Most Valuable Team In The ACC

Earlier this summer, there was a posting on Tomahawk Nation about whether FSU was really the most valuable team. Our fanbase was claiming it, as many of us wanted a Big 12 move. The move was desired because many of us were upset with the new TV deal, and some freeloaders in our conference. Many from the outside said that FSU was not the big draw in the ACC anymore. So when that statement was made, someone investigated. That is where we got this piece from Tomahawk Nation. I find it interesting an recommend reading it, but I will break down some of the major findings here.

The ACC was expected to be a powerhouse when Tech and Miami came in. Heck, FSU was supposed to bring credibility to the conference when they came in all the way back in 1992. FSU did for a while, but fell off. Some people this summer even said that FSU was supposed to save the ACC, but they are actually killing it. Woah woah woah. Let's go to the facts and the report before we make insane statements like that. FSU is not killing anything.

Carolina fans think FSU overvalues their team. Many teams think FSU overvalues their team, well lets look at the chart.

The data used by the person providing this report was number of people viewing each team's games in the ACC for football and basketball. It was not even skewed for the other sports where FSU has a far better following than the rest of the ACC (especially in baseball). Most of the money in TV comes from those sports as well, so they were excluded as I said earlier.

The data had some faults to it, but provided a good overall picture.

Here are the teams ranked in order of value for 2011
FSU
Clemson
UNC
Miami
Virginia Tech
Duke
Georgia Tech
NC State
UVA
Maryland
Wake Forest
Boston College

So what does that tell us?
If you go to the site and look at the chart, it shows that FSU has greater impact than the bottom 3 teams combined. It also shows us that FSU is easily the most valuable team in the ACC. It also shows that Clemson is clearly #2. Those two teams had legitimate beef if they wanted to bolt. The impact of the top two teams basically equals the impact of the bottom 5 teams. Including a UVA team that nearly won their side of the conference last year.

This also shows us that Georgia Tech and NC State would not be as attractive as you think when shifting conferences. If two teams did leave it would seem to make sense that Clemson and FSU are the logical choices.

You have to realize that Boston College had one of their worst seasons in recent memory in both sports. Also that Wake Forest has had good years. However, Wake doesn't have the alumni base of FSU and Clemson. Also Maryland's numbers were skewed because they played Notre Dame and Notre Dame is the most valuable team in the country. Not the best team, but the most valuable $$$ wise. It is why Notre Dame has their own TV deal.

Who is overpaid and underpaid based on revenue sharing?
Because the ACC is a revenue sharing league where profits are shared. Some schools do not bring in what they earn. FSU, Clemson, UNC, Miami, and Tech are all underpaid and undervalued in the current ACC. Sure there are other benefits to being in the conference, but these teams bring in more than they are getting back. The other 7 benefit off the top 5. Sure, it probably changes some years, but I am willing to bet that FSU has carried the conference for years.

Now you can see that the data backs it up. When anyone says we overvalue FSU, point them to the article. Point to us being near the top of merchandising sales every year. Point to the fact that we carried the ACC for years. Point to the fact that we bring in way more than we take. Point to the fact that we are givers and not takers. Go Seminoles!

-Noland