ACC approves nine-game football schedule
The ACC has approved a nine-game league football schedule and 18 conference games for men’s and women’s basketball and has assigned newcomers Pittsburgh and Syracuse into divisions for football. They were among several scheduling formats made official Friday at a league meeting of athletic directors and faculty athletic representatives.
Pittsburgh will join Georgia Tech’s Coastal Division, while Syracuse will become part of the Atlantic. Those changes, as well as the nine-game league schedule, will go into place once those schools join the ACC from the Big East. It has yet to be determined when that will happen, but the schools are under contract to remain in the Big East through the 2013-14 academic year.
Each school will play its six division opponents with three crossover games, including its primary partner. Tech’s will remain Clemson.
The Coastal Division, including Tech, appears to be receiving the stronger football team in recent history. The Panthers have averaged 7.6 wins and made four bowl trips in the past five years, compared to 4.4 wins and one for the Orange. Over 10 years, Pitt has averaged 7.4 wins with seven bowl trips while Syracuse’s average is 4.3 wins with two bowl trips. Perhaps most tellingly, Pitt is 9-1 against Syracuse in the past 10 games, although Syracuse had won 11 in a row prior to that.
Since the league split into two divisions beginning with the 2005 season, the Atlantic is 69-64 against Coastal teams including ACC championship games.
In basketball, each member will have one primary partner. Tech’s will be Clemson. The other 12 opponents will rotate in groups of four. Each season, a team will play home and away with one group (eight games), home against another group (four games) and away against the last group (four games). Over a three-year cycle, primary partners will play each other six games and all the other members four times.
All 14 teams will compete in the men’s and women’s conference tournaments. The format was not released Friday.
The remaining team sports will continue to play each conference member at least once during the regular season with the exception of baseball. Like football, baseball is split into two divisions and teams do not play every conference opponent.
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161 comments Add your comment
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
2:39 pm
@ BigTime….., that’s just you dreaming, although I sure like that dream
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
2:40 pm
@ GT Lee, I wouldn’t call it really a rumor, per se, but it’s been bandied about for a couple of years that that would make sense.
reebok
February 3rd, 2012
2:41 pm
We will play one out-of-conference creampuff, one MTSU/Troy/Central Florida type, and Georgia OOC, I guess. One less spot on the schedule for the Jacksonville States of the world…
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
2:41 pm
Notre Dame still thinks they can run the whole show themselves, in spite of quite a few years of mediocrity lately. I would think if ND would get off their high-horse and do that, the PSU might eagerly follow.
GT Lee
February 3rd, 2012
2:41 pm
that would still leave ND & PSU pretty much duking it out for the Atlantic (at least right now, anyway)
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
2:43 pm
reebok, we play 12 game schedules now, so that would still leave us with the possibility of 2 cream puffs in addition to UGA
GT Lee
February 3rd, 2012
2:43 pm
as I recall, Super, we pretty much did the same thing for a while there (going Independant)
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
2:45 pm
GT Lee, if ND and PSU would make that move, then the division of powers would be more equitably spread out. There would be 3 or 4 generally good teams in the north, and 3 or 4 generally good teams in the south. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
2:45 pm
@ GT Lee, yes, we did, and it was the stupidest move we ever made.
Power DWAGS
February 3rd, 2012
2:47 pm
We recruit so well that we jettisoned a few!
Delbert D.
February 3rd, 2012
2:49 pm
I think the North-South realignment will be done when the ACC expands to 16 teams. Also, I would not discount FSU as a championship contender in the Atlantic over the next few years. They just signed another top class.
GT Lee
February 3rd, 2012
2:50 pm
yeah Super, we paid for that one…got a little too greedy back in the day….
BigTimeTechFan
February 3rd, 2012
2:51 pm
Not rumor or in the works, just my wish but there have been some talk from others that:
1. Penn St has always wanted a power conf of eastern teams, mix of ACC/Big East. That’s why it took them so long to go to Big 10.
2. Penn St fans about 50/50 for Penn St going to ACC, more close rivals. Plus Alumni is heavy east coast based
3. Penn St did not want Nebraska in Big-10, wanted east coast team.
4. Downside is Penn St likes Big 10 tradition and powerhouse football programs.
Some say if Penn St would go to ACC, it would be very attractive for Notre Dame.
All is just talking-heads doing their thing, but Notre Dame President did confirm Penn St as their preference
Downside is Penn St is more compatible with Big 10
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
2:52 pm
Dodd wanted us to be the Notre Dame of the south. Unfortunately, he didn’t or possibly couldn’t schedule teams that would have given us the opportunity to gain that distinction. He should have immediately started scheduling Mich, OSU, USC (west), and others, but for whatever reason, that didn’t happen.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
2:53 pm
Penn State now has a head coach with ACC roots, so who knows?
George Stein
February 3rd, 2012
2:53 pm
You can only imagine the complaining when Team X in a division finishes a game behind Team Y in a season where Team X had 4 conference home games and Team Y had 5.
I expect this will further damage the likelihood of tough non-conference games in the future.
GT Lee
February 3rd, 2012
2:54 pm
with 16 teams and North/South alignment, would we drop the perm rivalry from other division and just rotate the other div 2 teams per year/4 yrs?
Ramblnwrek
February 3rd, 2012
2:58 pm
I wish they had gone with a north vs south. Yes, it would have been lop sided, but it would probably get some national love live the SEC west vs east.
North: GT, FSU, CLEM, MIA, UNC, DUKE, NCST
South: WAKE, VT, UVA, PITT, SYR, BC, MD
Most rivalries preserved.
Jacket Fan
February 3rd, 2012
2:59 pm
Non story. We won’t be playing Pitt for another 2 years and 9 months from now.
GT Lee
February 3rd, 2012
3:00 pm
Ramblnwrek I think you labeled them backwards….
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:01 pm
Ramblinwreck, I am assuming that you made a typo there. If not, then you don’t know your geography very well. I think you mixed up north with south.
George Stein
February 3rd, 2012
3:01 pm
This is the South, Jacket Fan. We talk about college football things that won’t happen for another 100 years, let alone something that won’t happen for another two!
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:01 pm
Jacket Fan, unless something changes (which it SHOULD), then you are correct.
BigTimeTechFan
February 3rd, 2012
3:02 pm
Used to play:
Pitt
Tenn
Auburn
Georgia
Notre Dame
Auburn
Clemson
type schedule in the 70’s
Ramblnwrek
February 3rd, 2012
3:03 pm
Yeah, you’re right, but you get the idea. I’m at the airport drinking beer right now so forgive me this once
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:03 pm
I would put UNC in the north and WF in the south. If not, then, assuming UNC continues to perform well, then the south is very very much top-heavy.
BigTimeTechFan
February 3rd, 2012
3:05 pm
Watch out for Pitt, they had nice recruiting because of all the Penn St issues going on, expect the same next year.
George Stein
February 3rd, 2012
3:05 pm
If it’s Bud Light, don’t tell me, Ramblnwreck!
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:06 pm
Big Time, I think we only played Pitt twice. Both Tenn and Auburn refused to play us anymore…..Auburn for half-way decent reasons, Tenn for spite. We also played USC (west) a couple of years, but it was not a regular part of out schedule. We also played Penn State in Atlanta in 1961 and 1966, but not again till the ‘91 pre-season game in NY
Ramblnwrek
February 3rd, 2012
3:07 pm
My main point is that if you put all the good football schools together, you are GUARANTEED games that will get national exposure every year. Yes, you loose parity but you gain on a larger scale.
BigTimeTechFan
February 3rd, 2012
3:07 pm
I wish we would add the Scottish-Rite game back on the schedule, those were fun to watch
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:07 pm
OOPS, the ‘61 game against Penn State was a bowl game. We only played them once in Atlanta, a win in 1966
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:08 pm
@ Ramblinwreck, another thing you gain is good ticket sales, and we definitely need that.
BigTimeTechFan
February 3rd, 2012
3:09 pm
But if the did not play Pitt, it would be Mich St, then USC, they always played pretty good teams
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:09 pm
BigTime, those were freshmen games, and sadly, the days of freshmen teams and games are long gone.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:10 pm
BigTime, yes, but there was only one of those games a year; Dodd really needed two each year to make it work.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:13 pm
Dodd insisted on keeping Duke and Tulane on the schedule, even though neither of them brought any recognition or money.
Ramblnwrek
February 3rd, 2012
3:15 pm
Super, yeah. You see what I’m getting at. More consistent big games leads to ticket sales, tv contacts, overal hype for the ACC (which it sorely needs). The imbalance will be settled over time by the schools on the other side. (see UGA) Recruiting will get better and money will be more. I really don’t see the down side.
BigTimeTechFan
February 3rd, 2012
3:16 pm
In 1980 Tech played 4 top 10 teams, that was real fun
UGA (1)
North Carolina (5)
Notre Dame (6)
Alabama (10)
UGA beat Tech 38-20
UNC 33-0
Alabama 26-3
Notre Dame Tie 3-3, wow
Florida was good also and beat us 45-12
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:19 pm
BigTime, regarding 1980, Notre Dame had to COME FROM BEHIND to tie us, and yet they get matched against UGA in the Sugar Bowl in a meaningless game that enabled UGA to win the NC.
Delbert D.
February 3rd, 2012
3:20 pm
The guy that writes about the NCAA a lot on the NYTimes (Joe Nocera) postulated making freshmen ineligible as a way to address some of the problems with college football. I agree with that.
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:21 pm
It’s been fun, guys, and amazingly free of DWAG trolls, but I need to go the gym and exercise something other than my typing fingers….LOL Y’all keep the faith and have a good afternoon !!!
Supersize that order, mutt
February 3rd, 2012
3:22 pm
@ Delbert, before I go, I totally agree with that.
MR is a Hypocrite
February 3rd, 2012
3:43 pm
Barks Madley and shults are probably over at Rich’s houe trying to figure how to spin the story so the Dawgs look good. Lipstick on a pig, I think they call it!
GT Lee
February 3rd, 2012
3:51 pm
they sure as hell aren’t in a hurry to get a story up online about it, are they?
GT Lee
February 3rd, 2012
3:53 pm
if 3 Tech players had gotten kicked off the team they would probably fight each other to see who could get a story up first…..
GTinNashville
February 3rd, 2012
3:59 pm
Ken, with Pitt joining Tech’s regular schedule, it would be great to see the AJC write an article highlighting the ‘56 sugar bowl where Tech played Pitt. This is the game where the Ga. Legislature tried to prevent Tech from playing due to Pitt having a black athelete. Many also say this led to Tech losing “athelete’s” majors/requiring all atheletes to start taking calculus.
Go Jackets!
February 3rd, 2012
4:10 pm
Interesting Nashville…
Delbert, completely agree.
Obviously GT Lee...
February 3rd, 2012
4:17 pm
…does not read the AJC online much – Chip Towers has had the UGA story up since 9:12am, and Schultz since 9:30am ( and updted at 10:45am)…
Go Jackets!
February 3rd, 2012
4:24 pm
Yep, those guys messed up. Too bad for them. Hopefully they can learn from it and land somewhere else.