North Carolina may save the ACC for tourism's sake
State leaders spent millions to raise the profile of North Carolina as a sports event destination. Why would they cede that ground to Atlanta or Indianapolis?
The conference realignment battles in college athletics largely center on the differential in media revenues secured by conferences. Based on recent contract negotiations, media revenues associated with regular season play and post-season playoffs decidedly favor the Big 10 and SEC conferences. This differential is the primary reason ten members of the Pac-12 announced their departure to other conferences last year. The Atlantic Coast Conference is now the focus of multiple lawsuits with Florida State and Clemson as those two schools seek to exit the ACC for greener pastures.
But what about the University of North Carolina? Athletic program economics may not be the deciding factor - as it has been for other universities. North Carolina state politicians are uniquely focused on economic activity generated by athletic competitions, pouring millions into deals to secure those events in the Tar Heel State. They also voted in January of this year to bar universities from leaving the ACC without prior approval from their governing board.
Here are clips from three documents that reflect the will of politicians to use athletics as an economic engine for North Carolina.
NC State Politicians gave the ACC $15 million last year to guarantee that 67 conference championships be hosted in the state by the end of the 2032-2033 Academic Year. Below is an excerpt from the contract executed by the North Carolina Department of Commerce and ACC. The full contract is available to download at the bottom of the page.
NC State Politicians appropriated $25 million to bid on hosting the 2027 World University Games. This appropriation was a small part of the $876 million appropriated state-wide for economic development activity (download legislation below). While North Carolina’s bid for the 2027 games was not accepted, they did secure the 2029 games for the state. The economic activity generated by the World University Games is estimated at $150 million.
The governing board of North Carolina public universities voted in February this year to eliminate the ability of universities to decide on their own to move conferences (Appendix G below). Any request to change conferences must be accompanied by a financial plan (for which no requirements have been defined).
North Carolina may save the ACC for tourism’s sake
The State of North Carolina may blaze a unique trail in conference realignment, propping up athletic department funding with tax dollars, under the guise of economic development, rather than letting schools chase money from other conferences. North Carolina already gets eyeballs with its professional teams and UNC’s basketball prowess. Thirty or forty million dollars of extra funding offered by the Big 10 or SEC to UNC may not be worth losing the perceived tourism benefits from over 60 conference championships. For just five percent of this year’s economic development pot, North Carolina politicians can keep the status quo and continue to promote the state for more events like the University World Games.
Source Documents