The All-Coastal Conference will remain with their current TV partner for another decade plus
Syracuse Orange teams and the rest of the ACC will continue to be televised under the ESPN umbrella, as the network has exercised its option to extend the conference’s rights agreement through the 2035-36 academic year.
The ACC and ESPN announce today the renewed commitment of their long-term media partnership.
ESPN has exercised its option to extend the league’s base rights agreement and ESPN will continue as the ACC’s media partner through the 2035-36 academic year.
— The ACC (@theACC) January 30, 2025
ESPN had until February 1 to commit to the extension; otherwise, their broadcast rights would have ended following the spring 2027 season. They did so on time, then ACC Board of Directors then ratified the decision on Wednesday.
This comes a year after the conference added Cal and Stanford from the collapsing PAC-12, as well as SMU from the American. All three schools joined for significantly reduced revenue shares.
As part of the agreement, the ACC will attempt to schedule more marquee matchups in football and men’s basketball, including via their partnership with football Independent Notre Dame. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reports that the Irish are expected to play at least two of Clemson, Florida State, and Miami each year under the arrangement.
The conference remains in additional negotiations with Clemson and Florida State, who have filed separate lawsuits regarding their potential exits and the costs of breaking the ACC Grant of Rights. Estimates say either school would have to pay a whopping $700 million buyout to join another conference.
The schools are currently arguing for a reduced penalty for leaving following the 2030-31 calendar, when the Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC media contracts are all up for renewal.
A more immediate solution could be a new revenue distribution model, which ESPN’s David Hale and Andrea Adelson report was closely tied to the extension being ratified:
“Under the proposed plan, a percentage of the ACC’s television revenue would be included in a ‘brand’ fund, and that money would then be distributed to schools that annually generate the most revenue for the conference in football and men’s and women’s basketball.”
While those discussions continue, Syracuse University itself will remain firmly partnered with the ACC Network. Newhouse is home to an ESPN/ACCN control room used for broadcasts of all on-campus sports, and several of its students are the only ones in the conference to host live pregame, halftime, and postgame shows on the network.