Prepare Yourself For A New ACC

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Prepare Yourself For A New ACC

The Big 12 and SEC conferences decision to join together in their post season bowl game is going to very likely have serious ramifications for the ACC. Unless loyalty means more to some schools than I think it does the ACC is going to lose between two and four schools in the not-so-distant future.

I can't imagine FSU, Miami and Clemson not leaving. And Virginia Tech may be in a position to leave as well. These are the most nationally prominent football schools in the ACC. The Big 12/SEC alliance is going to trigger opportunities for these schools to align themselves with other conferences, likely the Big 12 or SEC, and they are going to leave. A lot of us feel like we'll just invite Notre Dame to offset this. Notre Dame isn't about to join the ACC. Notre Dame is a football school itself. In fact, I suspect Notre Dame is going to join the Big 10 or possibly the Big 12 itself within a couple of years.

At this point it wouldn't surprise me if the ACC were to be annexed into the SEC one of these days. The bottom line is, the way things are shaping up the ACC is doomed to be a second tier conference. This doesn't mean we won't be as passionate as always about our schools. The State-Carolina-Duke rivalries will go on. And frankly, that's what drives this forum anyway so within this environment nothing should change.

But the ACC itself is about to realize the most significant of changes. I have always enjoyed the ACC's status nationally in basketball and accepted its status as top heavy in football. The ACC has always been peers with the SEC, the PAC 10, the Big 10 and the Big 12. It's not going to be that way within a couple of years.

North Carolina is a top 10 state in population and should attract a good deal of interest from those looking for market presence in collegiate athletics. It'll be interesting to see how loyal everyone is as time goes along.

RE: Prepare Yourself For A New ACC

The Big 12 and SEC conferences decision to join together in their post season bowl game is going to very likely have serious ramifications for the ACC. Unless loyalty means more to some schools than I think it does the ACC is going to lose between two and four schools in the not-so-distant future.

I can't imagine FSU, Miami and Clemson not leaving. And Virginia Tech may be in a position to leave as well. These are the most nationally prominent football schools in the ACC. The Big 12/SEC alliance is going to trigger opportunities for these schools to align themselves with other conferences, likely the Big 12 or SEC, and they are going to leave. A lot of us feel like we'll just invite Notre Dame to offset this. Notre Dame isn't about to join the ACC. Notre Dame is a football school itself. In fact, I suspect Notre Dame is going to join the Big 10 or possibly the Big 12 itself within a couple of years.

At this point it wouldn't surprise me if the ACC were to be annexed into the SEC one of these days. The bottom line is, the way things are shaping up the ACC is doomed to be a second tier conference. This doesn't mean we won't be as passionate as always about our schools. The State-Carolina-Duke rivalries will go on. And frankly, that's what drives this forum anyway so within this environment nothing should change.

But the ACC itself is about to realize the most significant of changes. I have always enjoyed the ACC's status nationally in basketball and accepted its status as top heavy in football. The ACC has always been peers with the SEC, the PAC 10, the Big 10 and the Big 12. It's not going to be that way within a couple of years.

North Carolina is a top 10 state in population and should attract a good deal of interest from those looking for market presence in collegiate athletics. It'll be interesting to see how loyal everyone is as time goes along.
- Posted by jcinncar

If so I do hope it is with out swofford.