… Rutgers… they dominate their TV markets…. NOT.
For ACC members to do this means they must be all in FSU/Clemson could have only been to SEC which was not possible…. no one in the east wants to be part of B12/10…
Definitely the threat was a raid from the midwest which is not possible now.
ACC has one more move to make… interesting to see what it will be. UCON seems to make more sense overall… can one school blackball another one?
“MOO MOO PSU”, best chant ever… I need to find a way for the students section to do this during every game.
However, if it is Cincy, then the vaunted River City Rivalry can be renewed ….. I want that ugly trophy back
Also it’s not as if the other conferences are heading to 16, so the ACC will be at the same as the B1G and the SEC, and I think they will be content with that for the next decade.
Randy Stottlemyer officially announced his retirement on April 8th after being Pitts head wrestling coach since 1979. Thanks Randy for the great job you did and enjoy your retirement!!!
I was hoping he would get some recognition from the board. Guess not.
Will Pederson stay in house or go after Pat?
keep wondering if ND is a blessing or curse… have them half in means ACC will wait and not expand… but will they ever come in?
Is ACC best served getting to 14 asap before the others?
thanks,