WRAL Sports Fan

WRALSportsFan

ACC Coaches Have Got Game--As Marketers

By Barry Jacob

Mar 13, 2007

Mission accomplished.

From the moment last year’s NCAA men’s tournament field was announced, ACC coaches complained their league had been slighted, and for the second straight season to boot. Meanwhile the Big East led the ’06 selection parade after coaches in that conference lobbied vigorously for bids.

So, ACC coaches marshaled arguments for better representation, honed their pitch during the summer recruiting season, and went on the offensive from the day practice began in mid-October and media members came nosing around.

When this year’s NCAA bids were announced, lo and behold the ACC had seven teams in the field, three more than last season. That’s also one more berth than any other conference received, and one more than in any year in ACC history.

Five ACC teams are seeded among the top two dozen in the field—North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Duke. That’s three more than show up in the Top 25 in the AP or USA Today polls.

One might conclude, then, that lobbying for inclusion does have an impact.

Not necessarily, said Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.

The coach, who also holds a position as “executive-in residence” within Duke’s business school faculty, said, “I thought the quality of our league up and down sold the product.”

Of course, marketing is a never-ending chore. “We would have liked to have had more,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’t agree with everything, all the selections.”