The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the month “July, 2012”

21 Jul 2012

Yahoo Claims Miami’s NCAA Issues Persisted Under Al Golden

It was about one year ago that Yahoo’s Charles Robinson reported that the Miami Hurricanes provided illegal benefits to more than 70 players.  The report was significant enough to get everyone’s attention, from Miami to the NCAA.  Miami’s Al Golden promised that he would clean up the mess caused by the former regime and booster Nevin Shapiro; however, a new Yahoo report by Robinson suggests that Miami continued to violate NCAA rules under Al Golden.  This is very troubling news for “the U.”

The new report concerns an allegation that the Hurricanes used “Sean ‘Pee Wee’ Allen – a then-equipment manager and onetime right-hand man of convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro – to circumvent NCAA rules in the recruiting of multiple Miami-area players.”  The troubling aspect is that Al Golden’s staff also used Allen to make impermissible contacts.  If so, the Miami scandal overlaps the hiring of Golden.

The Yahoo article includes a pointed response by Golden:

“I have been a college football coach for more than 18 years and I am proud of — and I stand by — my record of compliance over that span,” Golden said in a statement. “As my colleagues and players on all of my teams can attest, I believe strongly in doing things the right way with the best of intentions.

“The inferences and suggestions in the Yahoo! Sports story that my conduct was anything but ethical are simply false. I, like all of us at UM, have cooperated fully with the joint NCAA-UM inquiry and will continue to do so, so that our program and our university can move forward. Because the process is on-going, I am unable to address any specifics or answer questions on the matter.”

Despite Golden’s denial, the report does seem to have some pretty clear evidence that Allen was used improperly.

The saving grace for Golden may be that these violations happened so early in his tenure–perhaps before he even knew Allen’s role with the team.  Nevertheless, Allen was dispatched by current Miami coaches other than Golden, who certainly would have known.  All in all, it looks like Miami’s troubles are getting worse, not better.

The Atlantic Coast Conference needs Miami to return to its glory days.  And looming NCAA sanctions are only going to delay that.  Hopefully, these reported violation are either untrue or were quickly remedied by Golden’s staff to help mitigate the sanctions.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , ,
16 Jul 2012
1 Comment

Lucky 13: Syracuse Will Officially Join the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1, 2013

Syracuse University has announced that it has reached a deal with the Big East that will allow Syracuse to join the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1, 2013.  Syracuse will pay $7,500,000–only $2,500,000 more than the buyout of $5,000,000.  With this move, the Atlantic Coast Conference is certain to have 13 teams for the 2013 football season.  It is likely that Pitt will join the ACC for 2013 as well, however, that dispute is in the court system right now.

Reports are that West Virginia paid $20,000,000 to exit the Big East in time for the 2012 football season.  However, the exit fee for West Virginia was $10,000,000, based on changes to the rules after Syracuse and Pitt announced they were leaving.  Kudos to Syracuse and the Big East for being able to resolve their differences without the need for attorneys.

For the ACC, it is not looking like there will be 7-team divisions in 2013.  Let’s hope that the powers that be finally get around to logical geographical divisions.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Football and tagged , , , , ,
12 Jul 2012
12 Comments

Penn State, the Death Penalty, and Such

The long-awaited Freeh report is out in public.  This allows everyone to start debating Penn State.  Some have even thrown around the idea of the death penalty for Penn State.  There are too many writers suggesting that to bother citing to any one of them.  The Confidential does not want to minimize what happened at Penn State, but fails to see how the death penalty serves anyone’s interests.

Nobody wins if Penn State football is killed.  Penn State and its fans obviously lose.  The Big 10 loses.  Anyone who enjoys playing and defeating (whether often or not) Penn State loses.  The NCAA loses–demonstrating that it cannot prevent wrongful conduct, only punish it long after it occurs.  Seriously, who wins?

Most importantly, there are victims of these crimes.  These victims have friends and relatives.  These victims want justice, surely, but do not want to be responsible for the death of the Penn State football program that entertains so many people they know and care about, and is so integral to local life.  The victims have suffered enough.

A better justice for these victims would be a cleaned-up Penn State program that takes the lead on preventing this from happening again anywhere.  Actually, there is a rather obvious institutional problem as it relates to sexual abuse, especially child sexual abuse.  People do not want to believe that colleagues, particularly respected colleagues, can be abusive.  This is not limited to football programs, but happens in churches, businesses, and government.  However, there are some very smart people who get paid to research at Penn State.  Perhaps Penn State could devote some significant resources from its Big Ten television revenue to putting its smartest sociologist, psychologist and business minds together on how to create an institutional system that allows for a rational, proper response to accusations of sexual abuse.  Not laws or regulations that defer responsibility to the government, but a system that allows entities to self-police long before it reaches the stage of punishment.  This would not be as financially lucrative as sucking on the teat of Monsanto, but this would be Penn State’s greatest gift to the victims–preventing future victims in more places than merely Penn State.

If the NCAA wants to kill Penn State football, it can.  Then we can start talking about what happens next in the conference scheme.  Frankly, the Confidential thinks that those discussions are designed more to inflame passions and entice viewership than any real possibility of the NCAA implementing the death penalty.  The problem is that arguments can detract from solutions.  Until Penn State folks stop worrying about legacies, can anything good be accomplished.  Non-Penn State folks need to stop provoking the Penn State folks.  And so on.

The Confidential has never much cared for Penn State.  They belonged in the Big East.  They would fit nicely in the ACC today.  But that does not mean that it supports the death of its football program.  And without an explanation as to how it benefits all, or even anyone, the Confidential cannot support it.  Punishment can be cathartic, but it can also be pointless.

Posted by acaffrey in Football and tagged , , ,
11 Jul 2012

Notre Dame, the Orange Bowl, and the ACC

Previously, the Confidential noted that the ACC signed a new deal with the Orange Bowl securing its status within the power structure of college football.  Of course, the most important aspect was that the ACC gets to keep the TV revenue.  The latest word is that Notre Dame is in discussions with the Orange Bowl to make regular appearances.  There is also Internet talk as to whether Notre Dame is considering a relationship with the ACC that would allow several games a year between ACC teams and the Fighting Irish.  This is, again, all good news for the ACC.

First, the decision to pair up Notre Dame with the Orange Bowl makes complete sense.  For the Orange Bowl, a 10-2 Notre Dame team trumps any other ten-win team in the country and most 11 win teams.  Even if Notre Dame is unfairly selected, the buzz alone will be worth the trouble.  People will care, even if it is simply to root against Notre Dame.  For the ACC, having Notre Dame as an opponent makes great sense too.  Notre Dame is located in Indiana, but the heart of its fan base is nationwide and certainly heavy along the Eastern seaboard–locations where the ACC has a presence.  Given that the ACC controls the TV revenue, having a 10-2 Notre Dame in the game is much more lucrative than just about any other conceivable opponent.  For Notre Dame, it once again shows that it can remain fully relevant without the shackles of a full-time conference affiliation.  All it has to do is win 10 games and it is in a lucrative bowl.  And if it does better, it will not be in the Orange Bowl, but playing for a national title.  A classic win-win, albeit a win-win-win.

Second, the ClemsonInsider (www.clemsoninsider.com) has the following interesting snippet posted:

For several months TheClemsonInsider.com has been telling its members that the chances of Notre Dame joining the ACC were much higher than Clemson leaving for the Big 12.  The ACC has been courting the Irish for a long time but those discussions picked up over the past few months as we’ve reported.

TheClemsonInsider.com has now confirmed with sources close to the situation that the discussions have progressed to the point where Presidents from a number of ACC schools are having discussions with Notre Dame to try to finalize a deal.  The ACC Presidents would love for the Irish to join the ACC as a full member, but they are also interested in other alternatives that could help the league.

Having Notre Dame play four games a year against ACC opponents is yet another win-win.  For ACC teams, having Notre Dame visit is always going to be lucrative at the gate and on television.  It is also helpful for scheduling strength.  Further, it prevents the Big 12 landing Notre Dame in a similar relationship.  For Notre Dame, scheduling is going to get more complex in the future–having an agreement with the ACC will allow more flexibility in that regard.  And, given that Notre Dame often plays at least a few ACC teams per year, there is really not that much of a change.

Of course, it remains to be seen how these two discussions work together.  The potential for a rematch in the Orange Bowl could pose some problems.

But, overall, it looks like Notre Dame is warming up to the ACC as a partner in multiple ways.  While Notre Dame as a full-time member would go a long way towards fixing all that ails the ACC, the ACC is going to have to slow dance with Notre Dame for a while.  Hopefully, it works out better for the ACC than it did for the Big East.  Fortunately, the monetary benefit is far greater for the ACC to do so.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference Realignment, Football and tagged , , , , ,
03 Jul 2012
3 Comments

The Orange Bowl Tie-In: An ACC Cash Cow Now

For several years now, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Orange Bowl have had an official tie-in.  That relationship to continue for the near future, as the ACC and the Orange Bowl have reached a 12-year deal, which will carry the relationship through 2026.  While that news is great, the outstanding news is that the ACC also has the right to market the TV revenue from the Orange Bowl:

Sources told Schad that the ACC will negotiate and sell the Orange Bowl TV rights and plans to keep at least 50 percent of the revenue. Whatever network gets the Orange Bowl will get to broadcast it, even when it’s a semifinal.

Thus, not only is the new deal great for ensuring that the ACC will remain at the big boys’ table, it is also a financial cash cow.

Just imagine the ratings and revenue resulting from a Florida State-Notre Dame Orange Bowl.  Or, when the Orange Bowl hosts a semifinal, it will feature two of the top 4 teams in the country.  Again, this is a huge “get” for the ACC leadership.

The Orange Bowl remains the logical landing spot for ACC schools due to its location.  Now it will contribute money even when an ACC school is not playing in the game.

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Conference News, Football and tagged , , , ,

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