ACC Winter Meetings Update- Future ACC Basketball Tournament Sites
Finally, we have some news out of the ACC Winter Meetings! Swofford has been FAR too quiet the past few days despite all of the realignment rumors that have been picking up speed in this blog and others. Fortunately, as any ACC member knows, silence from John Swofford and the ACC can be a good thing. HE’S UP TO SOMETHING.
ESPN just posted an article regarding ACC Basketball Tournament sites and the possibility of future tournaments in New York City. What do you guys think about that? While I’m an NC native and a current resident, I’ve never liked the tournament being in Greensboro. Sure, I love the history, and the location is pretty convenient for me, but it just hasn’t seemed like the right place for the past few years. The league’s membership has grown and changed and so has its footprint. The location of its tournament must reflect that.
I’ve recently been a proponent of the conference expanding to 16 teams. Once we got beyond 10, scheduling just became too difficult and unwieldy. With 16 teams, you can split up into four pods and play 9 conference games in football. That means you can play your entire pod (3 games), another full pod (4 games) and half of a third pod (2 games) each year. Under that configuration, teams would be able to see each other at least once every other year and play a game at every team’s home at least once every four years. That’s way better than things are now. Under the new scheduling rotation and current divisional model, it may take UNC up to 8 years to play Wake Forest, a longtime rival who’s campus is just 80 miles down the road from Chapel Hill. So how would these pods look?
Tobacco Road Deep South Mid-Atlantic North
North Carolina Miami Virginia Boston College
NC State Florida State Virginia Tech Syracuse
Wake Forest Georgia Tech Pittsburgh Louisville
Duke Clemson West Virginia Notre Dame
You’ll notice that I have West Virginia and Notre Dame in there. I believe that WVU has always belonged in the ACC and that ND WILL be forced to join a conference at some point. Its conference of choice is the ACC. They have proven this by taking partial membership with us over the Big 12 and rejecting the B10 on numerous occasions. If superconferences were to be logically created (and they probably won’t be), then the Big 12 would be the next to fall (not the ACC) and WVU would be free to join without the grant of rights restriction (which could just as easily be broken if 5 or more Big 12 members wanted to leave).
All that to say, is that it is imperative that the league shake its “Tobacco Road” bias image. That is why I propose that the tournament develop a permanent rotation between four cities: Orlando (ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex- Deep South POD), Raleigh (PNC Arena- Tobacco Road POD), DC (Washington Wizards Arena- Mid-Atlantic POD), Brooklyn (Barclays Center- North POD). Not only do these cities provide a variety of entertainment, dining and housing options for fans, but they also come with a significant corporate population and satisfy the fan bases of each “pod.” No longer would the ACC tournament be seen as a place where the North Carolina schools are given an advantage. With a strict, set rotation, fans could expect their favorite team to have an unbiased leg-up on the competition once every four years. This would also ease with travel plans for fans and teams and leave the league to work on more important matters such as re-branding itself and marketing its product.
What do you think? While we haven’t heard much yet, the news out of Florida (the location of the ACC Winter Meetings) is encouraging. John Swofford seems to be more willing to stray from the past, as seen with the addition of Louisville, than ever before and this can only be good for the future of the conference.
The Confidential 
I would look 18 teams. 3 divisions of 6 teams. To the dismay of many, I would offer to drop the fee against Md if the BIG would take Wake too. I would also offer NCST to the SEC with no fee. That is if both agreed to not take any more ACC schools. Then I would add Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, WVU, Cincy, and ND. If ND says no then take Baylor. If ND said yes but only with Navy included then take them and drop Cincy. The BIG and SEC would also look at Big12 to get to 16 or 18 teams so there would be enough teams willing to leave that the GOR would be null and void. Just a thought. The ACC needs good football teams with national exposure. TV money would be rolling in.
Really like the Tobbaco Road pod. Even if you stay at two divisions, how hard would it be to group these rivals together?
Only way ACC goes to 16 with Notre Dame all-in is if it allows Navy as a FB only member. Divisions wouldn’t be bad for football:
South: Miami/FSU/GT/Clemson
North: ND/Pitt/BC/Navy
Inside: VT/UVa/UNC/NCSt
Outside: Louis/Syr/WF/Duke
ND & Navy would probably commit to only 7 conference games(their division plus a rotating group every 2 years).
The basketball tournament should just rotate amongst 3 big cities: NYC (for media exposure & northern boosters), Orlando (for fans…weather & tourism), Charlotte (for convenience & some tradition).
You probably don’t understand the past history between the ACC and West Va. When the ACC used to be the Southern Conference, West VA was allowed in in 1950 – it was a disaster and seven SoCon schools pulled out to get away from West Va.
I understand that WVU is not the top choice nor should they be. Perception is driving a lot of the realignment movement in college athletics though. WVU is perceived to be a top 25 caliber program. I dislike them too much to weigh in with a logical argument. In my opinion, the ACC needs to enhance its perception with polls, media, and fans. That can only be achieved by adding top 25 caliber football teams. The best argument I can make to support this is 2012 FSU squad. If they would have been in SEC or BIG they would have received a lot more respect in polls. I have always loved ACC BBall but football is where the money is. Cues and Pitt didn’t help our situation. I welcome them and can’t wait till next BBall season but we need to add 2-4 football schools in order for the conference to enjoy a long lucrative future.
Honestly, I think the history is exactly why WVU should join. There are so many built in rivalries that would be unbelievable for fans and TV. As a UNC guy, I know that many WVU fans STILL hate us for voting against them back in 1953 (and 2003 and 2011). That’s why they’re the leaders in propagating all of the completely unfounded realignment rumors. Inside sources? Right. I’ve worked for two high-level Division I athletic departments and unless these guys are friends with the athletic director, then they don’t actually know what they’re talking about. WVU fans want the ACC to fall because they desperately still want to be in the conference, even if they’d never admit it.
I really think though, that a lot of “old-school” ACC fans would be fine if some of the newer schools left. Not UVA obviously, but I’ve talked to a LOT of people who are still unhappy with the Syracuse, Pittsburgh and BC additions.Louisville’s fine because it’s still pretty southern and ND is ND so that’s not a problem either, but I really have to agree that it’s harder to get excited about games against teams that you can’t identify with. Cuse, Pitt and BC are great schools with great programs, they’re just not good cultural fits. The SEC has been able to expand while retaining their identity. The ACC has not. WVU’s couch burning, while not quite as wine and cheese as UNC, Duke, or UVA is still a better fit than Cuse, Pitt and BC in my mind. But again, I’m excited about playing these programs and see a bright future for the conference.
With the GOR in the B12, WVU is not a possibility. Better look UC or UConn. Those are the only 2 viable options.
The GOR is no more binding than an exit fee if over half the conference wants to leave. That’s why it makes WAY more sense for leagues to raid the Big 12, not the ACC. That way the Pac-12 gets 4, Big 10 2, SEC 2 and the ACC 1. Only 1 current high-level BCS school is “left out.” They can just join the MT West. Maybe it would be TCU and they could RE-JOIN the MT West.
Plus, geographically, the PAC is locked and pretty much only has those Big 12 options. If the PAC would strike first, then realignment would end in a quick, easy way, not the long, drawn out way that the Big 10 currently wants to create. And as a UNC fan, I would NEVER support my school going to the Big 10. I don’t know a single other alumni who would. Big 10 schools just aren’t exciting to me. Sure, we could get more money in the short term, but we would be forfeiting our long term future. No one would show up for Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, Purdue, etc. I honestly don’t even get excited about Michigan or Ohio State. The Big 10/ACC Challenge once a year in basketball is enough. Hopefully, the PAC wakes up and realizes that the GOR is no more of a barrier than an exit fee and makes another run at the Texas schools.