David Hale on ACC revenue

David Hale took part in a community interview on Matt Brown's Extra Points, and I found his answers to two questions somewhat interesting:

Reader Tyler asks:

How do you see the Jim Phillips era at the ACC being different from the previous administration? Are fans likely to notice any changes?

Hale: One word is at the top of Phillips' to-do list, and it's a big one: Revenue.

How much can be done in the near term to at least keep the ACC's revenue gap (it was the lowest payout of any P5 league for 2018-19) from widening is a big question, and odds are, the answer is, not much. I wouldn't be shocked to see the league move away from divisions or even move to a nine-game conference schedule in the next couple years, if only to create a deeper inventory of money games for TV networks. Still, from the feedback I've heard, that's not likely to make a major dent in the overall numbers.

When I talk to football coaches and a lot of ADs though, the thing I keep hearing is that they want Phillips to make a harder push to rebrand the league as a football conference than John Swofford was ever willing to do. Swofford, for all his successes, always tried to straddle the fence, because there are a lot of power brokers who are still basketball-first thinkers. But the reality is the overwhelming percentage of money comes from football, and Phillips needs to have the whole league thinking that way. It's going to be a big challenge.

Reader Evan asks:

Do you think Notre Dame's one year stint in the ACC will just be a funny historical footnote, or a sign of potentially bigger things between the two parties?

Hale: As I've dug around on the ACC's revenue gap with the Big Ten and SEC, one thing I've been told again and again by ADs both in and outside the league is that there's really little chance of a significant shift in money unless something massive happens.

Notre Dame joining the ACC full time would fit that bill... ...But it's still Notre Dame we're talking about, and while the TV money might be better as part of a conference, the big-money donors aren't going to like the idea. Moreover, if money becomes the only driving force, Notre Dame could just as easily work to rid itself of its ACC tie-in and land in the Big Ten, which would return a good bit more money.

A number of ACC folks I've spoken with expressed frustration that Swofford didn't use his leverage in 2020 to force Notre Dame's hand. I'm not sure it would've mattered. The Irish still were holding more cards, big picture. In the end, I think the most likely path for Notre Dame to come on board full time would be a larger-scale shakeup in college football -- one that could see a playoff expansion that offered auto-bids to conference champs and/or significant realignment

I don't think there's anything groundbreaking or shocking here, but I do think it's quite unusual to hear members of the (mainstream) media criticize Swafford - I find it quite refreshing.