Conference Realignment Thread

Sea Bass Neely

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
2,353
My thought would be that the ACC is being proactive cause they are about to get raided as well. If the SEC and Big Ten are going to 16 too, and a Oklahoma jump to the Pac 12 will facilitate that, then they aren't going to C-USA to grab their new members.

The ACC move would allow them to stay alive. Which I think is the name of the game and something the Big XII and Big East are failing in.

And from what I hear the Big 10 is still very much in play for Texas, although some athletics people are pushing for the ACC.
 

JMDurron

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
5,127
My thought would be that the ACC is being proactive cause they are about to get raided as well. If the SEC and Big Ten are going to 16 too, and a Oklahoma jump to the Pac 12 will facilitate that, then they aren't going to C-USA to grab their new members.

The ACC move would allow them to stay alive. Which I think is the name of the game and something the Big XII and Big East are failing in.

And from what I hear the Big 10 is still very much in play for Texas, although some athletics people are pushing for the ACC.
This is my completely uninformed take as well. If the SEC only adds one or two teams, they could do that without raiding the ACC. If you're talking about a 16-team SEC, though, I don't see how none of the ACC football schools end up being roped into that. The non-ACC options that are even remotely attractive and somewhat realistic in my mind are Texas A&M, Missouri, and West Virginia.
 

gopats84

New Member
Jul 20, 2005
77
Maine
This is my completely uninformed take as well. If the SEC only adds one or two teams, they could do that without raiding the ACC. If you're talking about a 16-team SEC, though, I don't see how none of the ACC football schools end up being roped into that. The non-ACC options that are even remotely attractive and somewhat realistic in my mind are Texas A&M, Missouri, and West Virginia.
Those three schools only get the SEC to 15, one short of the magic number. If the ACC gets to 16 teams with Pittsburgh, Syracuse and whoever else, do they then become raid-proof? Seems like the 12 current ACC schools are pretty committed to one another considering they all agreed to raise the buyout to $20 million.

Short of one of their exisiting 12 breaking rank, I think is move by the ACC could in theory block the SEC from getting to 16. The numbers just aren't there unless the SEC would consider someone like South Florida or goes after Texas.
 

Sea Bass Neely

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
2,353
Those three schools only get the SEC to 15, one short of the magic number. If the ACC gets to 16 teams with Pittsburgh, Syracuse and whoever else, do they then become raid-proof? Seems like the 12 current ACC schools are pretty committed to one another considering they all agreed to raise the buyout to $20 million.

Short of one of their exisiting 12 breaking rank, I think is move by the ACC could in theory block the SEC from getting to 16. The numbers just aren't there unless the SEC would consider someone like South Florida or goes after Texas.
if the Big Ten has to expand, and I think they've learned their lesson and will sit back and work quietly, then I think Maryland is #3 on the list, with 1 and 2 being Texas and ND which have unique circumstances. The major thing during this is there isn't going to be any loyalty to anyone else. You have to do what's best for you.
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
if the Big Ten has to expand, and I think they've learned their lesson and will sit back and work quietly, then I think Maryland is #3 on the list, with 1 and 2 being Texas and ND which have unique circumstances. The major thing during this is there isn't going to be any loyalty to anyone else. You have to do what's best for you.
Maryland? I dont see that as a fit at all. I think they look at Rutgers before Maryland.
 

Mr. Wednesday

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 27, 2007
1,590
Eastern MA
I think Notre Dame will either remain independent or join the Big 10. I don't see the alums buying into ND playing football against the likes of Duke, or academically being in the same conference as Clemson and Florida State.
I think you grossly underestimate how strongly ND alums feel about the Integer.

I would strongly favor the ACC over the Integer if ND is forced into a conference.
 

SumnerH

Malt Liquor Picker
Dope
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
31,885
Alexandria, VA
Maryland? I dont see that as a fit at all. I think they look at Rutgers before Maryland.
Yeah Maryland and the 4 NC schools aren't going anywhere as long as the ACC is viable. And the VA schools would only move together, which is unlikely but not impossible.
 

Jinhocho

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2001
10,283
Durham, NC
The rumors made the rounds and I am sure had something to do with the move to snag Cuse and Pitt. Most of the stuff I heard/read down here (college sports is king and this is the heart of ACC country) seemed to hint at some ACC/Big East hydbrid eventually becoming the 4th of the superconferences. The rumors of Maryland to the big ten seemed to light a fire down here at least on the radio where it was thought if they lost Maryland to the Big 10 and potentially Florida State and Clemson to the SEC the conference would be fucked. Anyway, here is a blog post that sums up some of it:

Who's left? Well, from the aforementioned commonly rumored group, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Missouri—four teams.

However, the Big Ten wants five teams to get to an even 16 members. So where do they look now?

The latest rumor making the message board and water-cooler rounds has the University of Maryland being targeted by the Big Ten. Maybe you have heard it already, but it caught me by surprise.

Now there are many variations to all of the rumored realignment scenarios involving each respective school, but when I began hearing about Maryland late last week, it made more and more sense the more thought I gave to it.

Maryland taps into the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. markets, and the University of Maryland is definitely an AAU member institution. Couple those neat facts with the close proximity to current Big Ten member Penn State and the potential new members in Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse, and you have a very intriguing option for the Big Ten.

I will admit I had not considered Maryland as an option for the Big Ten until now, but the more I dwell on it, the more I believe this scenario has legs. Joe Paterno stated last week that he felt the Big Ten should grow to 14 members, adding two in the east and one in the west.

Adding four in the east and one in the west would work just as well and would really add to the marketability of the Big Ten in America’s Northeastern panhandle, all while keeping the western members of the Big Ten happy as they get to add a large market in close proximity to their hometowns as well.

A move like that from the Big Ten lashes out at three separate BCS conferences. If there was any doubt about how serious the Big Ten was about becoming THE dominant name in college athletics, let those doubts now be put to bed.

If the latest rumors involving Maryland leaving the ACC for the Big Ten are true, the Big Ten will effectively force a restructuring of the Big 12 Conference, the Big East Conference, and the Atlantic Coast Conference. It will also leave little doubt that the Big Ten will have supplanted the Big East Conference as the nation’s premier basketball league.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/385117-big-ten-rumor-mill-is-maryland-a-candidate-for-the-big-ten

and it also surfaced last year as well

Rumors that the Florida schools will bolt for the SEC or that the ACC will add 4 schools from the Big East are just that, rumors. Given that many of us are Maryland fans, I started thinking about what it would be like if Maryland, a charter member of the ACC, received and accepted an offer to join the Big TenEleven conference. Given the uncertainty surrounding the ACC, could the university turn down such and offer? What would be the benefits of leaving the ACC for the Big 10? How would the revenue programs be affected? How would the change be received by coaches and former athletes who stay involved in the program? Would the change make sense from a athletic and recruiting perspective? And most importantly how would leaving the ACC affect the fans of and atmosphere surrounding Maryland athletic events?

There are a lot of questions and few answers right now, but from a financial perspective the University of Maryland would be foolish to turn down an offer to join the Big 10. The Big 10 could become a 16 team mega conference with the possible additions of schools like Nebraska, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and maybe even Texas. Huge money to be spread around by bowl game appearances and let’s not forget the Big 10 has it’s own television network devoted completely to conference athletics. Simply put the university and it’s athletic department would bring in significantly more revenue.

If money is not enough of a reason, then maybe leaving a conference that has treated Maryland like an outsider, despite being a charter member, is. Sure Maryland has achieved a fair amount of success in the ACC, but lets face it the conference is still wrapped around Duke and Carolina basketball. They are the media darlings, they are put out there are the face of the ACC and in many ways they get to do what it takes to stay good, with few repercussions. Hard to say Maryland would not face similar struggles in the Big 10 with storied football programs at Ohio St. Michigan and Penn State, and in basketball with Michigan St. and Indiana, but the path to the top in basketball would be a lot clearer. And let’s face it, that could be more important to Maryland fans right now and more feasible based on the state of the basketball and football programs.

How would this move affect the atmosphere of Maryland athletics? Well, for football, at least, there would be increased excitement, more storied road venues, bigger name programs and their fans coming to College Park. Not sure the wins would follow right away, but how fun would it be to see the Buckeyes, Wolverines, Badgers, Nittany Lions, Fighting Irish and others coming to Byrd on a regular basis. Roadies to Columbus, Ann Arbor and South Bend would be amazing too. On the basketball side, the new rivalries would not be nearly as sexy and the road trips would require a sled and a pack of dogs. It would be a tough pill to swallow changing rivals from Duke, Carolina, Wake, Georgia Tech and Clemson to, potentially, Rutgers, Northwestern, Minnesota and Penn St.
http://baltimoresportsreport.com/conference-expansion-what-if-maryland-joined-the-big-10-6785.html

Obviously, these are blog posts but these things have been kicking around in various sports blogs, newspapers, media reports, talk radio, and lots of interviews w reporters on sports stations...
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

T&A
SoSH Member
Feb 9, 2010
5,302
Providence, RI
After watching Temple stay hang with Penn State today, i thought to myself, "could Temple be a dark horse in all this?". They have a respectable basketball program that could likely hold their own in a larger conference. I know football drives the bus here and Temple is no football power house, but the Google tells me they have a 15 year agreement to play at Lincoln Financial Field, so they have the stadium covered. They have has some recent success, but did just lose their up and coming coach. It's a big school, 37K under grads. I don't know anything about Temple's academics, but they are not an AAU school.

The biggest thing Temple seemingly has to offer is that it sits in a top 5 TV market. A top 5 TV market that does not have a big time college team in it. I fully understand that Philly is like like Boston in regards to college sports; generally an after thought. And I'm willing to be half the people living in philly dont even know that Temple has a football team, but that's a big, generally untouched market.

Is it completely unreasonable to see the ACC being interested in Temple? Or the Big East (unless Villanova scoffs)

(does Penn St. own the Philly market? I was just spit balling from my couch here.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
After watching Temple stay hang with Penn State today, i thought to myself, "could Temple be a dark horse in all this?". They have a respectable basketball program that could likely hold their own in a larger conference. I know football drives the bus here and Temple is no football power house, but the Google tells me they have a 15 year agreement to play at Lincoln Financial Field, so they have the stadium covered. They have has some recent success, but did just lose their up and coming coach. It's a big school, 37K under grads. I don't know anything about Temple's academics, but they are not an AAU school.

The biggest thing Temple seemingly has to offer is that it sits in a top 5 TV market. A top 5 TV market that does not have a big time college team in it. I fully understand that Philly is like like Boston in regards to college sports; generally an after thought. And I'm willing to be half the people living in philly dont even know that Temple has a football team, but that's a big, generally untouched market.

Is it completely unreasonable to see the ACC being interested in Temple? Or the Big East (unless Villanova scoffs)

(does Penn St. own the Philly market? I was just spit balling from my couch here.
Temple is no player in this shuffling of conferences. Penn State owns Pennsylvania and most of the NYC market too.
 

DLew On Roids

guilty of being sex
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 30, 2001
13,906
The Pine Street Inn
What struck me about tonight's ESPN report is that Syracuse was reported to be panicking about their conference affiliation. They'd only be feeling that if they thought the game of musical chairs was about to end with Cuse still in the Big East. Given that there's no way the ACC takes four teams from the Big East without grabbing Syracuse, I have to think that the Syracuse administration at least thought that ND or Texas were on the verge of joining, which would make the Orange a lot more vulnerable.

Jin, was the reporter down in Raleigh David Glenn? I put a lot of stock in his work. Very informed, minimal hyperbole.

If the ACC were to pull this off--getting unanimity on the $20 million exit fee, major juice in the NYC TV market, and a football whale, all in one week--it would go down as the biggest coup in college athletics since at least the SEC's getting to 12 and securing the first championship game.

Maybe the remaining Big East teams could merge with the A-10 and form a new conference. I have the perfect name! The East Coast Athletic Conference. Catchy, huh?
 

Gunfighter 09

wants to be caribou ken
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2005
8,548
KPWT
This is my completely uninformed take as well. If the SEC only adds one or two teams, they could do that without raiding the ACC. If you're talking about a 16-team SEC, though, I don't see how none of the ACC football schools end up being roped into that. The non-ACC options that are even remotely attractive and somewhat realistic in my mind are Texas A&M, Missouri, and West Virginia.

I think the answer to this one is Texas Tech. If the PAC-12 doesn't get Texas, they almost certainly won't take Texas Tech, who would then be available to match up with A&M for the SEC. That would make the four likeliest new SEC teams Mizzou, Tex A&M, TTech and WVa. In this scenario, the PAC-12 would likely add the Oklahoma and Kansas schools. The only problem for the SEC schools would be matching up in two divisions.

Which brings me to the challenge of scheduling football in a 16 team conference. I think the answer is to go to four division with four teams that always play each other, rather than two 8 team divisions. In the two eight divisions model, assuming a 9/3 conference/non-conference split, then teams would only get two games against the other division. Thus a team like Oklahoma or South Carolina would only get the benefit of sharing their conference with California or Texas schools every third or fourth year. With the four division model, teams play three schools every year and then half of the remaining schools each year, thus they are guaranteed to play each school in the conference every other year.

Here is how it would work in the PAC-16, assuming KU and KSU go west.


California:
USC
UCLA
Stanford
Cal

Northwest
UW
Wazzou
OSU
Oregon

Plains
OU
OSU
KU
KSU

Mountains
UofA
ASU
CU
Utah

Then the two best division winners would meet in the championship game. Each school would play the three schools in their division and two of the schools in each of the other divisions.

The four division SEC would look something like:
Whataburger
A&M
LSU
TTech
Arkansas

Sonic
Ole Miss
MSU
Bama
Opelika Tech

Chick Fila
Mizzou
Kentucky
Tennessee
Vandy

Waffle House
UF
UGa
SCarolina
WVa
 

DLew On Roids

guilty of being sex
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 30, 2001
13,906
The Pine Street Inn
I think you're trying to solve a non-existent problem. Oklahoma would join the PAC-12 not to get regular games against different opponents, but to maximize TV revenue and get a chance to compete for championships. I'd think such schools would actually be averse to additional rotation in non-revenue sports because it would add to travel costs.
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
Yeah, it's a big market. What I mean is PSU football owns the PA and NYC markets not PSU overall. Syracuse, when good at football, takes it over and is the major basketball player in the city.
Penn State football? Owns NYC?

Lived in the NY Metro area since graduating from Syracuse, and I dont see that at all. Ever. NYC is either apathetic when it comes to college football, half heartedly rooting for Rutgers, or with maybe slightly more enthusiasm pulling for Syracuse...Penn State has no significant influence in NYC in my opinion.
 

Gunfighter 09

wants to be caribou ken
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2005
8,548
KPWT
I think you're trying to solve a non-existent problem. Oklahoma would join the PAC-12 not to get regular games against different opponents, but to maximize TV revenue and get a chance to compete for championships. I'd think such schools would actually be averse to additional rotation in non-revenue sports because it would add to travel costs.

This big issue in splitting the Pac-12 was balancing the desire for every school to get to play in California each year with the need for the Bay Area and LA schools to play each other every year. The solution to this was to split the California schools north and south, but guarantee the four schools that they would play each other every year. You will still have the problem of every school, including Oklahoma, wanting time in California, but also wanting to keep traditional rivalries.


The most anticipated decision was the division alignment. The league decided to split the California schools, with Stanford and Cal playing in the North Division with Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State. UCLA and Southern California will be in the South with Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado.

"If you were just looking at a map, you'd look at something that makes complete sense," Arizona State athletic director Lisa Love said. "You have a group of schools that fit naturally into a southern section and schools that fit naturally into a northern section. If you were watching the divisions from, say, New York City, you'd have an idea of what that southern division looks like, so it's as it should be and an excellent split for the league."

The conference did vote to keep the historic California rivalries. The Bay Area schools have played the Los Angeles schools every year since 1946 in rivalries that started long before that. Cal and Stanford will each play UCLA and USC every year in football.

"It was something all four of the California schools from minute one stated as essential to us," Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour said. "We would not have been in favor of any deal or ultimate resolution that did not provide that as an opportunity."

USC athletic director Pat Haden had been vocal in advocating that the Los Angeles schools still play the other California rivals.

"When you think about the history of the games, we've played Cal for nearly 100 years, Stanford for 80-some. They've been historic games, great memories, memorable moments in those games," Haden said. "At the end of the day, the presidents did a great job because they were able to preserve the rivalries -- not only from USC's perspective, as I understand it, but Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State and all those schools."

The other cross-divisional games in the nine-game conference schedule will rotate, with the Oregon and Washington schools playing in Los Angeles every other year as opposed to the current annual trips. The Northwest schools would either play both Los Angeles schools every other year or one LA school each year.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5711336
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
Penn State football? Owns NYC?

Lived in the NY Metro area since graduating from Syracuse, and I dont see that at all. Ever. NYC is either apathetic when it comes to college football, half heartedly rooting for Rutgers, or with maybe slightly more enthusiasm pulling for Syracuse...Penn State has no significant influence in NYC in my opinion.
The only college football team I ever really hear people talk about around here is Penn State.

But, in other news, it really looks officially that Pitt and Cuse are ACC members.

ACC presidents voted this morning to accept Syracuse & Pitt to ACC, official announcement in next 2 days, according to official in ACC
http://twitter.com/#!/WhitesideUSAT/status/115255956975255554
 

Drocca

darrell foster wallace
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
17,585
Raleigh, NC
Wow. Very exciting as an ACC fan and college basketball guy first. The ACC is going to be a hell of a basketball conference and an overrated football conference.

Just like today!
 

8slim

has trust issues
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2001
24,829
Unreal America
Penn State football? Owns NYC?

Lived in the NY Metro area since graduating from Syracuse, and I dont see that at all. Ever. NYC is either apathetic when it comes to college football, half heartedly rooting for Rutgers, or with maybe slightly more enthusiasm pulling for Syracuse...Penn State has no significant influence in NYC in my opinion.
Penn State and ND are the two most popular teams in the NY market, by far. I have a long history of poll data to back that up, just gotta find it.

Meanwhile, Maryland to the Big Ten has been a rumour for over a year. Anyone who "didn't see it coming" can't be too plugged in.
 

Drocca

darrell foster wallace
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
17,585
Raleigh, NC
I have a hard time caring about Maryland but their ACC ties and rivalries are pretty strong. Plus they are good at basketball and overrated at football so they fit the ACC profile. Who would pay the 20 million or whatever?
 

Jinhocho

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2001
10,283
Durham, NC
What struck me about tonight's ESPN report is that Syracuse was reported to be panicking about their conference affiliation. They'd only be feeling that if they thought the game of musical chairs was about to end with Cuse still in the Big East. Given that there's no way the ACC takes four teams from the Big East without grabbing Syracuse, I have to think that the Syracuse administration at least thought that ND or Texas were on the verge of joining, which would make the Orange a lot more vulnerable.

Jin, was the reporter down in Raleigh David Glenn? I put a lot of stock in his work. Very informed, minimal hyperbole.

If the ACC were to pull this off--getting unanimity on the $20 million exit fee, major juice in the NYC TV market, and a football whale, all in one week--it would go down as the biggest coup in college athletics since at least the SEC's getting to 12 and securing the first championship game.

Maybe the remaining Big East teams could merge with the A-10 and form a new conference. I have the perfect name! The East Coast Athletic Conference. Catchy, huh?
Dont think it was David Glenn, but agree he is good. Was on Adam Gold/Gould? show and on 620AM as well. I got rid of XM a few months ago, so just listen to local sports talk back and forth to work (90 mins total or so aday). I cant remember the persons name that covered the ACC, but they had a Texas beatwriter on, and a bunch of others over the past week. I didnt think I would be posting it etc so didnt pay too much attention as I was just listening to the chronology and speculation. It sounded like the Maryland to Big 10 even if a rumor and the SEC sniffing around motivated em, but who knows.
 

SoxScout

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jun 19, 2003
30,149
The move would make the ACC a 14-team conference and certainly lead to speculation that the era of 16-team super conferences is about to arrive. The ACC also has not closed off its options about adding two other East Coast teams, depending on how the expansion dominoes fall in other leagues. Connecticut and Rutgers would be the candidates, the official said.

Syracuse and Pitt must give the Big East 27 months notice of their departure and pay a $5 million exit fee. Last week, in a regularly scheduled meeting ACC presidents unanimously approved raising their exit fee to $20 million - up from about $13 million - for any member leaving the conference. There has been speculation about the SEC's interest in Florida State. However, it appears FSU will stay put given Florida State president Eric Barron's stated commitment to the league and his vote for the pricey exit fee.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/story/2011-09-17/acc-approves-syracuse-pittsburgh-big-east/50448806/1
 

SumnerH

Malt Liquor Picker
Dope
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
31,885
Alexandria, VA
Meanwhile, Maryland to the Big Ten has been a rumour for over a year. Anyone who "didn't see it coming" can't be too plugged in.
That the Big 10 wants Maryland has been a rumor for over a year, but it's always been a one-sided thought; the local press has been quite steady in saying that MD has no interest in leaving the ACC. If the ACC fell apart (which was not totally unlikely before the Syracuse/Pitt news) then Maryland would probably jump at a Big 10 offer. But the feeling around here is that there's no way it happens outside of an ACC breakup; the Carolina teams and UMD are pretty well wedded to the conference so long as it's a major conference. Rivalry-wise, the ACC really is UNC/Duke first nowadays, but with UMD/Duke and UNC/NC State as much stronger secondary rivalries than people outside the area realize (MD views Duke as a serious tier-one rivalry, and UNC fans of my mom's generation still view NC State as their #1 rival with Duke as a recent upstart). Wake's not really a school anyone wants to poach, and just kind of fits comfortably in with the rest of the North Carolina schools

Clemson, FSU, GaTech, and Miami were considered much more likely flight risks; that seems less likely after today's news, but none of them really are culturally core ACC teams in the way that UNC/Duke/Maryland/Wake/NC State and to a lesser degree UVA are. Clemson's really a natural USC rival, and ever since USC jumped from the ACC to the SEC Clemson's been dying to follow them. FSU and Miami could both be lured by an obvious Florida rivalry in the SEC (though if the ACC is solid they both benefit from being big fish in a weaker pond while having each other there to shore up state recruiting). GaTech is sort of isolated in the ACC and has seemingly natural GA/Auburn rivalries if they moved.

UVA and VaTech are considered less likely to jump since the belief is that the state went to great lengths to get them into a conference together and won't easily let them split up again. There doesn't seem to be much of a local read one way or the other on BC--their membership is almost totally a matter of convenience and timing but they don't really have real ACC ties.
 

Sea Dog

New Member
Sep 9, 2006
2,140
Portland, Maine
Per the Lawrence Journal-World and Kansas City Star -- both using ACC sources -- Texas and KU could be the 15th and 16th teams to the ACC. That would be one heckuva basketball conference, and with Texas in tot, that would certainly give the football a much-needed bump.

EDIT -- Also worth noting the Lawrence story says the ACC would consider dividing into four-team pods instead of eight-team divisions to make the travel less taxing -- not that it would make too much of a difference for both KU and Texas, who would be severe outliers.
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
Penn State and ND are the two most popular teams in the NY market, by far. I have a long history of poll data to back that up, just gotta find it.

Meanwhile, Maryland to the Big Ten has been a rumour for over a year. Anyone who "didn't see it coming" can't be too plugged in.
Notre Dame I get. I see that every day. Penn State...maybe there is poll data although I wonder if it is out of date.
 

Jinhocho

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2001
10,283
Durham, NC
Pretty amazing stuff. Hard to believe the ACC looks to be a driver in all of this. I dont think many people saw this coming. Bet they draw all the blame too lol.
 

Joe D Reid

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
4,208
Clearly this is all just a plan to set up a lacrosse superconference, which means that the 15th and 16th ACC teams will be Johns Hopkins and Iroquois National College. Book it.
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
100% done deal. Link to the press release below, and a couple of quotes including Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor.

My link

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents has unanimously voted to accept the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University as new members. The invitation followed the submission of letters of application from both universities.
“The ACC is a strong united conference that is only going to get better with the addition of the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University,” said Duke University President Richard Broadhead, chair of the ACC Council of Presidents. “Both schools are committed to competing at the highest level of academics and athletics. We welcome them as full partners in the ACC.”
Cantor's take

"We are very excited to be joining the ACC. This is a tremendous opportunity for Syracuse, and with its outstanding academic quality and athletic excellence, the ACC is a perfect fit for us," said Nancy Cantor, Chancellor and President of Syracuse University. "The ACC is home to excellent national research universities with very strong academic quality, and is a group that Syracuse will contribute to significantly and benefit from considerably. As a comprehensive, all-sports conference, the ACC provides Syracuse tremendous opportunities for quality competition and growth in all sports, while also renewing some of our historic rivalries. This move will also bolster our continued efforts to look outward, engage, and extend Syracuse’s reach to key areas of the country, including the southeast, as we grow and expand our national connections to alumni, partners and the students of the future. We are pleased that Syracuse adds a New York City dimension to the ACC, a region in which we have built strong identity and affinity, and we look forward to bringing ACC games to the Big Apple. Overall, for Syracuse, this opportunity provides long-term conference stability in what is an uncertain, evolving, and rapidly shifting national landscape."
In the spirit of a communications school, her quote was twice as long as Nordenburg's
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
I can't wait for the Syracuse-UNC, Syracuse-Duke, Pitt-UNC, Pitt-Duke basketball matchups. I'm nowhere near a 'Cuse fan, but to see Carolina fans flocking to the Carrier Dome will be cool.

Also, what does this do to the Big Monday package? Will they move the ACC into the Big East's slot. The BE has been a Big Monday staple since it's inception.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
Also, if UConn does jump ship and join the ACC I think you can expect to see the ACC Tournament going to MSG. Imagine a quarterfinal day with Duke, UNC, UConn, Syracuse, Pitt, Maryland, Georgia Tech, and one of VTech, Clemson, or Florida State.
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
Also, if UConn does jump ship and join the ACC I think you can expect to see the ACC Tournament going to MSG. Imagine a quarterfinal day with Duke, UNC, UConn, Syracuse, Pitt, Maryland, Georgia Tech, and one of VTech, Clemson, or Florida State.
I can see a scenario where NYC gets it periodically...but I dont think that the NC contingent would ever let it leave NC regularly...
 

Captaincoop

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
13,487
Santa Monica, CA
If the ACC whiffs on Texas, and the last two schools end up being, say, UConn and Rutgers, then the days of the Carolina schools having the juice to keep the hoops tournament in a backwater like Greensboro are over.

And on the football side, the title game should permanently move to FedEx.
 

StuckOnYouk

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2006
3,538
CT
UConn president Susan Herbst finally releases the school's statement on the last 24 hours and the future of UConn in realignment.

UConn statement on expansion

To summarize the statement, they're looking to get the hell out of Dodge.

I like Herbst, she seems to be super agressive unlike previous UConn presidents. In other words the exact opposite of Big East leadership over the last 10 years.

Wherever UConn ends up, I think it's gonna be in a good place.
 

Drocca

darrell foster wallace
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
17,585
Raleigh, NC
If the ACC whiffs on Texas, and the last two schools end up being, say, UConn and Rutgers, then the days of the Carolina schools having the juice to keep the hoops tournament in a backwater like Greensboro are over.

And on the football side, the title game should permanently move to FedEx.
I think this is right. If they get Syracuse, Pitt, UConn and Rutgers then this will just be the ACC-Big East merger that many folks guessed and Madison Square Garden will trump the Tobacco Road tradition.

Obviously, I don't want this.

If this get Syracuse, Pitt, Kansas, Texas? Now we have a little football conference AND Tobacco Road tradition AND Kansas/UNC? Kansas/Duke? You wouldn't be interested in that?

I really don't want UCONN because I hate UCONN and they suck but in a way I guess that means that a rivalry between Carolina and UCONN would develop pretty quickly since I know a lot of fans on both sides sort of feel the same way.
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2006
16,089
Tuukka's refugee camp
UConn president Susan Herbst finally releases the school's statement on the last 24 hours and the future of UConn in realignment.

UConn statement on expansion

To summarize the statement, they're looking to get the hell out of Dodge.

I like Herbst, she seems to be super agressive unlike previous UConn presidents. In other words the exact opposite of Big East leadership over the last 10 years.

Wherever UConn ends up, I think it's gonna be in a good place.
I'm not too sure about that. UConn isn't going to the Big 10 and if they get passed up by the ACC where does that leave them? They don't have a significant TV market and their football team has little to no tradition. I really have no idea what their next best option is. The ACC holds all the cards wrt to UConn so I hope they don't play their hand too quickly. UConn will likely be there while it's decidedly less uncertain for the others being floated around.
 

DukeSox

absence hasn't made the heart grow fonder
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2005
11,742
I think this is right. If they get Syracuse, Pitt, UConn and Rutgers then this will just be the ACC-Big East merger that many folks guessed and Madison Square Garden will trump the Tobacco Road tradition.

Obviously, I don't want this.

If this get Syracuse, Pitt, Kansas, Texas? Now we have a little football conference AND Tobacco Road tradition AND Kansas/UNC? Kansas/Duke? You wouldn't Ebe interested in that?

I really don't want UCONN because I hate UCONN and they suck but in a way I guess that means that a rivalry between Carolina and UCONN would develop pretty quickly since I know a lot of fans on both sides sort of feel the same way.
Yeah Kansas/Texas would be amazing.

I don't see the ACC taking a school that cheats on the regular like UCONN.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
I remember being at the BC/Pitt football game in 2004 when the Pitt fans were chanting "ACC! ACC!" as the clock was winding down. Oh, the delicious irony. But I do like this. If the ACC can pick up 2 more legit programs (i.e., not UConn and Rutgers), I'll be very excited.
The irony is BC fans calling out other programs not being legit given the sad state of your program these days.
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2006
16,089
Tuukka's refugee camp
The irony is BC fans calling out other programs not being legit given the sad state of your program these days.
Not really considering this is about conference affiliation and not program success. UConn and Rutgers are probably pretty envious of the fact BC is part of a viable conference right now while they have to suck up to whomever so they aren't stuck in the equivalent of C-USA.

Edit: For as much crap as GDF gets, he did a great job with this whole conference navigation.
 

StuckOnYouk

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2006
3,538
CT
Yeah Kansas/Texas would be amazing.

I don't see the ACC taking a school that cheats on the regular like UCONN.
You think UConn is on the level of THE U or even UNC football? Dear god, your conference is far from clean.

I think the bigger issue is you worry about seeing Calhoun put a whoopin on the rat on a yearly basis.
 

StuckOnYouk

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2006
3,538
CT
The irony is BC fans calling out other programs not being legit given the sad state of your program these days.
The irony is also that 6 years after the first ACC raid, UConn football is at least the equal and probably even better than BC football. How many prophetic BC fans regarding the conference move would have believed that six years ago? Zero.
 

BS_SoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2005
2,230
Merrimack Valley
Hey, how about we don't let a thread on one of the most interesting and unpredictable re-shifting of college football teams in decades turn into yet ANOTHER BC-UConn pissing match? Or, if you feel the desire to do so, start a new thread and don't pollute this one. It's a tired argument that brings down so many threads in this forum.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
Yes, because a powerhouse like BC should never have down years. Nope, the irony is that BC fans were absolutely correct in these arguments knowing that this would happen. Big East fans were just too blinded to accept it.
I knew expansion was coming. Hell, anyone that follows college athletics knew it was coming. If you listened to what Swofford had to say, the ACC's stance on expansion changed this week so it's not like their long-term plan was to expand beyond 12 until the recent events with Texas and OU. With Herbst at the helm, UConn is going to find itself somewhere among the superconferences and be just fine. Not sure about the other Big East schools left, but UConn will be alright and most likely will end up in the ACC.

GDF did do a good job going to the ACC, but has football and men's basketball improved themselves because of the change in conferences? Has their recruiting classes gotten better since leaving the Big East? Has annual attendance gone up since leaving the Big East in football and men's basketball? Are donations and season ticket sales on the rise because of ACC affiliation? Are they going to better bowl games because they are in the ACC? The additions of the Big East schools will further knock BC down the totem pole in men's basketball and in football they have been stuck in mediocrity for many years. They were relevant for the Matt Ryan years and that's it. I don't follow one specific team in college football, so I'm not a UConn fan knocking BC football just because.
 

Captaincoop

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
13,487
Santa Monica, CA
Who are the rumored 15 and 16 in the Pac-16 after it grabs the Oklahoma schools? That seems to be an important missing puzzle piece here.

Obviously Texas and Texas Tech would be the best case scenario, but the Longhorn Network is going to an intractible issue in that regard.
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,208
South of North
Another shoe officially drops and congrats to the ACC on a move I think most will agree is a step forward. Cuse will help reel in the NY market, the schools both give the northern schools a new geographic rival, and both help the conference in both basketball and football. I personally would've loved Pitt in the B10, but I'm not worried about the Big10 adding other schools if they want to do so.

Regarding UT, I feel like they fit a B10-South, a Pac10-East, or SEC-West setup more than anything involving the ACC. There's something just odd about the relationship to me (hint: geography). Furthermore, the value of an affiliation to the non-ACC big boys is higher than to the ACC, recent additions nonwithstanding (the flip side being the football competition is probably the weakest).

I can't find who wrote it, but I would assume that the teams now in the ACC have played their hand and are looking to improve the ACC and not jump ship. i.e. UMD not going B10, and FSU/Miami not going SEC.

The more I think about it, the more I can see the better programs getting gobbled up however it may be, with one or two of the conferences deciding to stay at 14. The ACC only has 2 open spots, whereas the The B10, PAC, and SEC all have 2-4 spots. So, the possible number of programs to be added = 0-14. If every superconference goes to 14, then 6 spots remain; if the supers go to 16, obviously 14 are open (4+4+4+2); or, some conferences go to 14 and others to 16 and it falls somewhere in between. UT+1, OK-OSU, ND, Mizzou, Kansas, WVA, Rutgers, USF, and maybe UConn are the best bets to shift to superconferences, which totals 11 teams. While I personally hope to see the 4x16 format, I can definitely see the supers playing it safe and going to 14 first, before ultimately making the move to 16. That presumption is tempered however, by preemptive moves, such as the ACC getting an opportunity to add UT or something similar.

At this point, UT should want to make up its mind about affiliation. While the ACC would likely say yes as fast as possible, the SEC and B10 might be trying to poach some Bigeast and other B12 teams and the PAC is probably going after some other B12 teams. UT should want to be able to choose where they go while all possibilities are still available. Of course, if UT is seriously going indy, then they shouldn't feel as much of a rush and their stature definitely leads in that direction as well, but if they're leaning towards one super, it makes sense for them to make moves sooner (SWIDT?) than later.
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2006
16,089
Tuukka's refugee camp
I knew expansion was coming. Hell, anyone that follows college athletics knew it was coming. If you listened to what Swofford had to say, the ACC's stance on expansion changed this week so it's not like their long-term plan was to expand beyond 12 until the recent events with Texas and OU. With Herbst at the helm, UConn is going to find itself somewhere among the superconferences and be just fine. Not sure about the other Big East schools left, but UConn will be alright and most likely will end up in the ACC.

GDF did do a good job going to the ACC, but has football and men's basketball improved themselves because of the change in conferences? Has their recruiting classes gotten better since leaving the Big East? Has annual attendance gone up since leaving the Big East in football and men's basketball? Are donations and season ticket sales on the rise because of ACC affiliation? Are they going to better bowl games because they are in the ACC? The additions of the Big East schools will further knock BC down the totem pole in men's basketball and in football they have been stuck in mediocrity for many years. They were relevant for the Matt Ryan years and that's it. I don't follow one specific team in college football, so I'm not a UConn fan knocking BC football just because.
Well your history has shown that youare none too fond of the program so you lose a little credibility in the "I'm innocent" defense. And thethey are on the inside looking out while everyone else is scratching around to get scooped up. If they were still getting pissed thrown on them in the Big East they'd not be in that situation. That in itself is a gigantic positive for the ACC move. Not to mention the additional academic exposure to southern applicants. It's no coincidence IMO BC started setting records for number of applicants after the move.