BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech ACC Network studios are complete and ready to go.
The conference is partnered with ESPN and ready to broadcast beginning Thursday night, August 22, at 7 p.m.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford will be at ESPN Thursday night for the debut.
The Hokies portion included fiber lines connecting all the campus sports venues into a pair of state of the art studios under Lane Stadium. The $10 million price tag for the project is on budget.
Virginia Tech's finances could be spent on high-level equipment because the proximity of all the campus sporting venues helped save money on the fiber lines.
Virginia Tech personnel spent time researching both the equipment and the facilities of other schools, both in the ACC and also the SEC before settling on the makeup of their own facility.
"Were absolutely thrilled. I think we've been counting down to this day for almost two years now, more than that, but at least monthly calls with the ACC waiting for Thursday. I think it's just a big testament to what our staff has done, what the ACC and ESPN jointly as partners in this have invested and I think we are so much further ahead than a lot of the networks were when they started and I think we're just excited to get to Thursday," Virginia Tech Senior Associate Athletics Director Angie Littlejohn said.
The ACC Network is still negotiating with various cable carriers.
As of this story being published, it cannot be seen by more than 40% of the viewers in the state of Virginia.
Comcast, Cox and DirecTV are among the deals that still remain to be struck.