of the post eason monies, not just the media contracts. VT doesn't share their gate receipts, or the licensing of their merchandise, nor do they share their expenses. Conferences were needed for scheduling in the old days, it wasn't about the tv money. Today, the scheduling in conferences is a nightmare, as conferences are need for survival (money), and less about the scheduling. Ratings for the media not only comes from winning and being in the big games, it also comes from who you play - as has been discussed on this board, if you have a lame opponent on the schedule, the ticks prices reflect the difference. If VT played Clemson, FSU, Miami, and ND every season, those tickets would be a hard get for home games, so it begs the question, would those games command national attention, get the good time slots, and would those tickets be a hard get in their stadiums. I'm high on VT, and think they have a potential to return to being competitive, but like everyone in the ACC or B12, this will come down to getting in the expanded playoffs, and winning. You do that, and those games against BC, Wake, and others will garner the attendance, ticket prices, and national attention - and the time slots, even for those games, will be there. Last year, Toledo was in the top 5 in ratings the week they played Ohio State - not only because of OSU's fan base, but because it had playoff implications if OSU laid an egg. The expanded playoffs will put exponentially more teams in the playoff hunt in the middle of the conference schedule, and the ACC and B12 will garner the eyeballs for the playoff contenders, and it will not matter what logo is on the hemet. The blue bloods and brands will continue to get the eyeballs, but that is because they have a history of winning, and more importantly, being ranked.