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Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

Boosters raise 'unprecedented' sum to help SMU with move to ACC

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 9/18/23

When Southern Methodist University joins the ACC in 2024, the school will be without a large chunk of revenue. As part of a conditional agreement to join the conference, the school won't be making any money from television rights for its first nine seasons.

This didn't sit right with many of its boosters.

SMU announced on Monday that over $100 million had already been raised over the last seven days to help the school offset some of that lost revenue amid its transition to a new conference.

"This is an [extraordinary] financial commitment from a core group of donors who have understood from the beginning that moving to the ACC will be transformational for our University on both athletic and academic levels," SMU president R. Gerald Turner said in a statement. "While there is still much work to be done, the ability to rally this kind of support in just one short week demonstrates that SMU and Dallas recognize the excellence of this opportunity and are stepping up to support it."

SMU announced that it raised $100 million during the week following the ACC announcement.

At least $100 million more is eventually coming as part of a commitment from a small group of billionaire boosters https://t.co/3cDHVJfn6A
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 18, 2023

In addition to the 30 donations from “donors and key trustees,” SMU says that season-ticket sales for men’s basketball have spiked 30% in the last week. Their football team has sold hundreds more season tickets as well.

The school also claims that because of the high-profile nature of the ACC, visitors to the homepage of its undergraduate admissions department have increased by 103%. Additionally, following the formal announcement that SMU, California and Stanford would be joining the conference, the school has benefited from an estimated $163 million value in advertising from media coverage.

“Every metric we have has jumped in the last week, and we look forward to continuing that momentum both this year and next year as we begin ACC play,” SMU athletic director Rick Hart said.

The addition of the three new teams will reportedly increase the conference’s media rights revenue by $72 million, of which $60 million is expected to be distributed among the incumbent member schools of the new-look conference.

While SMU will not see any revenue from TV rights until 2033, Cal and Stanford will get 30% revenue shares for their first seven seasons in the ACC, per CBS Sports. Those numbers increase to 70% in the eighth year and 75% in the ninth year.

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