What is the leading athletic conference in the nation? The answer and resulting discussion might occupy rabid fans for an eternity.

However, in an interesting twist on rankings, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) released a report showing how schools playing in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) compared on a metric other than sports – starting salaries of graduates.

Virginia Tech, with an average starting salary of $51,600, ranks fifth in the nation, behind Stanford, Duke, Georgia Tech, and Notre Dame. The ACC ranked first among all FBS conferences.

Virginia Tech also ranked in the top 20 nationally for mid-career salaries of graduates of FBS schools. At 14th, Virginia Tech graduates bring in an average mid-career salary of $91,500.

According to a study published by the website Payscale.com, The Atlantic Coast Conference was first among all the 11 conferences that constitute the NCAA FBS subdivision for most money earned by graduates in their initial jobs following graduation. The ACC also placed first among the same conferences for mid-career salaries of graduates, with an average of $90,192.

Read further information aboutstarting salaries and where Hokies are employed after graduation on the Career Services website.

The ACC also ranked number one when comparing the average U.S. News rankings of the respective schools in the FBS.