(09-03-2021 02:26 PM)Statefan Wrote:  If the ACC were to add one school for the purpose only of triggering a renegotiation it would not be West Va.

That school would be Cincy, Houston, or TCU. Navy would be a dark horse added for football and a few other sports but not basketball.

All four are academically acceptable. All four cover an urban area where the ACC doesn't have an in-state member even though an adjacent state member may be close.

Any one of the four can be added without creating a massive inner political destabilization. Any one of the four can be added and they not have the expectation of running anything.

If you add Navy you get MD/Del ACCN rates, one extra game with ND, and get to poke UMCP in both eyes.
If you add Cincy you elevate them to a more equal footing with Ohio State, probably enhancing their standing in Ohio and add Ohio ACCN rates.
If you add Houston or TCU you get the Houston or DFW metro, plus ACCN rates, most importantly you get visibility in Texas.

If you add West Va, you are adding a school in shriveling State and a school that sits inside Pitt's DMA. Broadcasts of Va, VT, Pitt, and Louisville already overlap into the West Va "market" which is nothing more than a series of 3 panhandles. While the West Va diaspora is real what do an extra 3-6K tickets sells at UVa, Pitt, Duke, WF, and GT actually do for the Conference? 200-600K a home game, every other year or so? Then there is West Va's academic situation and it's tuition advantage over most ACC schools.

Agree on all points, but the only WVU wild card is tv ratings. I do hope that we take our rights to market in the future. ESPN hasn't been a great partner.