The Atlantic Coast Conference, in its final year as a 15-team league, brought in $711.3 million in revenue and distributed nearly $45 million to each of its football members – both record-setting figures.

The amounts come from the league’s federal form tax form and cover the period from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Cal, Stanford and SMU began play in the league in the fall of 2024.

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“It’s a high watermark for the league in the history of the league,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said this week at the league’s spring meetings. “But I try not to sit still on any of that and try to continue to be creative in any ways we can generate and provide additional resources to our schools. It’s in a really good path, and it’s going in the right direction.”

The ACC revenue is up more than 56% over the last five years. It is third among the major conferences in revenue.

The Big Ten reported earning $928 million and the SEC reported $839.7 million in revenue. The ACC remained ahead of the Pac-12 ($566.6 million) and the Big 12 ($493.8 million).

The search for additional revenue comes as schools are likely to be able to share up to $20.5 million with athletes beginning July 1 if a federal judge signs off on a court settlement.

“More money doesn’t equate and guarantee success,” Phillips said. "Does it help? No question. And we’re fooling ourselves if we don’t think it provides assistance in all the areas that you see expenses going to. In our league, we’ve always tried to do more with less. That’s just the position we’ve been in.

“The controls and having some restraint, we haven’t always probably done a great job in that area. Sometimes it’s a race to the bottom when we look at any of the areas that maybe we have extreme spending on. I think we have to continue to hold ourselves accountable to be wise in how we use those resources.”

The ACC spent more than $12.3 million on legal expenses, almost double the $7.2 million it spent in the previous fiscal year. Florida State and the ACC sued each other in December 2023 and Clemson followed in March 2024. The parties reached a settlement in March.

The league distributed its revenue to schools on an almost equal basis for the 2022-23 year with all football schools falling in a narrow band. Notre Dame, a football independent that plays about five football games annually against ACC schools and is an ACC member in its other sports (outside of men’s hockey), received $20.7 million from the conference.

But with the addition of the three western schools and the settlement, the ACC’s revenue distribution will be drastically different in years to come. Cal, Stanford and SMU will get a lower percentage and the conference will reward teams for both on-field success and television viewership moving forward.

The $711 million in revenue was just slightly ahead of the $706 million collected the previous year. Likewise, the distribution average increased only slightly over 2022-23.

Most of the conference revenue comes from television contracts. The ACC’s television deal with ESPN generated $487 million in 2023-24, another record. Postseason football contributed $133 million and $61 million came from the NCAA, most of it from the men’s basketball tournament.

The television rights are largely driven by football, one reason the Big Ten and the SEC — with a large number of big football brands — have signed larger deals in recent years.

“The economic difference between the Big Ten, the SEC and the ACC and the American (Athletic Conference) or some of the other leagues is significant, but we’re all trying to compete for those national championships and automatic bids,” UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham told a group of business leaders Friday.

“The television rights for the SEC and the Big Ten did jump a lot in the last couple of years. The ACC has gotten better, but there’s a significant gap between those two and where we sit today.”