(10-04-2017 06:36 AM)Hokie4Skins Wrote:  https://pilotonline.com/sports/columnist...60934.html

The ACC, especially the Carolina Core, shouldn't really be surprised by what it got with Louisville and I doubt they are. Louisville has been extremely aggressive in its quest to become a true elite athletic program, and that is what the ACC, especially the football schools like FSU and Clemson, wanted. That's what helped silence them about seeking SEC membership.

They didn't want another high-quality academic institution that was weak on the field and court, they wanted a school 100% committed to be an athletic power, meaning top level in hoops and football, and Louisville was sending those signals and achieving those results.

And when a school that isn't a historical power is extremely aggressive, that tends to create a "look the other way" culture, because the emphasis is on getting to that elite level. Schools in that mode often have a philosophy of "you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs", so eggs have been broken.

The Carolina Core should have known what it was getting in to with Louisville, and I think they made that choice knowing that this kind of outcome was a risk.

Really, even though if asked publicly about it, ACC officials would be critical, behind closed doors, i do NOT think they regret the decision, as Louisville has delivered on what the ACC was looking for, e.g., their football team is sitting there at about #17 in the polls, and has been consistently ranked since they joined.

ACC football, which historically was weakest among the power conferences, has surged in power since Louisville joined.