WRAL Sports Fan

RE: B1G Offers UNC

Duke's value to Duke isn't solely defined by football. But I suspect its value to the B1G is. Duke generates huge amounts of revenue from basketball that isn't shared with its conference. It would probably generate a little more TV revenue for the B1G, but not enough to pay for itself. 

- Posted by Ken D.

I would think any conference has to factor in that adding Duke would add quite a bit to the conference in basketball. Whenever Duke plays on the road, it's an automatic sellout regardless of the size of the venue. And Big Ten venues are mostly larger than ACC venues. Duke basketball also adds to the value of conference's TV deal. 

- Posted by 903 mens national championships

Basketball attendance is an insignificant factor. Most B1G schools already sell out most of their league home games. The few that don't aren't going to get much of a boost because they are lousy teams about to get a beatdown. There's a reason their fans don't want to watch them play.

The aggregate additional ticket revenue, for all B1G schools combined, would be well south of $500,000 a year. That's pocket change in conference realignment terms.

The fact remains that, as of today, UVa appears to be the only ACC school that has actually gotten a (tentative) invite. If the B1G wants a regional partner for them, they already have Maryland. If they don't want Carolina as their 16th member, I wouldn't rule out Missouri. They are one of the few SEC schools that would probably prefer to be in the B1G. Since they were snubbed before, their pride could be a barrier this time around. 

- Posted by Ken D.

Basketball TV revenue? Tournament appearance revenue?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2012/03/14/march-madness-a-trip-to-the-final-four-is-worth-9-5-million/

RE: B1G Offers UNC

There is no question that basketball in general, and Duke in particular, bring some value to the table. In the past 20 years, Duke has made it to the Final Four five times. If you take Forbes analysis at face value, that adds about $2.4 million a year to league revenues - assuming that their getting that far doesn't keep a different B1G school from doing so. Let's be generous and say that Duke's performance would bring in $5 million a year.

The bigger question is whether they bring more value to the other members of a conference than the cost of dividing the total pie by one more slice. The economics of the ACC, if Duke were not already a member, might say it does. But the economics of the B1G, IMO, say no. It will cost the other B1G members about $25 million a year to share with Duke. Duke might help bragging rights more than the pocketbooks of current members. The fact that the B1G has shown more interest in Virginia and Georgia Tech than in Duke suggests their members agree with me.

Another element in the equation is whether Duke adds value all by itself - over and above what Carolina would deliver by itself. If Carolina's presence would already deliver a substantial part of the North Carolina market, how much more could be attributed to also adding Duke?

RE: B1G Offers UNC

Duke's value to Duke isn't solely defined by football. But I suspect its value to the B1G is. Duke generates huge amounts of revenue from basketball that isn't shared with its conference. It would probably generate a little more TV revenue for the B1G, but not enough to pay for itself. 

- Posted by Ken D.

I would think any conference has to factor in that adding Duke would add quite a bit to the conference in basketball. Whenever Duke plays on the road, it's an automatic sellout regardless of the size of the venue. And Big Ten venues are mostly larger than ACC venues. Duke basketball also adds to the value of conference's TV deal. 

- Posted by 903 mens national championships

Basketball attendance is an insignificant factor. Most B1G schools already sell out most of their league home games. The few that don't aren't going to get much of a boost because they are lousy teams about to get a beatdown. There's a reason their fans don't want to watch them play.

The aggregate additional ticket revenue, for all B1G schools combined, would be well south of $500,000 a year. That's pocket change in conference realignment terms.

The fact remains that, as of today, UVa appears to be the only ACC school that has actually gotten a (tentative) invite. If the B1G wants a regional partner for them, they already have Maryland. If they don't want Carolina as their 16th member, I wouldn't rule out Missouri. They are one of the few SEC schools that would probably prefer to be in the B1G. Since they were snubbed before, their pride could be a barrier this time around. 

- Posted by Ken D.

Basketball TV revenue? Tournament appearance revenue?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2012/03/14/march-madness-a-trip-to-the-final-four-is-worth-9-5-million/ 

- Posted by 903 mens national championships

Good stuff 903. Am still learning on here.

RE: B1G Offers UNC

I would think any conference has to factor in that adding Duke would add quite a bit to the conference in basketball. Whenever Duke plays on the road, it's an automatic sellout regardless of the size of the venue. And Big Ten venues are mostly larger than ACC venues. Duke basketball also adds to the value of conference's TV deal. 

- Posted by 903 mens national championships

Basketball attendance is an insignificant factor. Most B1G schools already sell out most of their league home games. The few that don't aren't going to get much of a boost because they are lousy teams about to get a beatdown. There's a reason their fans don't want to watch them play.

The aggregate additional ticket revenue, for all B1G schools combined, would be well south of $500,000 a year. That's pocket change in conference realignment terms.

The fact remains that, as of today, UVa appears to be the only ACC school that has actually gotten a (tentative) invite. If the B1G wants a regional partner for them, they already have Maryland. If they don't want Carolina as their 16th member, I wouldn't rule out Missouri. They are one of the few SEC schools that would probably prefer to be in the B1G. Since they were snubbed before, their pride could be a barrier this time around. 

- Posted by Ken D.

Basketball TV revenue? Tournament appearance revenue?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2012/03/14/march-madness-a-trip-to-the-final-four-is-worth-9-5-million/ 

- Posted by 903 mens national championships

Good stuff 903. Am still learning on here.  

- Posted by Hokie 94

I'm just trying to understand all of this myself since the economics of college sports appears to be in desperate need of a correction when conferences are more interested in GA Tech than Duke. I'm glad Ken is here with his knowledge on the topic.