A Better ACC
I am a fairly new poster to the board but have been reading posts for some time. First let me say that I think the ACC is a great conference. We have great member institutions (including our future members Pitt & SU), the academic reputation is excellent, and athletics are top notch for everything except for football. Of course, this football issue is a big concern for Clemson and some other ACC schools. We (the ACC) have been and continue to fall further and further behind the SEC, the Big 12, and the BIG when it comes to football. And like it or not, football is the primary engine that drives college athletics (i.e. conference revenues). Yes, basketball is also important but it does not match the importance of football – you can debate this all you want but reality is truth (if basketball was as important, then the ACC’s TV contract would far exceed the SEC’s and we all know this to be far from reality). Unfortunately for Clemson, we are a football first school and so despite all that the ACC has to offer, if there was a better option available (such as the SEC), I would definitely be in favor of making a move. But as I said, reality is truth and I realistically do not see any forthcoming invites from the SEC (or even the Big 12). So, the only viable option I see is to try and improve the state of ACC football. With this in mind, here are my suggestions:
1. Replace John Swofford as ACC commissioner with someone not connected in any way to any existing or future ACC member institution. I cannot say with certainty whether or not Mr. Swofford has made biased decisions (I have my opinions but they are just my opinions). However, the perception that bias may exist based on his relationship with UNC is very real and undeniable. Therefore, I think it is in the best interest of the ACC to remove any possibility of bias or the perception that bias may exist.
2. I agree with Hokie Mark’s proposed North/South division alignment:
NORTH: BC, Syracuse, Maryland, Virgina, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Miami
SOUTH: Duke, Wake, NC State, N Carolina, Clemson, Ga Tech, Florida St.
(paired in that order e.g. BC & Duke, ... UVa & UNC, VT & Clemson,... )
This will maximize the number of games between the bigger name football schools and still keep a relatively even competitive balance between the divisions. I believe that this will in turn help the ACC negotiate a more favorable contract since it will provide ESPN (or whoever) more “big name” games to offer. Let’s face it, Duke vs BC is not going to draw a large TV audience (no offense meant) whereas a CU vs VT or FSU vs Miami game is much more likely to do so. TV ratings (i.e. audiences) are ultimately what drive ESPN. The more of these type of games the ACC has to offer the better our bargaining position becomes.
3. Until if/when the ACC expands to 16, get rid of the 9 game conference schedule and go back to an 8 game schedule. This 9 game schedule definitely limits the flexibility and availability of scheduling OOC games. This is particularly true for Clemson, FSU, and GT who have to schedule an OOC every year with their in state SEC rival. FSU and to a lesser degree CU and GT are three of the “bigger name” schools and to my point above, the ACC should be working as hard as it can to get their “big name” schools involved in “big name” OOC games and should not be putting up barriers to these type of games. For example, Clemson is currently scheduled to play Oklahoma State in a home/away series in a few years – with a nine game schedule, it will be very unlikely that these games will happen. This will be a loss for Clemson and the ACC as these would probably be one of the marquee intra-conference games in the country.
4. Improve ACC scheduling so that CU, FSU, and GT catch a break the week before they play their in-state SEC rivals. The SEC always seems to take care of their teams (UF, UGA, and USC) before these rivalry games. There is absolutely nothing that would help the ACC’s football image more then for ACC teams to beat SEC teams. Of course, it is ultimately up to each team (CU, FSU, and GT) to win these games but a little help from the ACC would not hurt.
5. Work as hard as we can and do everything we can to entice Notre Dame to join our conference. Trust me when I say that I am far from being a ND fan but like it or not (deserved or not), they do have a “big name” reputation and would definitely help the ACC’s football image and bargaining position.
6. Of course, a concerted and committed effort from each school to improve their football programs would be invaluable. VT has really held up their end of the bargain as they have definitely been the most consistent performer. If FSU, Miami, and Clemson in particular and GT, Syracuse, and Pitt can raise the bar to past competitive levels, then the ACC would definitely be on par with the other conferences - and ACC football would actually be exciting to watch!
That’s it. Not anything really new but all of this is doable (except for maybe #5) and would help improve the overall state of ACC football both in perception and in reality.
|