Maryland in line for huge financial bump in wake of Big Ten move

The University of Maryland stands to make nearly $100 million more in conference revenue by 2020 with its switch from the ACC to the Big Ten, according to projected revenue information presented to the school by Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, SI.com has learned.

The projected information shows how Maryland could afford its $50 million buyout from the ACC, a fee the school is expected to attempt to reduce through legal action.

When Maryland joins the Big Ten in 2014, it projects to make more than $12 million more than it would have in the ACC. That projected difference jumps to $19 million annually in 2017 after the Big Ten renegotiates its television contract.

According to the official, Maryland projects to make $32 million when it joins the league for the 2014-15 season, well beyond the ACC's projected payout of $20 million.

The real jump in projected revenue comes in 2017, after the Big Ten negotiates its new television contract. The Big Ten payout that year projects to $43 million, dwarfing the $24 million the ACC projects to pay out that year. During his Monday press conference, Maryland president Wallace D. Loh said the school's motivation to realign is largely financial. Delany declined comments regarding finances in a telephone interview Monday.

Here's how the financial payout per school breaks down for upcoming years, according to the information Delany relayed to Maryland officials: The school will make $32 million in 2014, $33 million in 2015, $34.5 million in 2016 and then $43 million in 2017.

Those numbers continue to steadily climb, as the Big Ten payout projects to jump to $44 million in 2018 and $45 million in 2019.