The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the tag “Conference Realignment”

10 Sep 2014
4 Comments

ACC Custom Cornhole Mania

With the Tar Heels having a week off, and the necessary improvements obvious (defense, consistency and surprisingly, the running game), I thought I would share a project I’ve been working on for a few years. Growing up in the Triangle region of North Carolina, I’ve been an ACC fan my whole life. Even if you move here from somewhere else, you don’t last long before deciding you like Carolina Blue, Duke Blue, or NC State red. Once you do, it’s for life, and you develop a strong feeling about the other colors too…it’s just not usually as positive.

Read more…

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in ACC only and tagged , , ,
08 Jul 2013
12 Comments

The ACC & Texas

To the average pro-imperialism Big 10 fan, the ACC is ripe for colonization.  Indeed, there is a certain sense of “Well, the grant of rights is nice, but we’ll be back for Virginia, North Carolina, and a few other schools soon enough.”  Just take a look at the comments over at Frank the Tank.  The only issue for them is whether the Big 10 goes to 16 or 20 or 24.  Let’s assume, however, that the Big 10 was able to take Kansas and Virginia (as they predict) in the next round of expansion… do not be surprised to see Texas in the ACC.  Consider this…

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC Network, ACC only, Conference Realignment, Football and tagged , , , , , , ,
06 Jul 2013
11 Comments

Sad Emoticon for UConn

The Confidential, candidly, is disturbed by this whole conference realignment thing.  There are many schools–think Wake Forest and Iowa State–that are extremely vulnerable if the 5 major conferences turn into 4.  There is something inherently “wrong” in dispatching a “have” team into the “have not” category.  Even worse, there are schools that have already been relegated to this status.  Think of the University of Connecticut Huskies.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Conference Realignment, News, Opinion and tagged , , ,
22 Jun 2013
4 Comments

Signs of Conference Realignment

If my recent vacation in Wildwood Crest, NJ is any indicator, then the world of Conference Realignment may not be over yet. Read more…

Posted by Vinnie Saltine in ACC only and tagged , , , , , ,
31 May 2013
14 Comments

OSU Gee Takes Shots at ACC, SEC and ND

Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee has been known to put his foot in his mouth from time to time only to later issue an apology. He did it again this past December at a meeting for the schools Athletic Counsel which The Associated Press obtained a recording of under a public record request.

On the recording Gee told members of the counsel that he negotiated with Notre Dame officials during his first term at OSU. Notre Dame has resisted Big Ten courtship for years and last September announced that they would instead join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Gee remarks specifically referred to Rev. Ned Joyce, Notre Dames longtime vice president, who died in 2004. His comments included “The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they are holy hell the rest of the week.” His comments drew laughter from the crowd. “You just cant trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or Friday, and so, literally, I can say that.” said Gee who is a Mormon.

Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in Conference Realignment, Football, Louisville Correspondent, Opinion, Scandal and tagged , , , , , , , ,
16 Mar 2013
2 Comments

Louisville to Face Rival Syracuse for Big East Title

Louisville unleashes its inner Cardinal(Credits: Madeline Hack)

Louisville unleashes its inner Cardinal
(Credits: Madeline Hack)

If someone had told me at the beginning of this season that our Louisville Cardinals would contend for back-to-back Big East Championship titles against a historic conference juggernaut in a matchup marking the storied history of the conference as it enters its waning days of existence, I would have thought that person had a great imagination.

Given the preseason hype surrounding this year’s squad, it’s not surprising we find ourselves right where we belong in the title chase.  Nor am I surprised our opponent comes in the form of our rival Syracuse.  However, no one could have predicted the changes the conference will undergo in the next year and that the final tournament would consist of a model foe versus a new foe.

Here’s how we got to the tournament final:

2013 Big East Championship(Credits: www.bigeast.org)

2013 Big East Championship
(Credits: http://www.bigeast.org)

Since joining the league in 2005, Louisville has continued traditional conference rivalries and acquired new ones.  Aside from the annual Cincinnati showdown, no other rivalry has meant so much or garnered as much attention as the yearly conflicts with the Syracuse Orange.  There is no doubt this rivalry will continue once both programs enter the Atlantic Coast Conference.

It is only fitting that this epic tournament final would be fought between a classic powerhouse and our Cardinals, the winningest Big East team since we entered the conference.  Both programs have built lasting legacies as Big East programs and the combination of wins and losses and coaching staffs have allowed us to stand out among other teams.

As preseason favorites to contend for the conference title, Rick Pitino and the Cardinals have not disappointed.  This conference final will be epic – I couldn’t ask for a better way to end an era than with a face-off between two great programs on the national stage.

Having split the first two meetings earlier this season in conference play, the Cardinals and Orange will settle the score under the lights of Madison Square Garden at 9 p.m. on Saturday.

#L1C4 – Louisville First, Cards Forever

Posted by MBenjAdams in Basketball, Conference Realignment, Louisville Correspondent and tagged , , , , , , ,
11 Mar 2013
2 Comments

While Fans Honeymoon, Louisville Releases 2013 Football Schedule

Louisville Football has only one more year of [insert conference name here] competition before entering the Atlantic Coast Conference.  While many fans would rather hit the fast forward button and quickly arrive to fall 2014 than sit through another lackluster conference season, the Confidential cautions those future seekers not to overlook the opportunity at hand.

Times of great change can be very exciting.  Remember back to the days of constantly surfing the internet for any update on UofL’s chances of getting into the Big 12?  Perhaps you were busy burning up the computer looking for a way into the ACC?  No doubt some of you were also keeping an eye out for SEC expansion news.  The last several years have been filled with a barrage of intensity, not to mention enthusiasm.

But don’t forget about the present just yet, my friends.  UofL athletics is still on its ACC honeymoon.  I don’t know about you, but at no point of my honeymoon did I ever wish for it be over.  The exhilaration of accomplishment can quickly transition back to mundane existence.  While memories of extravagant honeymoons can be easily summoned after the fact, we will never live in this existence again.

On Wednesday, the University of Louisville released its 2013 football schedule.  Most interestingly, the Cardinals have three bye weeks sprinkled throughout.  The most important bye appears in just the right place – the week before the season finale against rival Cincinnati.

8/31 Saturday Ohio PJCS
9/7 Saturday Eastern Kentucky PJCS
9/14 Saturday Kentucky Lexington
9/21 Saturday Florida International PJCS
9/28 Saturday Bye
10/5 Saturday Temple Philadelphia
10/10 Thursday Rutgers PJCS
10/18 Friday Central Florida PJCS
10/26 Saturday South Florida Tampa
11/2 Saturday Bye
11/8 Friday Connecticut East Hartford
11/16 Saturday Houston PJCS
11/23 Saturday Memphis PJCS
11/30 Saturday Bye
12/5 Thursday Cincinnati Cincinnati

If you’re looking at the schedule and letting out a huge sigh, you’re not alone.  The marquee games per se on the schedule are Kentucky, Rutgers and Cincinnati.  While Ohio, UCF, USF and Houston are no pushovers, there just isn’t too much substance for fans to celebrate in the 2013 season.

Alas, there will be no conference championship game as previously planned.  A ten-team league was formed when Boise State and San Diego State committed to the Big East, but their change of heart cost the league a season finale.

There has to be some good news about this schedule, right?  Well, if you consider the weak schedule as proper impetus to win every game and defend our BCS win, then yes.  If for no other reason, true fans should support the Cardinals as they attempt to end the pre-ACC days on a positive note.

I would love to wake up tomorrow to find Louisville and its athletic programs already members of the ACC and having kissed their shaky Big East days goodbye.  However, if that were the case, the honeymoon would be over and would soon become a distant memory.

It is only fitting that we fans wait for our future – it allows us time to reflect on our university’s rich history, athletic successes and academic trajectory.  Being wanted and feeling valued gives fans pride and a sense of being on cloud nine.  Frankly, I’m too comfortable for that sensation to pass.

May the honeymoon never end, UofL.

Posted by MBenjAdams in Conference Realignment, Football, Louisville Correspondent, Schedule and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
19 Feb 2013
10 Comments

Big Ten Expansion, ACC Contraction?

The dominoes have been falling steadily.  Part of me just wishes the dominoes would go ahead and fall so we can be done with the madness.  It looks like another domino will fall soon.

It depends what you want to believe, but where there is smoke, there is fire. The big realignment pundits are all over this, including Frank the Tank. He paints a fairly pessimistic picture, basically saying “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

I think any departing ACC school would be a fool to announce before the Maryland suit settles, but the ACC looks anything but stable at this point. Could the Big Ten ruin the ACC?

Update: from a man who is a caricature of himself, self-endowed as “the Dude,” a title only reserved for the real Lebowski.  I digress.  Here’s what he said:

As Allen alluded to in his comments, many of these rumors are likely just that.  However, there have been enough of these rumors that something is bound to stick eventually.  Assuming UNC were to leap to the Big 10, where do you see the other ACC schools going?

Posted by Duke in Conference News, Conference Realignment, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , ,

Post Navigation

%d bloggers like this: