Vulnerable, huh? The ACC crowns itself king of college hoops
"Roy, I really don't know how to tell you this -- but we've got company." (AP photo)
The ACC faced a choice: Eat or be eaten. The league opted not just to grab something at the drive-thru but to dine in style. Only days ago we wondered if this conference could survive in a world powered by King Football. Today we hail John Swofford and his associates as the new monarchs of college basketball.
Bradley’s Rule: Better to be the king of something than the earl of everything.
The ACC’s grand football experiment hadn’t worked. Adding Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College didn’t hoist the ACC above/alongside the SEC. Truth to tell, the 12-team ACC was no better than fourth-best at football among the six BCS leagues. Worse, the ACC’s time-honored stock in trade had eroded to the extent that Duke and North Carolina has risen further above the basketball pack — North Carolina State reference partially intended — than ever.
The Big East now played better basketball, and several conferences played better football. What was to keep schools tied to Tobacco Road when other leagues came calling?
Be advised that the SEC has great interest in adding schools that can be deemed “flagships” in states that don’t already feature an SEC outpost. That would include three ACC members of more than a half-century’s standing — North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia. The SEC would have been happy to take two of those three and add Missouri to Texas A&M and become a 16-team league.
SEC commissioner Mike Slive is often described as the smartest man in college athletics, but here the ACC’s Swofford stole a march. He increased the exit fee for a school looking to leave his league to $20 million, and with the poaching of two Big Easterners he has lifted his league back to the top of the second-biggest college sport. Pitt and Syracuse have been known to play good football — Pitt had Tony Dorsett and Hugh Green and Dan Marino; Syracuse had Jim Brown and Ernie Davis and Donovan McNabb — but they don’t really change the ACC’s grid profile. They do, however, offer two more basketball tent-poles to array alongside Carolina and Duke.
With this move, the ACC cannot be viewed as prey. It’s a predator. If that sounds unseemly, so be it. To suggest that any conference should sit politely while every other league is grabbing hand over fist is to deny reality. The SEC and Big Ten and Big East would surely have made runs at ACC schools. What was Swofford supposed to do, play his violin while his league went up in smoke?
The ACC cast a cold eye on its assets and liabilities and saw a way to get bigger without necessarily getting better at football. That’s not bad form. That’s good business. And it’s clear in hindsight that we on the periphery undervalued another ACC selling point: It actually has good schools. Five ACC institutions — Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia — are members of the prestigious Association of American Universities, and Pitt makes six. (The SEC, by way of contrast, has three, and that’s counting Texas A&M.)
If you’re a college president looking to conference-hop, the thought of allying yourself with a league that isn’t just a repository of football factories can make for a softer landing. Indeed, UConn is believed to be exploring the possibility of an ACC leap. Last month we wondered who’d stay in Swofford’s league. Today we ask: Who else wants to join?
As an old college basketball hand, I’m encouraged to be reminded that football isn’t the driving force in every single matter pertaining to collegiate sports. (As a pragmatist, I’m also more than a bit surprised.) And if I’m Swofford, I wouldn’t stop here: I’d go hard at UConn and Louisville or even Kansas and brand this conference in hoops as the SEC has in football — as the standard so golden everyone else is trading in bronze.
Oh, and I have a message for Dan Radakovich, the Tech AD. The next time your phone rings, it will be Brian Gregory. He hasn’t yet coached a basketball game for you, and already he wants a raise.
By Mark Bradley
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353 comments Add your comment
Delbert D.
September 19th, 2011
9:30 pm
Russ’ Chew Toy – The 13 year-olds are busy with their homework now. One thing though; payment of a $20 million penalty (direct hit against operating income) would take many years of revenue, say at a 1.5 multiplier on cost, to recover from that.
CFBanalyst
September 19th, 2011
9:31 pm
The SEC is a not a step up, unless you’re the BE or Big 12. Five years of football success has made many forget that they have little else to offer. University presidents, having a greater attention span than drunken bloggers, recognize this. It’s why the ACC has a line of supplicants.
There is a greater chance of UF trading up to the ACC than any ACC team moving to the ghetto. As a matter of fact, UF is the only SEC school the ACC would take. Think about it……
But the SEC need not worry its knotty head. The ACC is set to poach PSU.
Delbert D.
September 19th, 2011
9:35 pm
GT92 – Is that Mack Brown again, complaining about school kids not being able to experience Texas football? I was under the impression UT athletic department would not be moving to the west coast.
Watcher
September 19th, 2011
9:36 pm
CFBanalyst,
Delbert said that you were doing your homework. Sounds more like you’ve been sniffing glue.
Watcher
September 19th, 2011
9:40 pm
The PAC should just go ahead and consume what’s left of the Big-12 and go to 32 teams in two divisions. They still wouldn’t have enough elite teams to compete with the BIG & the SEC.
GT92
September 19th, 2011
9:42 pm
Delbert D. – The post I referenced included Mack Brown’s quotes. My impression is that teams want to leave the Big12 because they feel that the Big12 gives Texas anything they want. Texas wants to take a share of the revenue of the other schools, but wants to keep all of the Texas revenue to themselves.
I certainly do not want Texas in the ACC. If they join the PAC-??, then I make the prediction that the PAC-?? will be full of infighting within a few years.
Delbert D.
September 19th, 2011
9:43 pm
I don’t use the word supplicant nearly enough. Seriously, though the ACC would probably take Vanderbilt (I have heard absolutely no speculation of that scenario!) The university of Florida is a fine institution, but they have shown the tendency to go all North Carolina on us with the type of student-athletes they recruit for football. Butch Davis, hopefully never to be heard from again.
Watcher
September 19th, 2011
9:43 pm
PAC North = NWC
PAC South = SWC
Big-10 = NEC
SEC = SEC
64 teams… Voila!
Supersize that order, mutt
September 19th, 2011
9:44 pm
Those of you talking about Florida in the ACC apparently have forgotten the rumors in Spurriers latter years at Florida that he (Spurrier) was toying with the idea of moving to the ACC. Like I said, those were rumors, but virtually all rumors are grounded on some kind of truth, no matter how little.
Watcher
September 19th, 2011
9:47 pm
No truth is too small for this esteemed sports blog!
Delbert D.
September 19th, 2011
9:49 pm
Watcher – Okay, I set myself for that. Sorry, CFBanalyst. Hey, the PAC actually could expand their geographic boundaries and go to 32. I’d call them the Big-MAC.
Watcher
September 19th, 2011
9:50 pm
@Delbert D.
RE: BSU
Is it true that the Seastrunk kid was also shopped to LSU and Auburn? If so, is that still being investigated?
Watcher
September 19th, 2011
9:58 pm
What I worry about is not so much how this thing initially takes form, as what will happen after it gets underway. Will the super-conferences slowly eliminate their “deadwood” in order to admit hot new teams?
When the conferences were originally formed based upon regional boundaries, you sort of had to take what you could get in your area. That’s why marginal athletic programs have always been kept around as Homecoming Game opponents in the major conferences. What’s the point in keeping them around after realignment? Will the likes of Vandy and Northwestern eventually bite the dust?
Delbert D.
September 19th, 2011
10:04 pm
Watcher – The name strikes a familiar bell…I can’t recall, though. Their problem was with the Dutch guy that brought over 10 athletes to participate in a Boise State football camp. He then got them placed in 3 separate high schools in Boise, with regular visas, not student. He then got a job as a manager, not on the coaching staff at Boise State, doing miscellaneous stuff, working video, reporting on practices for the position coaches. The investigation by the NCAA has already cleared one of the players, a starting DB who was held out of the Georgia game. The other 2 are being processed now. Strangely, the women’s tennis team and cross-country drew the most attention (and biggest hits) from the NCAA.
Delbert D.
September 19th, 2011
10:12 pm
The conference food chain has always bothered me, as well. It would be so easy to address those concerns. if this were to become “professional” rather than pseudo-amateur. The conferences could then position themselves like the English soccer organization. The bottom 2 teams are relegated to the next lower division, and the top 2 teams (assuming that they are financially stable and have sufficient physical resources (stadium size) are promoted up. That happens from the bottom of the hundreds of professional and semi professional teams all the way up to what is now the Premiere League (it was simply the “1st Division” when I lived there in the 80s.)
Is it still comforting Bradley?
September 19th, 2011
10:18 pm
The wild-card chase could, essentially if not quite mathematically, be over by Monday night. The Braves play three games against the Mets here and then head to Miami for a three-game set there. The Cardinals play four games in Philadelphia. Any combination of two Philly victories or Braves’ losses clinches the National League East for the Phillies.
But that’s the catch. The Braves need not to lose these next couple of days so Philadelphia has no cause to rest its starters starting, say, tomorrow and thereby give St. Louis a premature break. If the Braves win the next two and the Cardinals lose the next two, the Braves will lead by 6 1/2 games with 10 to play and the WC race will be all but over.
The Braves had some frazzled moments against the Marlins this week, but they steadied themselves and won two of three. That’s usually what happens in September mismatched matchups: You might struggle but you’re not going to lose the series. When you have a 4 1/2-game lead, you’ll be all right so long as you don’t get swept by somebody. (This only tightened because the Braves got swept in St. Louis, but the lead has held at 4 1/2 since Sunday night.)
The playoff odds, as calculated by Baseball Prospectus, show the Braves with a 96 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason. That’s comforting. Of even greater comfort would be a winning start by Derek Lowe tonight.
If the Braves go 6-6, the Cardinals would have to finish 11-2 just to tie. Should the Braves go 6-6, they’ll also surpass last year’s victory total of 91. This has been too good a season to come undone now. Just a few more days’ work and October will be here. And these Braves will be part of it.
Delbert D.
September 19th, 2011
10:19 pm
I didn’t write that right. The Dutch guy got 3 of the 10 football campers placed in high schools, not all of them; the other 7 are back in the Netherlands.
Anyway, it’s late, and I’m obviously losing my concentration. So, I’m outta here.
Is the braves lead still comforting Bradley?
September 19th, 2011
10:19 pm
MORON!!
Angie O'Plasty
September 19th, 2011
10:23 pm
Go get UCONN !!!
Is the braves lead still comforting Bradley?
September 19th, 2011
10:24 pm
St Louis has smart writers. Not this dumb rag
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/article_74ecce16-e2b8-11e0-8f31-001a4bcf6878.html
dawg bark
September 19th, 2011
10:42 pm
tech better get worried the aCC will dump them as deadwood now that they are adding high profile teams like Pitt and syracuse. Maybe tech can go to the big east or big 12—they’ll take anyone at this point.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 19th, 2011
10:47 pm
I think it’s more likely (FAR MORE LIKELY) that the SEC will dump THUGa. The mutts are irrelevant in the SEC, even the SEC East now. And they certainly can’t compete in basketball in the SEC, so why keep them?
IL Jacket
September 19th, 2011
11:18 pm
I don’t know if anyone else posted this, but ESPN is scrolling a headline that says ND prefers to remain independent, but if the time were to come where remaining independent were no longer viable, they would prefer joining the ACC to the Big Ten. With that potentiality out there, I would think the ACC may wait quite a while before moving on two more teams. ND would make a huge difference and I think Swofford will wait to see what plays out. Apparently, Jim Calhoun is also feverishly reaching out to ACC coaches to beg for inclusion. If he were a nicer guy it may help his case. Rutgers also thinks the Big East is no longer viable, but Swofford is playing this hand well in my opinion.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 19th, 2011
11:26 pm
Ken posted the link to a Yahoo Sports article about that same thing on another blog
Supersize that order, mutt
September 19th, 2011
11:27 pm
Ken posted a similar link on another blog
Supersize that order, mutt
September 19th, 2011
11:27 pm
Sorry for the duplication. The first one didn’t go through at first
Ramblin Man
September 19th, 2011
11:38 pm
I agree that the way this went down was maybe underhanded and I am not comparing it to the SEC and A&M scenario in the same light. Though I am sure that there was some back room action and A&M did not wake up and make a cold call to the SEC. I just think it is funny to report on how the SEC may raid the ACC and make the ACC irrelevant, then slam the ACC when Swofford protected his division and may have kept the SEC away from any team. I have also read that Pitt. told the Big East back in May it was exploring other options. Not sure how true that is, but if it is it sheds a different light on things. I hope the ACC holds out and sees how things shake out with the Pac ? and SEC, but have a feeling UConn will be taken if they really want in and can only hope the ACC then really holds out and tries to grab a football team and not another basketball team. Let’s not forget this could boast recruiting for all schools involved. I know GT is going for something like 4 different players from NJ and it might appeal to them to have a chance to play near home a couple of times. Intersting and maybe scary times ahead.
fuzzybee78
September 19th, 2011
11:46 pm
First choice add—————– PSU and UF watch the SEC collectively faint!!!!
Second choice add————-PSU and UConn, still a pretty strong move to 16!
Either choice works academically, athelitically, TV money, and geography is at least in same time zone. With a north and south division travel isnt to bad.
Choice one leans to football although UF brings NC in both sports.
Choice two leans to stronger BB with UConn. The other northern schools would like to have UConn.
If you get PSU in the ACC, UF might seriously consider the ACC. I think they see themselves more academically in line with ACC schools.
Either way we got to get PSU in if they are interested at number 15.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 19th, 2011
11:57 pm
I just don’t think UF would want to give up their rivalries with UT and UGA
fuzzybee78
September 20th, 2011
12:12 am
Supersize, you might be right, but GT didnt give up our rivalry with the Bullfrogs. Let un keep it.
It also makes FSU and Miami conference games—————–
Dont know about UT, certainly not a nonconference they would want. Might be worth the trade off considering the rivalry with FSU and UM.
St1ng_em
September 20th, 2011
12:14 am
Espn developing story.
TX TT OK OKST PAC12 working on a deal. Big east big 12 merge. South Carolina athletes took $47000 in benefits from booster. Apparently USC knew for a while.
Watcher
September 20th, 2011
7:01 am
Does Notre Dame still play football? I hadn’t noticed.
Delbert D.
September 20th, 2011
7:04 am
@Ramblin Man “I have also read that Pitt. told the Big East back in May it was exploring other options. Not sure how true that is, but if it is it sheds a different light on things.”
That was in May, 2010 and it was in a letter from Pitt to the Big East.
Watcher
September 20th, 2011
7:13 am
Funny… Texas and the PAC started this whole mess, and now they’ve thrown a monkey wrench into their own grand scheme by destroying the Big-12. I see several more years of continued operation of a crippled BCS now with no end to conference realignment in the meantime. Looks like the remnants of the Big East will now join with what is left of the Big-12.
When you strike at a king, you must kill him.
The BCS is not dead.
LONG LIVE THE BCS !!!
Watcher
September 20th, 2011
7:26 am
Big East/Big 12 should change their name to Pan American Conference.
The Big East was the first conference to completely stray from regional boundaries by accepting TCU. It will be interesting to see how the fan-bases react to their new league schedules over the next few years.
Watcher
September 20th, 2011
7:32 am
RE: Typo
The word “league” in my previous post should have been bracketed with quotation marks, because a collection of schools scattered all across the nation will never amount to a real “league”.
Ben
September 20th, 2011
7:47 am
It’s not going to happen, but if they somehow ended up with Texas and UConn… I can’t imagine a better scenario.
Watcher
September 20th, 2011
7:48 am
@Ben
Maybe they’ll get a Unicorn too… I always wanted a Unicorn.
Watcher
September 20th, 2011
7:56 am
SEC Wins Again
So now we have 1 super-conference. With the destruction of the Big-12, that’s one less legitimate contender for the BCS National Championship.
The Big-10 and the SEC would like to thank Texas from the bottom of their hearts.
ACC fans… Don’t worry. Basketball season starts soon.
GeoffDawg
September 20th, 2011
9:15 am
Aurelius, go back and reinterpret what I posted as you’re clearly struggling. This has zilch to do with being a “football first alumni.” It has to do with using one baromete only in determining the quality of education received at various schools eligible for expansion. The point is that there are other valid standards beyond AAU.
Say this was 2008 when Nebraska was an AAU member and Tech was not. Would you have gladly admitted to Nebraska being a better academic school? Education and universtiy sponsored research aren’t always the same thing. Don’t be a hypocrite.
GeoffDawg
September 20th, 2011
9:36 am
Supersize, even if there is a kernel of truth to Spurrier wishing to move to the ACC, conference alignment really isn’t up to the football coach, now is it? The only rationale would be that he wanted to follow the Bobby Bowden model of national titles. In a recent interview on 790, Bowden admitted that he rejected membership in the SEC in favor of the ACC because it’s a far easier path to winning MNCs. As he put it, “we didn’t want to go to the SEC and have to play that bunch of tough nuts every week.” From that standpoint, it would make perfect sense since UF and FSU would have to play each other OOC anyway.
Glenn
September 20th, 2011
9:38 am
The SEC can pony up the 20 million dollar exit fee on its own if it wants an ACC team . I would have to think they would do that for Va Tech , UNC , or FSU . I don’t consider the ACC a predator like you have suggested Mark . I view them as a survivalist . After aTm joined the SEC they probably did need to make a splash to try and stop from losing a member or two to the SEC .
GeoffDawg
September 20th, 2011
9:38 am
LOL @ CFBanalyst. Don’t worry, the SEC isn’t fretting about UF getting poached. Not. At. All. Money talks. What you’re writing walks.
Joe Bob Thibodaux
September 20th, 2011
9:39 am
Mark, at the way things are going, ESPN will probably pay any exit fees to arrange the play-off system they want.
JBT
GeoffDawg
September 20th, 2011
9:44 am
IL Jacket, I think ND just enjoys screwing around with conferences. They’ve teased the Big Ten for so long, they’re practically a booty call. ND may not be what they once were but they can still command the money they need to remain independent as long as they want. I wouldn’t put your eggs all in one Irish basket.
GeoffDawg
September 20th, 2011
9:49 am
fuzzybee78, since you’re busy being delusional anyway, why not just postulate on the ACC taking Notre Dame, Texas, and USC? Scenario just as likely.
Yeah..Right
September 20th, 2011
10:11 am
@Glenn
September 20th, 2011
9:38 am
The SEC can pony up the 20 million dollar exit fee on its own if it wants an ACC team . I would have to think they would do that for Va Tech , UNC , or FSU .
You must be a UNC fan. How can I tell? Because you think that they’re relevant in CFB. The SEC doesn’t need or want any new teams in their conference. If FSU, Clemson or VA Tech want to come to the SEC, then they might be welcomed — but first, they’ll have to leave the ACC. The SEC doesn’t lower itself to poaching teams from other conferences. They have more class than that.
Glenn
September 20th, 2011
10:29 am
@ Yeah right
You are all about shooting from the hip aren’t you . If the SEC could gain the North Carolina television market and add UNC basketball to its arsenal it would upgrade the SEC enormously ……Its all about the revenue stream . Class is out the window for all but the Big 10 . I went to Indiana : )
Ramblin Man
September 20th, 2011
10:30 am
Yeah Right
You are to funny to throw SEC and class in the same sentence. If you really believe the SEC has not been reaching out to other schools you are delusional. The presidents have already even discussed teams they may want.
66-23 ranked #25
September 20th, 2011
10:31 am
The acc was supreme before Pitt & Syracuse and it still is with Pitt & syracuse