According to new tax documents released by the alliance, the Atlantic Coast Conference created $711 million for the 2023-24 school year, allocating an average of $45 million to each of its 14 full-time member schools, a new record for the conference.

Financial reports covering ACC Sports’ last year before joining SMU, Stanford and CAL showed that year-on-year revenue growth was small, with revenue up about 56% five years ago.

While the revenue distribution puts the ACC firmly in third place in the conference, it still lags behind the SEC and Big Ten at considerable profit margins. Those relative deficits have remained a source of consternation for members and resulted in lawssuits filed by Florida State (in December 2023) and Clemson (in February 2024) to challenge the ACC's grant of rights, which binds the league together through June 2036. The framework of a settlement of those lawssuits was reached earlier this year, however, as the conference conceded to a new revenue-distribution model that would prioritize the biggest brands.

Commissioner Jim Phillips said at this week's annual spring meeting that he believes the agreement will provide stability to the ACC for at least the next three to four years.

"I just think you have to settle down," Phillips said. "I think college track and field needs to settle down, not just ACC. I think we have positioned ourselves for that. The chaos and the constant wondering about what is going on here or there is that distracts the business. I feel good about my position and while I will take things away one day, I think there is a time for us to settle down, let you settle down, and do things well."

After Florida State pushes for changes in its revenue distribution model in 2023, the league adopts a series of “success programs” that will provide higher playoff revenue for schools that win football and men’s and women’s basketball positions. However, these successful plans have not been implemented within the time frame covered by the latest 990 report. Several sources of the program said they expect these successful initiatives to be combined with new brand spending (based on TV ratings over five years) to help align the top program with revenue generated by the SEC and the Big Ten schools.

In the recent 990 applications, the Big Ten showed $880 million in revenue in 2022-23, but the figures in subsequent documents will significantly increase, reflecting the conference’s massive new TV deals.

In February, the SEC allocated $808 million in memberships for 2023-24, with an average of about $53 million per school.