Recently, we saw an article on ACCSports.com that led us to an article on WUNC.org, which finally led to a listing of 2017-18 collegiate athletic director compensation on SportsInfo.pro. The data was compiled by Spencer Fane, a law firm that markets to university athletic departments.
Here's a look at the athletic director compensation in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). As is normal for databases such as this, many of the ACC schools aren't listed, because they are private universities that don't have to list their financial details publicly, or they are in a state that doesn't require public disclosure of athletic department finances.
However, compensation for athletic directors at 11 of the 15 ACC schools are listed, so it gives you a good idea of where those schools rank compared to each other.
We reached out to @OX_VT on Twitter and had him put together an infographic for us.
For the 11 schools shown, Virginia Tech's Whit Babcock ranks fourth in compensation, at just over one million dollars a year.
How does Babcock's compensation rank compare to Virginia Tech's overall athletics revenue ranking in the ACC? The most recent data we have available for college sports finances, from Fiscal Year 2016, shows that Virginia Tech ranked sixth in the ACC in overall revenue that year. Only eight of the ACC's 15 schools reported financial data, with the absences consisting of Boston College, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. Virginia Tech's actual position in the ACC, revenue-wise, might be lower than sixth, with those other schools included. Notre Dame in particular most likely generates more athletic revenue than Virginia Tech.
In terms of the most recent Learfield Directors Cup standings, which measures the all-sports success of a college athletics program, Babcock is earning his pay: the Hokies are ranked fourth in the ACC in the most recent rankings, 15th in the nation.