But not because of Wake. You aren't subsidizing Wake.
Not in the literal sense, but in the broader sense that ESPN is a network that needs content.
They have their choice in which content they choose to show on their flagship network. They choose to show UConn games consistently at a higher rate than Wake Forest, Boston College, Rutgers, Northwestern - take your pick of any P5 bottom feeder.
They are getting these games a pennies on the dollar compared to what they pay for the right to broadcast ACC, B1G, SEC, Big 12 and PAC 12 games. So to the extent that they can show UConn games on their flagship for next to nothing and ACC conference games on ESPNU, that's a huge win for them.
Because they can afford to show UConn games cheap that gives them highly-rated content to show in between Duke, UNC and Michigan State games, allowing them to relegate Wake and BC to ESPN News. Yet, because Wake and BC are ACC schools they can still collect their paycheck and not have to worry about it.
So no, in a contractual and legal sense UConn is not subsidizing Wake and BC, but our presence on the network a dozen times a year for cheap allows those bottom feeder schools to keep cashing their P5 paychecks while keeping their TV partner (ESPN) happy.