The long-awaited launch of the ACC Network surely will invite comparisons to channels associated with the other power conferences in college athletics. But even before the switch flips Aug. 22, the ACC Network already has distinguished itself from any project in the history of sports television: It has been built almost entirely by women.

“In a perfect world, this wouldn’t be a story,” said Amy Rosenfeld, a senior coordinating producer for ESPN who is heading production for the ACC Network. “Victory for all of us is when this isn’t a story anymore. But right now it is a story and it’s probably an important story.”

By this point, the idea of women blazing trails in male-dominated sports spaces isn’t new. Front offices and coaching staffs in the NBA have recently hired women in key roles. Professional and college sports have increasing numbers of female referees. ESPN has promoted Doris Burke, Jessica Mendoza and Beth Mowins to high-profile analyst and play-by-play roles for men’s sports, breaking even more barriers for women in sports media.

But this measure of progress has taken place in a more behind-the-scenes manner as ESPN entered negotiations for the ACC Network and eventually assembled a team that would be tasked with a project that was both similar and yet very different from previous launches of the Longhorn and SEC Networks.

“I remember being in a meeting one day a couple years ago and looking around, and I noticed it then that I was sitting at a table full of women,” said Rosalyn Durant, the senior vice president of college networks for ESPN. “I paused and said, ‘Look around the room here. Do you notice this?’ It felt different, it felt very strong and it felt like tremendous progress from where the industry had been and it showed progress from where the company had been.”