As ACC spring meetings kick off, UNC officials raise concerns about finances, future
AMELIA ISLAND — While most of the attention heading into this week’s ACC spring meetings has focused on the contentious — and litigious — relationships between the conference and member schools Florida State and Clemson, a third player has entered that arena.
Before the spring meetings really kicked into gear here at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island on Monday afternoon, members of the University of North Carolina’s Board of Trustees publicly criticized the Atlantic Coast Conference earlier Monday for the lack of revenue generated by the conference. They also took aim at athletics director Bubba Cunningham for his management of the Tar Heels’ athletics budget.
According to WRAL.com, UNC’s trustees have decided to meet behind closed doors this week to discuss Cunningham’s performance and an athletics budget that calls for a $17 million deficit in 2024-25.
UNC Trustee Dave Boliek told WRAL that much of their concern stems from a lack of revenue from the ACC, as compared to other conferences.
“Carolina’s ability to maintain excellence at a high level is going to require really prudent budgeting and revenue models and potential cost cutting,” Boliek said. “A lot of it is due to the revenue or lack there of of revenue that we’re not receiving from the ACC deal.”
Here is the full report from WRAL.
Boliek went on to say that he would like to see UNC leave the ACC for a conference with larger annual payouts.
“I am advocating for that,” he told WRAL. “That’s what we need to do. We need to do everything we can to get there. Or the alternative is the ACC is going to have to reconstruct itself. I think all options are on the table.”
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Faced with similar concerns about their financial future, Florida State and Clemson are each suing the ACC in an effort to exit the conference without paying hundreds of millions of dollars in exit fees and penalties. FSU’s lawsuit is being heard in Leon County, while Clemson’s is moving forward in South Carolina.
The ACC is also suing both schools in the state of North Carolina.
Atlantic Coast Conference schools have been making several million dollars less than universities in the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference for years, but those deficits are expected to multiply in the near future. Some estimates have schools in those leagues soon earning $30 million to $40 million more per year than schools in the ACC.
This was not the first time North Carolina officials aired concerns about the ACC’s financial future, but the timing of these statements — on the day the ACC spring meetings convened — is sure to draw greater interest.
*ALSO SEE: Live Updates from the ACC spring meetings
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