[BillBradley]

The way the table is displayed is a bit confusing, but I will try to reproduce the data as best I can in toto.

Budget range  | Number of teams |  Probability of making the playoffs
$41 - $46M    |          7      |       ~ 50%
$37 - $41M    |          7      |    25 - 50%
$29 - $33M    |          8      |    15 - 25%
$24 - $28M    |         12      |     5 - 15%
$19 - $23M    |         34      |         <5%
[/font]

So, sure, spending $45M doesn't guarantee that you will make the playoffs, but spending $20 million pretty much guarantees that you will not make the playoffs.

BC

Got it, thanks. Makes sense.

I guess for me - I don't really think the goal at this point is to be in the Top 20. We are too far away for that to be realistic. Maybe long term, but not in the short term. For me, I think it's in reach for us to be "competitive". Everyone will have their own definition of what that means. Here's mine...schedule some solid competition and one marquis opponent in our out of conference games (i.e. never Elon!), have a winning record in the ACC, an overall winning record, and a bowl game invitation. For me, that would keep me interested in our games, and as a fan that would represent the floor. Of course I'd still long for the McCaffrey days, but it would be acceptable in the short term.

How much would we need to support that goal? How about we target our player compensation to the median of the ACC? I had AI dig this up (can't vouch for the accuracy, but seems about right):

Rank ACC program Estimated player spending 
1 Miami $25–30M 
2 Clemson $20–25M 
3 Florida State $20–24M 
4 Louisville $18–22M 
5 SMU $18–22M 
6 Virginia Tech $18–22M
7 North Carolina $17–21M 
8 NC State $17–21M 
9 Virginia $16–20M 
10 Duke $15–19M 
11 Georgia Tech $15–19M 
12 Pittsburgh $14–18M
13 Syracuse $14–18M 
14 Wake Forest $13–17M
15 Stanford $13–17M 
16 Cal $13–17M 
17 Boston College $12–16M 

In order to have the same dollars to spend on player compensation as the middle of the pack of the ACC, we need to come up with somewhere around $3M-$5M per year. That seems doable.

[BillBradley]

The way the table is displayed is a bit confusing, but I will try to reproduce the data as best I can in toto.

Budget range  | Number of teams |  Probability of making the playoffs
$41 - $46M    |          7      |       ~ 50%
$37 - $41M    |          7      |    25 - 50%
$29 - $33M    |          8      |    15 - 25%
$24 - $28M    |         12      |     5 - 15%
$19 - $23M    |         34      |         <5%
[/font]

So, sure, spending $45M doesn't guarantee that you will make the playoffs, but spending $20 million pretty much guarantees that you will not make the playoffs.

BC

Got it, thanks. Makes sense.

I guess for me - I don't really think the goal at this point is to be in the Top 20. We are too far away for that to be realistic. Maybe long term, but not in the short term. For me, I think it's in reach for us to be "competitive". Everyone will have their own definition of what that means. Here's mine...schedule some solid competition and one marquis opponent in our out of conference games (i.e. never Elon!), have a winning record in the ACC, an overall winning record, and a bowl game invitation. For me, that would keep me interested in our games, and as a fan that would represent the floor. Of course I'd still long for the McCaffrey days, but it would be acceptable in the short term.

How much would we need to support that goal? How about we target our player compensation to the median of the ACC? I had AI dig this up (can't vouch for the accuracy, but seems about right):

Rank ACC program Estimated player spending 
1 Miami $25–30M 
2 Clemson $20–25M 
3 Florida State $20–24M 
4 Louisville $18–22M 
5 SMU $18–22M 
6 Virginia Tech $18–22M
7 North Carolina $17–21M 
8 NC State $17–21M 
9 Virginia $16–20M 
10 Duke $15–19M 
11 Georgia Tech $15–19M 
12 Pittsburgh $14–18M
13 Syracuse $14–18M 
14 Wake Forest $13–17M
15 Stanford $13–17M 
16 Cal $13–17M 
17 Boston College $12–16M 

In order to have the same dollars to spend on player compensation as the middle of the pack of the ACC, we need to come up with somewhere around $3M-$5M per year. That seems doable.