UNC's AD is miles ahead of ours, I've seen it first hand when I was going to school there. I've gotten more contact from UNC fundraising in the last week than I've ever gotten from VT. Their branding is amazing to the point where I, a die-hard VT fan and carolina hater, want to buy their merch more than our because it's just so much better.

UNC alums make a lot of money, and the ones that care about sports (aka frat guys and business students) make way more than VT fans on average which gives them a very solid base to fund-raise. Add to it that Chapel Hill is a very desirable place to live in a major metropolitan area and you get thousands of alumni working in close proximity with a low cost of living and high earnings in RTP.

17 year old kids don't care about tough guy football and blue collar mentalities. They care about sweet uniforms, big brands, money, exposure, hype, etc. As much as you seem to hate the blue, it's actually a dope color and the fact that it is exclusive to UNC is even bigger.

You think Tony Grimes is a tough guy? No but he's a great athlete and will be a 1st round pick, just like Farley.