By adding Louisville, the ACC shows that it’s getting antsy
A good basketball conference just got even better. In a football world, will that be enough? (AP photo)
Back in those distant days of September, the ACC believed it had fortified itself against all assaults. It had added Notre Dame, albeit with an asterisk, and by imposing a $50 million exit fee it had surely given any any member institution with wandering eyes cause for pause. But here it’s not yet December and the same proactive conference is having to scramble to play catch-up ball.
Last week Maryland, thumbing its nose at 60 years of tradition and that $50 million penalty, bolted for the Big Ten. If Maryland, which isn’t much good at football and has become ordinary in basketball, could be lured by the promise of bigger money elsewhere, what happens when some other league pitches serious woo at Florida State and/or Clemson?
By raiding the Big East for Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the ACC enhanced its already-exalted hoops profile, but basketball doesn’t pay the bills the way football does. Television money for ACC football pales alongside the packages of most of the other big leagues. (If it didn’t, Maryland wouldn’t have leaped.) This only underscores the ironclad law of supply and demand: ACC football has been pretty putrid — the league went 0-for-4 against SEC opposition last weekend, and the conference’s Orange Bowl representative could be 7-6 Georgia Tech — and nobody is clamoring to air more installments of Boston College-Wake Forest.
Losing Maryland was such a shock to the ACC system that the league had to respond just to prove it could. On Tuesday it filed a lawsuit in the effort to make Maryland pay every penny of that $50 million. On Wednesday it moved to add Louisville, which is great at basketball and good at football, and who cares if the only coast the Cardinals occupy is that of the Ohio River? Louisville was the best athletic program available, but U of L doesn’t quite fit the ACC’s high-falutin’ academic image. (Full disclosure: My dad was a graduate of Louisville’s dental school, and I was accepted by its law school.) Which tells us that the ACC is getting antsy.
It’s unclear who’ll be left when the Cardinals arrive in 2014. Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher railed against the inequities of the BCS, saying it was ludicrous that his once-beaten Seminoles were ranked only 10th last week, below five SEC schools. That was yet another warning flare that Florida State might not be long for the ACC. (On cue, FSU then lost at home to Florida. Memo to Jimbo: Beat somebody good before you pop off.)
And if FSU (or Clemson) goes, what will become of ACC football? Notre Dame has agreed to play five games a year against conference opponents while remaining an independent. If the ACC can persuade the Irish to join the league in football, too, its problems would be solved, or at least lessened. But Notre Dame is about to play for the BCS title, rendering that case exponentially harder to make.
ESPN reports that the ACC considered both UConn and Cincinnati, two more schools desperate to bail out of the capsized Big East, but decided to go with Louisville first because, writes Brett McMurphy, “there is a sense among league presidents that the ACC can add more schools at a later date if (it) lost any other schools.” Not three months after enfranchising Notre Dame (with that major asterisk), the conference is already working on Plans B and C.
But Louisville won’t, and UConn and Cincinnati wouldn’t, do what the ACC needs most. None of those programs would bolster football in the way it needs bolstering, which brings us to the greater point: There’s no football power apt to leave its current home — not Texas, not Oklahoma — for the prospects of making less money to play in a lesser conference. With the Big East in tatters, the Big Six of BCS leagues has been reduced to five. Unless/until the ACC convinces Notre Dame to come fully aboard, it can never hope to be more than the fifth-best conference in the the sport that matters most, and a distant fifth at that.
By Mark Bradley
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116 comments Add your comment
Devil's Advocate
November 28th, 2012
2:24 pm
Prometheus,
Good basketball players don’t like riding the pine behind other good basketball players. Kentucky is the king of future NBA prospects. Duke is king of career NCAA players. North Carolina is the best hybrid program. Conference realignment will not help or hurt any of those guys.
Remember, from the top everything looks the same.
GT Joe
November 28th, 2012
2:24 pm
Umm, anyone have $50 million for the exit fee? Thought not.
GT71
November 28th, 2012
2:26 pm
Who cares if FSU and Clempson bolt – take Miami, VPI and those foundering other new-adds with them, too. Eight good schools ON THE ATLANTIC COAST is sufficient.
Chasing football $$$ is stupid and I don’t want my Alma-mater chasing stupid.
There’s more to college and college sports than football and even basketball. Unless your ego gets in the way of common sense.
Mike S.
November 28th, 2012
2:28 pm
The B1G is going to add teams in markets they think they can squeeze the Big 10 network into basic packages. They will never be able to do that in Atlanta. Its already here in the sports pay packages, and no one cares. This is SEC country with a side of ACC. The Big 10 network will never get the same draw down here. GT would be a good fit otherwise, but I dont see the B1G inviting them unless they get desperate to go to 16 for scheduling purposes. 14 is a nightmare.
Mike S.
November 28th, 2012
2:30 pm
Mark is right, at the end of the day, the ACC will be the distant 5th. I dont think they are in trouble, but its clear they have decided to emphasize basketball with some solid but not really good football. They wont collapse like the Big East. I wonder if this invite isnt a sign the ACC might backtrack and invite WVU. WVU would certainly raise the football profile and is a good basketball program too. I thought they were insane not to grab WVU before.
Mike S.
November 28th, 2012
2:31 pm
Why would WVU go to the ACC? Travel for one. Their travel bills would be far lower. Another reason is the ACC now owns all their heated rivals.
Devil's Advocate
November 28th, 2012
2:32 pm
What a difference a decade makes. Do you folks remember when the ACC expanded by adding Miami, VT, and BC, ESPN was all about calling the ACC the best conference in football? An ACC team hasn’t played in the big game since expansion. I wonder if joining the ACC actually hurt Miami as they were in it 2 years in a row as a Big East member.
Another interesting thought is that from 1998-2002 the championship game featured either FSU or Miami. Neither has come close since. I wonder how much of that has to do with Mark Richt arriving at UGA keeping a lot of quality GA kids home.
A lot of teams still feature their share of GA players because there are so many but they aren’t necessarily getting most of the best players like prior to Richt. I wonder what FSU would have been like had DJ Shockley gone there instead of UGA. Bowden might still be coaching…
GTBob
November 28th, 2012
2:34 pm
GT Bob just can’t grasp reality. We all know how much he loves to discredit UGA but now he’s saying the B1G hasn’t done anything lately.
Im not really trying to bash on the Big 10, I actually like the Big 10, but I stand by what I said. In the current BCS rankings there are no Big 10 teams in the top 10. Only one finished in the top 10 last year and that was 10th. You have won 2 rose bowls in the past 12 years, you haven’t won a championship since 2003, and you haven’t been to a championship since 2008. The B1G is much better that the ACC but is lagging behind the other 3 conferences.
Mike S.
November 28th, 2012
2:34 pm
Even if Clemson, FSU, and others leave, its not like the profile of the conference will get any lower. Its getting no respect as it is. By shoring up the remaining major players in basketball that play solid football too, the ACC will survive. They wont be top dog, but the will be a solid conference none the less.
Mike S.
November 28th, 2012
2:37 pm
GTBob is right. The Big 10 is really not that much better. it is better than the ACC, but its still getting whipped regularly by the SEC. The PAC 12 hammered them good this year too. i wouldnt lay odds on them doing well against the Big 12 either.
Funny thing is, everyone talks about how tough NDs schedule is. Then you look at it…its full of ACC, BIg 10 and Big East schools…the most disrespected of the major conferences lol
GTBob
November 28th, 2012
2:39 pm
I wonder if joining the ACC actually hurt Miami as they were in it 2 years in a row as a Big East member.
I wonder if it exposed Miami. They still have yet to even play in an ACC Championship game.
Mike S.
November 28th, 2012
2:42 pm
ACC football doesnt expose, it infects lol. The Miami that won the title in 2002 would steamroll the ACC just as it did the Big east. Dont forget the fall of FSU as well. Its clear they have not truly returned to the elite of CFB even though they are better in recent years. Now Va Tech drops to their worst season under Beamer since he arrived there.
GTBob
November 28th, 2012
2:42 pm
I cannot wait for Saturday to watch some real football! ACC Championship Game. Tech is going to roll FSU!
GTBob
November 28th, 2012
2:45 pm
Anyone in to maybe sharing a ride to Charlotte to cheer our beloved Jackets on? My mom let me borrow $6 for a ticket and gave me $20 total. I can give $10 for gas. I would drive but my mom needs the car on Saturday.
Devil's Advocate
November 28th, 2012
2:46 pm
I think Tech has a very good chance at beating FSU.
Mike
November 28th, 2012
2:48 pm
I think that ACC isnt done with expansion at all because I know that VT/UNC/NCST/UVA is on the SEC list and believe me if SEC ask this school to come. All of them would probably go, and FSU/CU is still unhappy was well and B1G is still looking as well. ACC is still in alot of trouble.
GTBob
November 28th, 2012
2:50 pm
While we are up the we can explore Duke Power’s Energy Explorium and tell them how a real engineer would have done it! Anyone?
Buzzzed
November 28th, 2012
2:51 pm
Jim Delany wants BTN in the ATL channel line-up and he doesn’t care if anyone ever watches it.
JM
November 28th, 2012
2:54 pm
Louisville has an $84M athletic budget. Bigger than FSU. That’s impressive for a Kentucky school.
GT Joe
November 28th, 2012
2:54 pm
I think Paul Hewitt has $50 million that we can borrow for the exit fee.
GTBob
November 28th, 2012
2:55 pm
I know of several gloryholes on the way
JM
November 28th, 2012
2:55 pm
Mike, UNC is not going anywhere without Duke.
The Necromancer
November 28th, 2012
2:55 pm
If the ACC cannot hold it together then I’m hoping for a Big 10 invite.
Mike
November 28th, 2012
2:59 pm
Yep but strange things has happened on this like who thunk it that Texas AM is in SEC or Maryland in B1G. So anything can happen and dont take anybody word on it either.
Silly Bloggers
November 28th, 2012
3:08 pm
Whoever is imititating GTBob is actually pretty funny, but I think you are likely to be banned shortly
GT should bail ship to the Big 10. If there is any substance to the most recent rumor or not, I believe it is only a matter of time. Does anyone actually believe we are NOT headed to a four superconferences. SEC and PAC are here to stay. As bad as the B1G is, they make more money than anyone so they are statnding pat. Out of the ACC, Big XII and Big East, I think only the Big XII is going to make the cut. The real issues is what do you do with the 25 teams remaining in the ACC and Big East? Teams are going to be left out. If 16 teams per conference, there are 12 spots remaining…
octavian
November 28th, 2012
3:09 pm
Its entirely possible that FSU will bolt the ACC, but Clemson, I doubt it. The Tigers are simply too woodenheaded to understand that football in the ACC is going to be a losing proposition. They still believe that as an ACC member they can shoehorn their way into a BCS championship game by going undefeated. Of course, such a proposition is theorhetically possible, but very, very unlikely.
Trying to explain that to Clemson people is all but impossible.
GTBob
November 28th, 2012
3:11 pm
Of course, such a proposition is theorhetically possible, but very, very unlikely.
If Clemson or FSU would have gone undefeated this year they would be playing Notre Dame in the championship.
Old Dawg
November 28th, 2012
3:15 pm
GTBob: Tech is going to roll FSU? What brand of crack are you smokin’?
GTBob
November 28th, 2012
3:25 pm
GTBob: Tech is going to roll FSU? What brand of crack are you smokin’?
I have an imposter who is having some fun.
Old Dawg
November 28th, 2012
3:28 pm
Identity theft is a terrible thing!
ACC-SEC Booster
November 28th, 2012
3:33 pm
I wonder if there is any truth to the rumor that the ACC is going to merge its football league with SEC football to form the nation’s first football-only superconference? Something that in this crazed environment of continuous realignment would not necessarily be out of the realm of possibility seeing as how there are many in SEC country who covet some of the Southern schools of the ACC (Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State, North Carolina, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech) and there are some in the ACC that aim to stop the bleeding before things get really out of and the ACC loses more of its schools to the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the SEC.
come on
November 28th, 2012
3:33 pm
Well Bark Madly who should the acc have added? How can you write this holier than thou crap and not say anything substantial? I guess you and all the other U(sic)GA fan boys just wanted them to do nothing and get picked apart. This move was decided months ago and should have been made before Pitt and Syracuse. A perfect world would have been WVU also but such is life.
Tyler
November 28th, 2012
3:45 pm
Another boring article by mb. I managed to read 2 sentences.
Devil's Advocate
November 28th, 2012
3:53 pm
Ultimate solution that will likely never happen:
1. The FBS should only be 72 teams with 6 conferences of 12 teams each.
2. The playoff field should be 8 (6 conference champions plus 2 at-large).
3. An 11 game regular season should feature 10 FBS games plus 1 non-FBS game (1 cupcake for all).
4. The 10 game FBS schedule should feature 8 conference games plus 2 FBS OOC games.
5. FBS OOC games should model NFL scheduling where one conference will play another conference in a season and just rotate every 2 years after a home-and-home. It doesn’t even have to be the same teams involved in the home and home as long as every team has one home game and one road game FBS OOC.
6. Conference championship games are play-in games with the 2 highest ranked non-champions as of the final regular season poll taking the final spots. This could even be a loser of a championship game (i.e. say Bama loses by 1 to UGA; they’d get in over Florida). The idea here is that a team should not be punished for playing in a championship game while a team not playing in one gets a free pass.
Ohio St Buck
November 28th, 2012
3:59 pm
The BTN network currently gets .10 cents per household in the metro Atlanta area. If GT were in the Big Ten, that ten cents suddenly jumps to .80 cents. An 800% increase. It’s about available households in the area – doesn’t matter if 65% of those households are foremost SEC fans – this is the same reason Rutgers and Maryand were added…for the TV population. GT will be in the B1G after the bowl game. GT is not going to turn down making $42 million a year in 2017 compared to the $17 million in the ACC.
Ohio St Buck
November 28th, 2012
4:02 pm
Mark Bradley will also NEVER say anything positive about Louisville since he’s a Kentucky grad. Goodluck with Mark Stoops. I bet brother Bob won’t be his coordinator.
Mark Stoops @ Kentucky = Bill Dooley @ Wake Forest
Just because your last name is famous…doesn’t mean you have the credentials that made it famous.
PittJacket
November 28th, 2012
4:16 pm
Why’s everybody talk about “building better football programs” or “winning more games” like there’s a formula for that and ACC schools aren’t following the formula? Y’all really think it’s that easy or that the folks who commit their professional lives to this are incompetent? (And that you miraculously figured it out in your spare time.)
Programs and leagues go in cycles. Schools with long tenured coaches generally do better than those that throw the bum out regularly. The SEC is in its prime and has been for 8 years, but I remember mediocre LSU and Alabama teams in the 80s and 90s. The ACC and GT will have their good runs, but not soon enough for most.
collegeballfan
November 28th, 2012
4:26 pm
Maybe it is a coincidence, maybe it is not, but both Maryland and Rutgers are members of the Association of American Universities. All members of the Big 10 are AAU members except Nebraska. And Nebraska was a member when they were invited but were kicked out of the AAU two months before their official Big 10 membership date. After discussions with the lawyers the Big 10 allowed Nebraska as a member.
Atlanta is the number 8 or 9 (depends on who you ask) TV market in the US. The Big 10 has only one top 10 TV market, Chicago.
Not inviting GT to join the Big 10 would be just dumb.
Joe Bear
November 28th, 2012
4:27 pm
GT Insider started this thread with this comment:
“Now, turn to GT. Let’s run down the list of why’s the B1G will come after GT:
1. GT is in the AAU which is the fundamental requriement to become a member of the B1G. Only school in the South.”
Nope. Nebraska was a member of the AAU when admitted to the B1G but since then has lost its membership. So not all schools in the B1G are AAU members.
Southern schools in the AAU (that play D-1 football) include Vandy, Florida, UNC, Duke, Virginia, Tulane …
By the way, UNC has been an AAU member for 90 yrs, Vandy for 62 yrs, UF for 25 yrs and GTech for … 2 years.
ACC-SEC Booster
November 28th, 2012
4:28 pm
The word is out that the ACC will also add UConn, West Virginia and South Florida to make an even 16 schools in football and then will merge its football league with the SEC to form the nation’s first football-only superconference where each school in the SEC and ACC will earn over $50 million a year.
George
November 28th, 2012
4:39 pm
I really hate to say it Mark, but you are beginning to sound like some of the extremists who regularly post comments to your writings. Let’s beat the poor dead horse. Yes, yes, the ACC is not competitive on the football field, their athletes are not as good as some other conferences, but what do you suggest? Perhaps things will get better, if better is defined by winning more football games. But, we (me included) lose sight of the big picture which I believe has been lost in college athletics for the past 40 years or so. If only winning didn’t equate to money. The horse is dead. Beat it no longer, please.
ARdawg
November 28th, 2012
5:04 pm
The 50 million exit fee is nothing but paper. Any school can hire a team of lawyers and keep that in the courts for years to come. The conference will be the first to back away. Has anyone seen a check from Maryland? Didn’t think so
Nope
November 28th, 2012
5:15 pm
Can’t trust anything Bradley writes…
He’s a uga homer, ACC/Ga Tech hater!
So is his buddy, Schultz
Why can’t we have honest, neutral, journalism anymore?
Furman Bisher…where are you?
We’re left with wannabes!
Just Asking?
November 28th, 2012
5:20 pm
What’s so special about being a member of the AAU? Is it just prestige?
GTBob
November 28th, 2012
5:20 pm
Has anyone seen a check from Maryland? Didn’t think so
The ACC filed a lawsuit against them yesterday for 50 million. I’m not sure they are going to back down from it.
ARdawg
November 28th, 2012
5:26 pm
“The ACC filed a lawsuit against them yesterday for 50 million. I’m not sure they are going to back down from it.”
_________________
I guess only time will tell Bobby. I would be willing to make a wager that Maryland never pays it and the ACC never collects it. It’s going to be mighty difficult for the ACC to convince anyone not being associated with Maryland has cost them 50 million. It’s a relationship and when it quits working for either side it ceases to be a relationship
ARdawg
November 28th, 2012
5:28 pm
GTBob
Besides, it’s a lot cheaper for Maryland to pay a 2-3 million retainer to a firm to keep from having to pay 50 million. The ACC is heavy in recruiting mode. How is such a suit perceived by potential suitors?
Tech Fan
November 28th, 2012
6:07 pm
Radakovitch left Tech with big time debt-debt burden will be 30% of their budget. They can’t operate that way and be successful. If the Big 10 comes calling, they will join the Big 10. That is the only way out of the debt crsis.
Skeptic
November 28th, 2012
6:15 pm
Yes, Mr. Bradley, this is the same behavior I see when I haul hay out to the cattle.
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
just sayin
November 28th, 2012
7:39 pm
“…and who cares if the only coast the Cardinals occupy is that of the Ohio River?”
It’s like Missouri and Texas A&M being in the “Southeastern” Conference. There’s nothing southeastern about either of those schools.