Maryland may actually be leaving the ACC

[Fire Spaz]

[hansen]

Which one is HomoJS and which one is philly intern?

[HJS]

The 2010 announced ESPN put this all in motion. The ACC had one fleeting shot at rectifying the situation when they renegotiated after Cuse and Pitt. It didn't happen and immediately led to teams looking elsewhere. Swofford had one last chance to save his conference when he tried to get everyone to assign their media rights. He got nearly everyone to agree, but because the ESPN was so bad, he didn't get them all. Instead of grabbing those rights he could secure, he opted for a higher payout $20mm... which then expanded to $50mm when he tried to grab a few more nickles in selling the conference's soul for ND partial membership. Amazing. Simply, amazing. Now... we all get to sit back and watch this thing disolve. First Tranghese... now Swofford. Unbelievable.

[hansen]

The 2010 announced ESPN put this all in motion. The ACC had one fleeting shot at rectifying the situation when they renegotiated after Cuse and Pitt. It didn't happen and immediately led to teams looking elsewhere. Swofford had one last chance to save his conference when he tried to get everyone to assign their media rights. He got nearly everyone to agree, but because the ESPN was so bad, he didn't get them all. Instead of grabbing those rights he could secure, he opted for a higher payout $20mm... which then expanded to $50mm when he tried to grab a few more nickles in selling the conference's soul for ND partial membership. Amazing. Simply, amazing. Now... we all get to sit back and watch this thing disolve. First Tranghese... now Swofford. Unbelievable.

i imagine he will get another chance now that Maryland has left and we add another team?

[bcaddict]

I might have shared West's pessimism if not for ND's move a month back. They have every interest in keeping the ACC a viable 5th conference OR one of the Big 4.

Additionally, the B12 is not the B1G nor anything close to it. With the ACC aligning itself with ND, we are much closer to being the 4th than they are. If the ACC responds correctly (ie no CT), this conference will be fine.

UNC/UVA/VT are NOTHING like MD.

Please stop. This is precisely what Big East fans wee saying just before September. ND doesn't give a crap about the ACC. They are independent in FB and the #1 team in the nation. What they are showing is that they don't have any need for this ridiculous conference affiliation crap.

And you've now gone full retard.

The BE in September is nothing like the ACC as presently constituted.

Take five mins and read up on the playoff requirements AND, what would likely be the scenario in a 4 super conference world. Then take a few more mins reading WHY ND decided to join the ACC.

[BCWest]

I might have shared West's pessimism if not for ND's move a month back. They have every interest in keeping the ACC a viable 5th conference OR one of the Big 4.

Additionally, the B12 is not the B1G nor anything close to it. With the ACC aligning itself with ND, we are much closer to being the 4th than they are. If the ACC responds correctly (ie no CT), this conference will be fine.

UNC/UVA/VT are NOTHING like MD.

Please stop. This is precisely what Big East fans wee saying just before September. ND doesn't give a crap about the ACC. They are independent in FB and the #1 team in the nation. What they are showing is that they don't have any need for this ridiculous conference affiliation crap.

And you've now gone full retard.

The BE in September is nothing like the ACC as presently constituted.

Take five mins and read up on the playoff requirements AND, what would likely be the scenario in a 4 super conference world. Then take a few more mins reading WHY ND decided to join the ACC.

This is what I posted on the other site.

The ESPN and ACC media deal is not good. That is the bottom line. Ironically, it is not even good for ESPN, but they fail to get it. They did not give the ACC (there only 100% ESPN property) enough money, so the ACC is weak. It is poachable by the Big Ten, SEC, and maybe even the Big 12.

The bad TV deal lead to Swofford to try and grab new teams to renegotiate the deal. Cuse and Pitt. It did not really work. He failed to get a deal that was even on par with the Big 12. Let alone one in the ballpark of the Big Ten, SEC or Pac 12.

Swofford woke up a bit when the FSU to Big 12 thing became real. Swofford ran around and got the Orange Bowl deal done, and the playoff deal. He reacted. That was great, because it prevented the ACC from falling further behind, but it failed to close the gap with any of the other 4 conferences. Swoffie may have been many steps ahead of the Big East, but he is miles behind Scott, Delaney, Slive, and Busby/Dodds/Neinus.

So Swoffie sees the BIg 12 pursing ND. He goes after ND and gave ND the deal they wanted. Partial membership. That struck at the core of what has always been true in the ACC, we are all in this together. That is now over. That has annoyed FSU, Clemson, and even little ole Maryland.

And then to make things look good, Swoffie puts in the $50 million exit fee. But it just looks good. It is not really a binder. The exit fee is like hearing a NFL player gets a $50 million contract. No guarantees in NFL. For the ACC the only guarantee of someone staying was an assignment of rights. Swoffie failed to get these from the membership before announcing the renegotiated TV deal after adding Cuse and Pitt. This was a huge red flag and remains the issue to this day. Bad TV deal no one wants to sign on for over the long term. That was the moment where the ACC became prey rather than predator. This can not be overstated. The Big 12 has an assignment of rights, the ACC does not. The Big Ten, SEC, and Pac 12 have huge contracts, the ACC does not. So who is going to get poached?

Now, to confirm the ACC is the new big east, look at the facts. The ACC feels a false sense of protection because of Orange bowl deal and its inclusion in the new playoff system. This the same thing the Big East thought when they had AQ status and money from it locked up for years to come. Now, add in the fact the ACC has allowed a partial member in ND. This is a deal with the devil. No pun, they are the devil in this case. It divides the conference. Different agendas, payouts, ramifications, etc. Now, the ACC as BIg East circa 2003-2004 or as Big 12 circa 2009 is confirmed with Maryland leaving. Forget how good Maryland is or is not. Forget if they matter. This is a real market the ACC is losing. ESPN might be losing it to Fox. This is a game changer. The message it sends to the rest of the ACC is get out while you can grab a seat.

The BIg 12 survived because Texas decided to make it work. Texas assigned their rights and gave the conference a foundation. The ACC does not have a Texas. FSU is close, but not quite. On top of that, FSU is NOT committed at this point. You can believe that FSU, Clemson and the rest of the conference are truly committed if and ONLY if you see an assignment of rights.

[DuchesneEast]

This sums up my feelings:



Two grapes? Who care? I need a price check on two grapes. Yeah, you heard me, Phil. Two measly, stinkin’ grapes.

[HJS]

The 2010 announced ESPN put this all in motion. The ACC had one fleeting shot at rectifying the situation when they renegotiated after Cuse and Pitt. It didn't happen and immediately led to teams looking elsewhere. Swofford had one last chance to save his conference when he tried to get everyone to assign their media rights. He got nearly everyone to agree, but because the ESPN was so bad, he didn't get them all. Instead of grabbing those rights he could secure, he opted for a higher payout $20mm... which then expanded to $50mm when he tried to grab a few more nickles in selling the conference's soul for ND partial membership. Amazing. Simply, amazing. Now... we all get to sit back and watch this thing disolve. First Tranghese... now Swofford. Unbelievable.

i imagine he will get another chance now that Maryland has left and we add another team?

I've posted ways in which he can stop everything.

First, getting as many media rights assigned as possible (essentially a group who have no interest in playing dominos).
Second, if Swofford can't secure the rights, fire him and bring in someone who can.
Third, don't make any rash decisions on the 14th spot. Reflexively adding UConn because ESPN said so is what got you into this mess.
Fourth, come up with something creative for ND... ONLY if everyone is OK with it. Get a commitment for 2 more games in return for full membership and the ability to keep revenues for any of their out of conference games. Maybe give them MD's buyout. Maybe get ESPN to round everyone up to B12 money.
Fifth, if ND doesn't want in at all, fire Swofford and let the next guy make the move.
Sixth, consider USNA as a tag-team member for ND. It keeps your presense in Maryland... and at least for football... delivers more.

[BCWest]

The 2010 announced ESPN put this all in motion. The ACC had one fleeting shot at rectifying the situation when they renegotiated after Cuse and Pitt. It didn't happen and immediately led to teams looking elsewhere. Swofford had one last chance to save his conference when he tried to get everyone to assign their media rights. He got nearly everyone to agree, but because the ESPN was so bad, he didn't get them all. Instead of grabbing those rights he could secure, he opted for a higher payout $20mm... which then expanded to $50mm when he tried to grab a few more nickles in selling the conference's soul for ND partial membership. Amazing. Simply, amazing. Now... we all get to sit back and watch this thing disolve. First Tranghese... now Swofford. Unbelievable.

i imagine he will get another chance now that Maryland has left and we add another team?

That does not constitute a renegotiation. The number of members needs to change. If ACC just moves to replace Maryland, nothing is triggered. Obviously two parties can do a new deal any time they want, but in this case, nothing is triggered.

[DuchesneEast]

The 2010 announced ESPN put this all in motion. The ACC had one fleeting shot at rectifying the situation when they renegotiated after Cuse and Pitt. It didn't happen and immediately led to teams looking elsewhere. Swofford had one last chance to save his conference when he tried to get everyone to assign their media rights. He got nearly everyone to agree, but because the ESPN was so bad, he didn't get them all. Instead of grabbing those rights he could secure, he opted for a higher payout $20mm... which then expanded to $50mm when he tried to grab a few more nickles in selling the conference's soul for ND partial membership. Amazing. Simply, amazing. Now... we all get to sit back and watch this thing disolve. First Tranghese... now Swofford. Unbelievable.

i imagine he will get another chance now that Maryland has left and we add another team?

That does not constitute a renegotiation. The number of members needs to change. If ACC just moves to replace Maryland, nothing is triggered. Obviously two parties can do a new deal any time they want, but in this case, nothing is triggered.

We should add Alabama and Georgia.

[fs33]

Eventually (five year, ten years, who knows) this will lead to a Super League. 60+ teams that throw the traditions and restrictions of the NCAA behind. At that time BC will have to make a decision: do we want to be a University that happens to own a minor league sports franchise or do we want to go back down a path where we play "college" sports (call this the Holy Cross option). Until then all this conference shuffling doesn't mean much. Will BC still bring in TV money? Yes. Will we be able to watch BC play decent teams? Yes. If BC is good will we have access to a championship playoff? Yes. Until Super League time, access and money is all that matters.

BC FOOTBALL 2020
Sept 3 Harvard
Sept 10 @ Fordham
Sept 17 @ Villanova
Sept 24 Georgetown
Oct 1 Marist
Oct 8 @Army
Oct 22 @Dartmouth
Oct 29 Duquesne
Nov 5 VMI
Nov 12 Sacred Heart
Nov 19 @ Holy Cross

Welcome back!

Here are my predictions:

Sept 3 Harvard ---L
Sept 10 @ Fordham --W
Sept 17 @ Villanova --L
Sept 24 Georgetown --W
Oct 1 Marist --W
Oct 8 @Army --L
Oct 22 @Dartmouth --W
Oct 29 Duquesne --W
Nov 5 VMI --W
Nov 12 Sacred Heart --W
Nov 19 @ Holy Cross --L

Will the four game mid season win streak save Spaz's job and ensure a return for his 14th season???

[HJS]

The ESPN and ACC media deal is not good. That is the bottom line. Ironically, it is not even good for ESPN, but they fail to get it. They did not give the ACC (there only 100% ESPN property) enough money, so the ACC is weak. It is poachable by the Big Ten, SEC, and maybe even the Big 12.

The bad TV deal lead to Swofford to try and grab new teams to renegotiate the deal. Cuse and Pitt. It did not really work. He failed to get a deal that was even on par with the Big 12. Let alone one in the ballpark of the Big Ten, SEC or Pac 12.

Forget how good Maryland is or is not. Forget if they matter. This is a real market the ACC is losing. ESPN might be losing it to Fox. This is a game changer. The message it sends to the rest of the ACC is get out while you can grab a seat.

The BIg 12 survived because Texas decided to make it work. Texas assigned their rights and gave the conference a foundation. The ACC does not have a Texas. FSU is close, but not quite. On top of that, FSU is NOT committed at this point. You can believe that FSU, Clemson and the rest of the conference are truly committed if and ONLY if you see an assignment of rights.

Well... ESPN absolutely just lost the Jersey and Maryland markets to the Fox. Even if ESPN wins a bid for the B1G, they will never be televising those programs... who will be on Fox-49%-owned Big Ten Network.

Do you think there is any chance that this will wake ESPN the eff up and work with Swofford to stabilize the conference? Otherwise, they will be paying incrementally more for the same product they already own for next to nothing. Seems like it would be better for all parties to simply bring the ACC up to market rate (by that I mean B12... which technically isn't apples-to-apples as the ACC gave up significantly more rights).

[claver2010]

Where's when you need him!

[twballgame9]

Where's when you need him!

We need him? This thread is retarded enough without him.

[Fire Spaz]

I wish there was an ESPN board (a message boar ABOUT ESPN, not a message board HOSTED by ESPN) that you could post all this doom and gloom on. How else would they know that their sky is falling and channels will be cancelled because the ACC is 3 minutes away from not existing anymore.

Also, the Mayans were correct. This is the first step to next month's end of the world.

[BCWest]

The ESPN and ACC media deal is not good. That is the bottom line. Ironically, it is not even good for ESPN, but they fail to get it. They did not give the ACC (there only 100% ESPN property) enough money, so the ACC is weak. It is poachable by the Big Ten, SEC, and maybe even the Big 12.

The bad TV deal lead to Swofford to try and grab new teams to renegotiate the deal. Cuse and Pitt. It did not really work. He failed to get a deal that was even on par with the Big 12. Let alone one in the ballpark of the Big Ten, SEC or Pac 12.

Forget how good Maryland is or is not. Forget if they matter. This is a real market the ACC is losing. ESPN might be losing it to Fox. This is a game changer. The message it sends to the rest of the ACC is get out while you can grab a seat.

The BIg 12 survived because Texas decided to make it work. Texas assigned their rights and gave the conference a foundation. The ACC does not have a Texas. FSU is close, but not quite. On top of that, FSU is NOT committed at this point. You can believe that FSU, Clemson and the rest of the conference are truly committed if and ONLY if you see an assignment of rights.

Well... ESPN absolutely just lost the Jersey and Maryland markets to the Fox. Even if ESPN wins a bid for the B1G, they will never be televising those programs... who will be on Fox-49%-owned Big Ten Network.

Do you think there is any chance that this will wake ESPN the eff up and work with Swofford to stabilize the conference? Otherwise, they will be paying incrementally more for the same product they already own for next to nothing. Seems like it would be better for all parties to simply bring the ACC up to market rate (by that I mean B12... which technically isn't apples-to-apples as the ACC gave up significantly more rights).

ESPN does not care about the second tier games that will fall to the BIg Ten Network. They do care about the first tier set of games. Those are open for bidding and someone will have to outbid ESPN for them. So ESPN has not lost anything of value to them - yet - to Fox or NBC or CBS. Next, no one cares about losing New Jersey. This may be a boon to Rutgers revenue wise. Yes, it will help the Big Ten network on the cable rights fees. So it is a win for Big Ten. But no one - no one - is sold Rutgers can deliver anything that would matter to the first tier games that ESPN currently has and that will be open for bidding for 2017 season.

[hansen]

I wish there was an ESPN board (a message boar ABOUT ESPN, not a message board HOSTED by ESPN) that you could post all this doom and gloom on. How else would they know that their sky is falling and channels will be cancelled because the ACC is 3 minutes away from not existing anymore.

Also, the Mayans were correct. This is the first step to next month's end of the world.

Not to nitpick but ND being ranked #1 in the country was the first step, this was the second step....

[eagle9903]

This is what I posted on the other site.

The ESPN and ACC media deal is not good. That is the bottom line. Ironically, it is not even good for ESPN, but they fail to get it. They did not give the ACC (there only 100% ESPN property) enough money, so the ACC is weak. It is poachable by the Big Ten, SEC, and maybe even the Big 12.

The bad TV deal lead to Swofford to try and grab new teams to renegotiate the deal. Cuse and Pitt. It did not really work. He failed to get a deal that was even on par with the Big 12. Let alone one in the ballpark of the Big Ten, SEC or Pac 12.

Swofford woke up a bit when the FSU to Big 12 thing became real. Swofford ran around and got the Orange Bowl deal done, and the playoff deal. He reacted. That was great, because it prevented the ACC from falling further behind, but it failed to close the gap with any of the other 4 conferences. Swoffie may have been many steps ahead of the Big East, but he is miles behind Scott, Delaney, Slive, and Busby/Dodds/Neinus.

So Swoffie sees the BIg 12 pursing ND. He goes after ND and gave ND the deal they wanted. Partial membership. That struck at the core of what has always been true in the ACC, we are all in this together. That is now over. That has annoyed FSU, Clemson, and even little ole Maryland.

And then to make things look good, Swoffie puts in the $50 million exit fee. But it just looks good. It is not really a binder. The exit fee is like hearing a NFL player gets a $50 million contract. No guarantees in NFL. For the ACC the only guarantee of someone staying was an assignment of rights. Swoffie failed to get these from the membership before announcing the renegotiated TV deal after adding Cuse and Pitt. This was a huge red flag and remains the issue to this day. Bad TV deal no one wants to sign on for over the long term. That was the moment where the ACC became prey rather than predator. This can not be overstated. The Big 12 has an assignment of rights, the ACC does not. The Big Ten, SEC, and Pac 12 have huge contracts, the ACC does not. So who is going to get poached?

Now, to confirm the ACC is the new big east, look at the facts. The ACC feels a false sense of protection because of Orange bowl deal and its inclusion in the new playoff system. This the same thing the Big East thought when they had AQ status and money from it locked up for years to come. Now, add in the fact the ACC has allowed a partial member in ND. This is a deal with the devil. No pun, they are the devil in this case. It divides the conference. Different agendas, payouts, ramifications, etc. Now, the ACC as BIg East circa 2003-2004 or as Big 12 circa 2009 is confirmed with Maryland leaving. Forget how good Maryland is or is not. Forget if they matter. This is a real market the ACC is losing. ESPN might be losing it to Fox. This is a game changer. The message it sends to the rest of the ACC is get out while you can grab a seat.

The BIg 12 survived because Texas decided to make it work. Texas assigned their rights and gave the conference a foundation. The ACC does not have a Texas. FSU is close, but not quite. On top of that, FSU is NOT committed at this point. You can believe that FSU, Clemson and the rest of the conference are truly committed if and ONLY if you see an assignment of rights.

If the ACC had a means to get back to the open market post expansion w/pitt and cuse, a point of view you and HJS have espoused repeatedly in the past but as far as I recall never been able to source in any fashion, you're unquestionably right. This is all a badly played hand and the ACC front office has whiffed on various opportunities to catch up to the pack. However, if that dubiously accurate piece of the puzzle is not in place I continue to not come close to understanding how the current situation is blamable as satisfactory as that would be on a combination of the ACC actually deserving less money vis-a-vis the Big10 and the SEC and horrendous luck in timing of the expiration of the early 2000s contract vis-a-vis the PAC and the Big12.

I don't even come close to understanding your Notre Dame argument. Assuming you're correct that ND's inclusion angers FSU and Clemson and Marylan, which in and of itself confuses me. If the ACC agreement is a reaction to Big12 interest, doesn't not inviting ND as a partial member most likely lead to the Big12 adding ND as a partial member? At an already tenuous time in which FSU is making noise about going to the Big12? I happen to think that if the Big12 got the ND thing, it would have made outbound conference expansion more likely? I don't love this move, but I really don't think it was a straw that broke the camels back thing unless it is just because taking ND meant the Big10 had no real candidates for expansion elsewhere.

Anyway, I agree with your last paragraph entirely. This conference is not looking good and the parallels to the BigEast seem valid.

I guess I understand the need to have someone to blame. In a way its comforting to know that GDF's implosion of the program most likely won't be the reason we get left behind, if that happens.

[tallsy]

Alternative solution:

Have Georgetown and St. John's join as bball members, and get a deal with MSG (or YES) and MASN to act as a de facto ACC Network for all games ESPN doesn't get. Have Riley Skinner and Robin Byrd co-host the pre and post game shows.

[Fire Spaz]

By the way, all the HJS posts about Swofford have me envisioning him in Greensboro looking something like this.

[BCWest]

If the ACC had a means to get back to the open market post expansion w/pitt and cuse, a point of view you and HJS have espoused repeatedly in the past but as far as I recall never been able to source in any fashion, you're unquestionably right. This is all a badly played hand and the ACC front office has whiffed on various opportunities to catch up to the pack. However, if that dubiously accurate piece of the puzzle is not in place I continue to not come close to understanding how the current situation is blamable as satisfactory as that would be on a combination of the ACC actually deserving less money vis-a-vis the Big10 and the SEC and horrendous luck in timing of the expiration of the early 2000s contract vis-a-vis the PAC and the Big12.

I don't even come close to understanding your Notre Dame argument. Assuming you're correct that ND's inclusion angers FSU and Clemson and Marylan, which in and of itself confuses me. If the ACC agreement is a reaction to Big12 interest, doesn't not inviting ND as a partial member most likely lead to the Big12 adding ND as a partial member? At an already tenuous time in which FSU is making noise about going to the Big12? I happen to think that if the Big12 got the ND thing, it would have made outbound conference expansion more likely? I don't love this move, but I really don't think it was a straw that broke the camels back thing unless it is just because taking ND meant the Big10 had no real candidates for expansion elsewhere.

Anyway, I agree with your last paragraph entirely. This conference is not looking good and the parallels to the BigEast seem valid.

I guess I understand the need to have someone to blame. In a way its comforting to know that GDF's implosion of the program most likely won't be the reason we get left behind, if that happens.

The straw the broke the camel's back? There was no straw. The ACC TV deal is simply not up to par. Schools refused to assign their rights. You can assess why. I simply think they did not want to be stuck to a conference with a crappy tv deal and want their options open. Whether deserved or not, the reality is other conferences make a lot more money and they can use it to poach ACC.

[eagle9903]

btw to West and HJS.

I don't mind admitting I'm wrong if I am. Can you provide anything which shows that:

1) The ACC expansion to add Pitt and Cuse opened up negotiations with an avenue to the open market?
2) That there was another serious bidder in 2010 other than ESPN?

[eagle9903]

If the ACC had a means to get back to the open market post expansion w/pitt and cuse, a point of view you and HJS have espoused repeatedly in the past but as far as I recall never been able to source in any fashion, you're unquestionably right. This is all a badly played hand and the ACC front office has whiffed on various opportunities to catch up to the pack. However, if that dubiously accurate piece of the puzzle is not in place I continue to not come close to understanding how the current situation is blamable as satisfactory as that would be on a combination of the ACC actually deserving less money vis-a-vis the Big10 and the SEC and horrendous luck in timing of the expiration of the early 2000s contract vis-a-vis the PAC and the Big12.

I don't even come close to understanding your Notre Dame argument. Assuming you're correct that ND's inclusion angers FSU and Clemson and Marylan, which in and of itself confuses me. If the ACC agreement is a reaction to Big12 interest, doesn't not inviting ND as a partial member most likely lead to the Big12 adding ND as a partial member? At an already tenuous time in which FSU is making noise about going to the Big12? I happen to think that if the Big12 got the ND thing, it would have made outbound conference expansion more likely? I don't love this move, but I really don't think it was a straw that broke the camels back thing unless it is just because taking ND meant the Big10 had no real candidates for expansion elsewhere.

Anyway, I agree with your last paragraph entirely. This conference is not looking good and the parallels to the BigEast seem valid.

I guess I understand the need to have someone to blame. In a way its comforting to know that GDF's implosion of the program most likely won't be the reason we get left behind, if that happens.

The straw the broke the camel's back? There was no straw. The ACC TV deal is simply not up to par. Schools refused to assign their rights. You can assess why. I simply think they did not want to be stuck to a conference with a crappy tv deal and want their options open. Whether deserved or not, the reality is other conferences make a lot more money and they can use it to poach ACC.

I agree. It is about money, which is why I didn't understand what the ND thing had to do with the Maryland defection. Look at your post above, you talk about FSU, Clemson and Maryland being annoyed at the ND deal. Why would you mention that other than to say it has a role in the outbound expansion?

[BCSUPERFAN22]

Someone on twitter (@jfowlercbs) just said the ACC is in contact with Louisville, USF, Cincy and yukon with yukon and Ville being leaders at the clubhouse. I for one pray, if swof is this reactionary (which is stupid) that they take Vill. I dont care about academics anymore, take the best atheltic program.

[BCWest]

If the ACC had a means to get back to the open market post expansion w/pitt and cuse, a point of view you and HJS have espoused repeatedly in the past but as far as I recall never been able to source in any fashion, you're unquestionably right. This is all a badly played hand and the ACC front office has whiffed on various opportunities to catch up to the pack. However, if that dubiously accurate piece of the puzzle is not in place I continue to not come close to understanding how the current situation is blamable as satisfactory as that would be on a combination of the ACC actually deserving less money vis-a-vis the Big10 and the SEC and horrendous luck in timing of the expiration of the early 2000s contract vis-a-vis the PAC and the Big12.

I don't even come close to understanding your Notre Dame argument. Assuming you're correct that ND's inclusion angers FSU and Clemson and Marylan, which in and of itself confuses me. If the ACC agreement is a reaction to Big12 interest, doesn't not inviting ND as a partial member most likely lead to the Big12 adding ND as a partial member? At an already tenuous time in which FSU is making noise about going to the Big12? I happen to think that if the Big12 got the ND thing, it would have made outbound conference expansion more likely? I don't love this move, but I really don't think it was a straw that broke the camels back thing unless it is just because taking ND meant the Big10 had no real candidates for expansion elsewhere.

Anyway, I agree with your last paragraph entirely. This conference is not looking good and the parallels to the BigEast seem valid.

I guess I understand the need to have someone to blame. In a way its comforting to know that GDF's implosion of the program most likely won't be the reason we get left behind, if that happens.

The straw the broke the camel's back? There was no straw. The ACC TV deal is simply not up to par. Schools refused to assign their rights. You can assess why. I simply think they did not want to be stuck to a conference with a crappy tv deal and want their options open. Whether deserved or not, the reality is other conferences make a lot more money and they can use it to poach ACC.

I agree. It is about money, which is why I didn't understand what the ND thing had to do with the Maryland defection. Look at your post above, you talk about FSU, Clemson and Maryland being annoyed at the ND deal. Why would you mention that other than to say it has a role in the outbound expansion?

ND move, even reported in Washington Post, pissed of some people including those at Maryland. Say you are FSU. You can go out and get your own network, but you don't. Why should ND be able to? If what is good for the goose is good for the gander, why should ND get special treatment? For the conferences entire existence, everyone has been the same. When one team had a great BBall team, they did not get more money. They carried the bad programs. Same in football. Now you get a program that gets all the best from your Olympic sports, access to your great BBall tradition, and the one thing that school brings to the table is football. And they give you some crumbs? That is not good. When you have different agendas, it simply is not a good thing.

[bluefishskip]

ACC in talks with UCONN, Louisville, USF, Cincinnati for the 14th spot previously held by Maryland


With that said, take Louisville immediately.....and then
1) Take the 50 million from Maryland and immediately invest it towards a real ACC Network. Some Infrastructure is in place with the ACC Digital Network....
2) Sign a GOR immediately

[vegasEagle]

Thank god the Big10 is taking these teams. It's about time. The 9am pt big 10 games on espn, espn2, and espnwhatever suck every saturday. Minnesota, purdue, indiana garbage. Now they'll be able to televise Rutgers and Maryland. Problem solved.

[HJS]

Someone on twitter (@jfowlercbs) just said the ACC is in contact with Louisville, USF, Cincy and yukon with yukon and Ville being leaders at the clubhouse. I for one pray, if swof is this reactionary (which is stupid) that they take Vill. I dont care about academics anymore, take the best atheltic program.

It won't matter unless you first resolve shit internally. Grabbing a crappy NBE school does not stop the next domino from falling. This is such a predictably panicked, shortsighted, Transghese-Swofford-like move. Effing USF??? Is that meant to further push FSU out the door? No thought about USNA?

[HJS]

1) Take the 50 million from Maryland and immediately invest it towards a real ACC Network. Some Infrastructure is in place with the ACC Digital Network....

What will you broadcast on that channel? Quidditch? ESPN owns the media rights to every ACC athletic event.

[cvilleagle]

I still don't get what the B1G gets out of this. These programs suck.