Update: Maryland’s departure leaves ACC with 13
UPDATED, 12:56 p.m. with John Swofford statement: Maryland has left the ACC to join the Big Ten. Rutgers is expected to follow suit, leaving the Big East.
Maryland will reportedly begin Big Ten play in 2014-15. Until the ACC can find a replacement, it leaves the conference with an uneven 13 teams. Maryland was a charter member of the ACC at the league’s formation in 1953. It is just the second school to leave the ACC since its founding in 1953, following South Carolina in 1971.
“Our best wishes are extended to all of the people associated with the University of Maryland,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a statement. “Since our inception, they have been an outstanding member of our conference and we are sorry to see them exit. For the past 60 years the Atlantic Coast Conference has exhibited leadership in academics and athletics. This is our foundation and we look forward to building on it as we move forward.”
The athletic department has faced considerable financial stress, cutting seven teams over the summer. The Big Ten’s television revenues were undoubtedly a factor. The Big Ten distributed $284 million to its 12 teams for the 2012 fiscal year, a per-school average of $23.7 million.
ACC teams will receive $12.3 million in the current fiscal year, although the league will re-do its ESPN deal as a result of Notre Dame’s contract to play five ACC games annually. (It’s likely Maryland’s departure will also figure into negotiations.)
Consider this: According to reports from ESPN and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in May and June, Big Ten newcomer Nebraska did not receive a full share, drawing about $14 million while the other 11 schools took $24.6 million.
While the addition of Maryland and Rutgers will likely cause the Big Ten’s television deals to be re-done, were the math to hold, Maryland would receive more in a partial share as a Big Ten member than it would as a full ACC member.
There is the matter of the $50 million exit fee, instituted in September, to leave the ACC. It is interesting to note that Maryland president Wallace Loh voted against the fee increase, from $20 million, on “legal and philosophical grounds.” Florida State was the only other school to vote against it.
Loh told the Post that he disagreed with “punishing people if they simply exit a relationship.” The article also stated that Loh repeatedly praised the school’s relationship with the ACC and that it would continue to be a part of the league for years to come.
The obvious possibility to fill the 14th spot would be Notre Dame, which entered a deal with the ACC to join the conference for every sport but football and play five games annually against ACC football teams. The rise of the Fighting Irish on the football field likely lessens that possibility. Given the team’s declining stature in recent seasons, the school’s bargaining power with both the BCS and NBC had likely shrunk. However, with Notre Dame (at least for this season) a national title contender, its viability to remain an independent with a seat at the BCS table and to command a better television contract (presumably from NBC) than it could as a full ACC member has probably improved.
From a competition standpoint, how the ACC handles 13 teams, particularly in football, is going to be a bit of a challenge. The Big Ten was not separated into divisions when it was an 11-team league and did not face the predicament of one division with seven teams and the other with six, which would be the ACC’s lot starting in 2014 if it cannot find a 14th member.
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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171 comments Add your comment
fuzzybee78
November 19th, 2012
5:37 pm
If we could get PSU in the ACC now that would be great, but I dont think you can because of $$$ now (paying for Sandusky sins) and the big draw would be ND as a full ACC member playing PSU every year as part of the ACC North Division.
If not then I dont know who else is a fit both geography and academically better than UConn.
GTBob
November 19th, 2012
5:39 pm
GTBob……name me one GT sport the Big 10 would cripple. It would help all of them. Baseball would get a huge boost.
How would Baseball get a huge boost? The Big 10 is terrible at Baseball and future recruits are going to want to play in the ACC or SEC. Basketball would be affected because of the long travel distances and leaving the ACC which is now the strongest conference out there. Womens softball would pretty much be destroyed. Even Golf would be affected. People tend to forget that outside of football the ACC is competitive in a lot of sports and leaving would severely diminish that.
Bill
November 19th, 2012
5:41 pm
Washington Post reported last night exit fee for Maryland is legit and will have to be paid….
Can’t see Tech going to BIG 10 unless there is another southern partner.
Thing is, unless SEC wants to get Texas and Ok St at all costs before Pac 12 tries again, Fl St and Clemson are targets if Fl and SC allow waiver. Where does that leave Miami and Tech? Have to figure there is some truth to some of these rumors about Tech talking to Big10.
Just a thought…wouldn’t it be something if Duke and Carolina bolt for the Big 10? They are two of the 4 ACC schools ( excluding Pitt) that have the criteria the BIG wants.
Delbert D.
November 19th, 2012
5:42 pm
Bill – I got your point, and I agree. Nebraska’s departure from the AAU was an embarrassment to the Big Ten. I though Missouri would get the offer, but they should do okay in the SEC, improving the academic standing of that conference. They now have 4 members with Texas A&M joining as well.
Delbert D.
November 19th, 2012
5:45 pm
Penn State should be happy about this. Maryland and Rutgers are former long time rivalry games.
Delbert D.
November 19th, 2012
5:46 pm
Bill – Why would Pitt be excluded?
Bill
November 19th, 2012
5:52 pm
Maryland and Pa St were rumored to have been BIG 10 bound late 70’s…..those 3 schools were part of the original “Big East” talk when the Eastern schools were starting to look into actually forming a Sports conference..remember, it was better to be an independent in many cases back in the 60’s and 70’s.When the number of Bowls started to increase and the NCAA hoops started to allow multiple teams from same conferences, getting into a good conference became a priority ( see South Carolina from 1971 to 1992).
Can’t believe all the chatter about Tech being seriously courted by BIG 10…I mean I understand the $$ amounts, but Tech would have to have a Southern partner Otherwise, doesn’t make sense, unlike Maryland move.
Bill
November 19th, 2012
5:58 pm
Delbert.Pitt wouldn’t be. Just meant of CURRENT ACC schools….only 4 fit that criteria.
You know, Tech has to wonder if FSU is going to attempt to bolt for the Big12. Clemson will follow, for sure. Wonder if Miami would get their academic act together? Good school, sure Big10 would love Mia/GT pair if they Miami was legit at this point.
Maryland has been an athletic mess last few years. Yow pretty much destroyed GaryWilliams and Fridg. The people in charge are not ACC guys…really, time is right for Terps to move. Never will be better in that regard.
Delbert D.
November 19th, 2012
6:03 pm
FSU and Clemson might bolt for the Big 12 if Texas pays the $100 million.
Delbert D.
November 19th, 2012
6:22 pm
“You’re going to be in over 30 countries, all over the United States, it’s going to open up some new areas for us in recruiting,” Edsall said. “We’ve already talked about taking care of the home base, but then moving in to Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis. This exposure will aid us in recruiting and open up some areas maybe we couldn’t get into before.”
The kids watching Maryland away games in the DC area will see them playing in full stadiums.
5150 UOAD
November 19th, 2012
6:35 pm
I wouldn’t go to a BIG 10 away game but once and only if it was scheduled from Aug-to-Oct 10th.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
6:42 pm
FSU is already grumbling about the fact the ACC schedule has pulled them down behind 3 two loss SEC schools. FSU also did not vote to raise the exit fee. They are gone. All they need is the Big 12 to ask.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
6:46 pm
The ACC is going back to basketball. Syracuse and Pitt were not football moves. Now the hot rumor to replace Maryland is UConn with an outside shot at Louisville. Two more basketball schools that occasionally play solid football. Football leaning ACC schools cant like what they are seeing. Had they grabbed WVU instead of Syracuse, then that’s another story. But they passed on them.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
6:49 pm
A move to the Big 12 or Big 10 would be the best thing for Tech football. I’m betting there will be a lot less empty seats if you replace Duke, Virginia, BC, and the rest of the ACC football giants with the likes of Nebraska, Ohio St., Michigan, Wisonsin out of the Big 10 or Texas, OU, OSU, WVU out of the Big 12. There’s good basketball going on in both of those conferences as well.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
6:51 pm
Tech will get better too. They will have to or get buried. The week to week competition and level of expectations will raise the bar.
ACC BBall Fan
November 19th, 2012
7:00 pm
The Big Ten gains nothing from this. The other Big Ten teams will be subsidizing the Turtles for years. The Bug Ten must be run by a bunch of dummies.
…Suckers.
ACC BBall Fan
November 19th, 2012
7:06 pm
Maryland has been drifting. The ACC has decided to improve on its strength (basketball) and wants to increase the number of schools with solid basketball credentials. That helps explain Syracuse and Pitt.
What about Kentucky to the ACC?
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
7:06 pm
Nah the Big 10 gains the NY and DC TV markets for contract negotiations in a few years. Its the same as why the SEC grabbed Missouri for the St Louis market.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
7:07 pm
SEC makes more money than the ACC so, UK will never budge. Besides, they rule that conference and basketball isnt delusional like CFB. They actually have a playoff that UK has proven to win quite often.
Tdawgmoney
November 19th, 2012
7:11 pm
seriously, a Div II team would fit nicely with the ACC football level of play……..I would consider Troy or maybe Ga Southern.
Carlton
November 19th, 2012
7:12 pm
Hate to see Maryland go. O Well! The ACC will probably go after UCONN, and should seriously consider Temple. But, here’s something to ponder. What if Delaware makes the jump up to FCS? Adding Delaware, while unexpected, could be a wildcard in all of this. If the ACC were to add UCONN, TEMPLE, and UD everything on the East coast would belong to the ACC. Got to add three.
Freddie Blassie
November 19th, 2012
7:17 pm
Notre Dame’s coach is leaving for the NFL in all probability, so ND will jump into the ACC all the way. If Free Shoes U. leaves, just get Central Florida: the central Fla. market is huge. Maybe O’Leary can rewrite his resume’ and get the gold domers to let him in.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
7:19 pm
Ken, is there any truth to the rumors Tech is talking to the Big 10? I certainly hope so.
1 4 GT
November 19th, 2012
7:26 pm
Tech hierarchy should be smoozing it up with the SEC goombas & try to get us back into the SEC!
Bill from Dacusville
November 19th, 2012
7:54 pm
Don’t join the Bi1G or whatever it is until you fire Pitiful Paul
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GFJacket
November 19th, 2012
7:59 pm
Maryland gets a lot more money and the ACC loses nothing. It gets $50M to spread around its members. ACC remains dominant in the metro Washington DC area – - heck Maryland isn’t even featured in the Washington ComPost sports pages. UVA and VT are more popular than Maryland. The B1G gets even less – - its network is already a mainstay in the satellite and cable providers here. Maryland is in a very bad way financially. They basically traded decades of tradition for more money.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
7:59 pm
I dont see the SEC wanting to touch Tech. Sorry, but Johnson’s offense seals the deal. No one likes playing against it even if they would likely win. Its a pain to prepare for and their big D lineman arent going to enjoy getting cut blocked. Not with UGA already in the league. The Big 10 and Big 12 would overlook that to get into the ATL and southeast market.
ACC's loss is College's gain
November 19th, 2012
8:02 pm
ACC can add Citadel, Elon, Catawba College or Mecklnberg JC at Gastonia, for all the world outside of Virginia or NC care.
ACC with FSU and MIAMI is just fair. Miami is toast for a long while and FSU’s coach will soon bolt for an SEC school, anyway. ACC will be a joke within three more years.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
8:05 pm
@GFJacket – ACC loses in the chess game going on up north. The ACC was closing in around Penn St. in the eastern part of the Big 10. Signing ND puts a footprint right in the middle of Big 10 country as well. The Big 10 decided to beat the ACC to the punch with Rutgers and steal Maryland from the ACC. This puts the Big 10 in the drivers seat north of VA.
Peach Fuzz
November 19th, 2012
8:11 pm
Every commentator I have heard on tv and radio questions Md’s decision to bolt for B1G.
Peach Fuzz
November 19th, 2012
8:15 pm
I’m sure Tech fans had rather try to get to Mich, Minn, Iowa, etc, instead of driving to Fl, Clemson, NC and Va.
GFJacket
November 19th, 2012
8:16 pm
Mike, B1G was already prominent in the metro DC area. There are a lot of alumni here and the B1G network is already on all the cable and satellite systems. Maryland’s stadium in now the 4th smallest in the B1G. What does the B1G get outside of providing alumni a chance every now and then to go see their team in Maryland’s 55K stadium? B1G presence in metro DC is no bigger now than before. It is now saddled with sharing revenue from larger fan bases with Maryland. There are no rivals to excite the UM fan base like there were with Duke, Clemson, UVA, UNC, etc. Maryland fans took it in the shorts…
GFJacket
November 19th, 2012
8:17 pm
Also, ND is not a team in the middle of the B1G footprint – - it is a national school with a national following.
Live in DC
November 19th, 2012
8:22 pm
Maryland brings nothing to the table. Good riddance. If the Big 10 thinks there is a college football market in DC (and NYC for that matter), their “Business” schools should all be embarrassed. This is a Redskin town. After that, everything is peanuts. Navy puts more butts in the stands than Maryland does.
WV played VT in a game at FEDEX couple of years ago. Both ranked and the 2 hillbilly schools hate each other. Both 5 hours away and the joint was half empty. The only college football games that have sold out in DC the last 5 years were Army-Navy and Navy-ND.
GFJacket
November 19th, 2012
8:23 pm
Peach Fuzz, Maryland gets a lot more money from B1G than ACC. Unfortunately, Maryland alumni who have relished hating rivals like Duke and UNC may vote with their pockets…
GFJacket
November 19th, 2012
8:29 pm
Maryland’s enrollment is about the same as UGA’s – - 26K undergrad and 10K grad. Yet, it has trouble getting more than 30K to a football game. There are a lot of Maryland alumni in the DC area – - so that is not an excuse. Maryland makes out like a bandit financially with this deal. The B1G gets little more than what it had.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
8:41 pm
I have a hard time believing that Maryland will have empty stadiums. The hate for Duke, UNC, and others apparently didnt sell too many tickets. Its probably far more rooted in basketball anyway. Now you get teams like Ohio St., Wisconsin, Penn St., and other which may draw as many visitors as Maryland fans. Either way, the tickets will be sold. Just like at Tech where they cant fill the seats except when Clemson, Va Tech, FSU, or UGA come to town. Maryland will also be able to recruit PA and the surrounding area with the Big 10 brand which should help them out vs the ACC.
Live in DC
November 19th, 2012
8:44 pm
Unfortunately, nobody in the DC to Boston corridor cares about College football unless they are Catholic. Then it is “all hail” Notre Dame. The Acc screwed up chasing BC and the Big 10 are bigger morons for splitting their loot with the Twerps and Rutgers. Too funny.
Born in GA, went to Tech, live in DC and am proud to be the the only Falcon fan in DC. There is no college football market on the eastern seaboard north of DC unless your name is O’Whatever.
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
8:47 pm
What this does for the Big 10 is effectively cut off the ACC. ND may recruit nationally, but it sits right in the middle of Big 10 country and will be playing half their games against the ACC. Then you had Syracuse, Pitt, BC, Maryland squeezing in Penn St. from the East. There were strong rumors that Rutgers and UConn were next on the ACC shopping list. With ND off the board, the Big 10 had to make a move or risk being boxed in by the ACC, SEC, and newly forged Big 12 who has also been looking at FSU, Clemson, Louisville, BYU, and a long shot possibility of Cincinnati.
GT-UT
November 19th, 2012
8:48 pm
Academics and basketball are the ACCs strong points. Yes we need to get better at football. GT is a perfect fit for the ACC. Definitely not for the SEC or Big 10. Possibly the big 12 but Mack Brown doesn’t want to expand all the way to the East Coast because it’s too far to drive for parents to see their kids play. The long north-south expansion ACC has that problem now. This is why it’s not all about markets, if that were the case then we would be courting a West Coast team.
Anyway go Tech and pray for the ACC. I hope we protect our turf and I will never forgive UVA or FSU for leaving if they do. UVA fits perfectly in the ACC. It’s an excellent academic school and a true model for higher education. FSU has pretty girls and you need a balance for both!
Goldenrod
November 19th, 2012
8:49 pm
Wish Tech could leave the ACC but there are no buyers!
Mike S.
November 19th, 2012
8:49 pm
@Live in DC – its true CFB takes a back seat up there, but the talent pool to recruit from is rather rich. Its also easy to try to sell big TV contracts when you control areas with more TVs whether they are interested or not.
Live in DC
November 19th, 2012
8:53 pm
Boxed in? Stupid, stupid move by the Big 10. Neither school brings them anything.
ACC BBall Fan
November 19th, 2012
9:17 pm
I agree, stupid move by the Big Ten. They gain nothing. The only real football market in the DC metro area is the Skins. Maryland has to pay $50m to the ACC to exit. They say that they are already financially strapped but they have the dough to shell out $50m.
Rudow70
November 19th, 2012
9:27 pm
All the blather about MD is fine, but they really won’t be missed. It is sad to see them go, but they haven’t done much ahtletically in years. I would say this, though. If FSU and Clemson decide to leave the ACC, the only conference that makes any sense for them would be the SEC. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think there wouldn’t be a lot of griping about those additions from the rest of the SEC schools.
Live in DC
November 19th, 2012
9:28 pm
Have plenty of Terp buddies. They are not happy. Just to chide them, I say, UConn brings more to the table than you do — better football and better hoop. Enjoy the road trips to Iowa and Minnesota,.
Losing Maryland means nothing. Flip in UConn and you are better off. And for the record, College Park, Maryland is a dump.
MiltonFan
November 19th, 2012
9:33 pm
@Dadgum – Actually, GT can make a bowl game if they are 6-7. The NCAA changed the UCLA rule but did not eliminate it. The rule now allows a 6-7 team to petition ONLY if there are not enough 6 win teams at or above .500. Last year, UCLA petitioned was approved but excluded an eligible team. Most current estimates project 67-70 teams for 70 spots. Those estimates include GT. There is speculation that some 5-7 teams will go bowling this year based on top APR scores. Reference: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/11/19/bowl-projections/index.html?sct=cf_t12_a1
ACC BBall Fan
November 19th, 2012
9:33 pm
Yeah, it’ll probably be U. Conn to the ACC next. Makes sense with Boston College, Syracuse, and Pitt already in.
Live in DC
November 19th, 2012
10:15 pm
GF Jackets hits the nail on the head at 7:59. Maryland wins — mo money. ACC loses nothing. The Big 10 loses big time like the ACC lost when we got BC. They get another Minnesota to split the loot with.
As far as filling more seats in Byrd (Turd) Stadium. A lot of PSU alum in the DC area but they are are the morphine drip cuz of Sandusksy sanctions. They will never be the same just like Miami will never be the same.
So one game a year vs Ohio St or Michigan will fill more seats. Purdue, IU, UI, Minnesota, Iowa — yawn.