(08-24-2023 02:49 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote: (08-24-2023 01:37 PM)XLance Wrote: (08-24-2023 12:42 PM)SouthernConfBoy Wrote: (08-24-2023 12:39 PM)E2THEX Wrote: Who should we invite next to get to an even 18? Oregon St, Washington St, Memphis, Tulane. I like Oregon St over all the other options. I doubt we plan on making a 17 team schedule in 24. For the sake of this topic please don't pick any big 12 schools.
Rule out all community colleges and start from there. That takes care of Memphis.
The ACC at 18:
minus FSU & Louisville (SEC)=12
add Stanford, Cal, SMU, UCF, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame=18.
1. I don't think Louisville is going anywhere. They aren't getting into the Big Ten, the SEC already has Kentucky, and the Big XII is a backward/lateral move.
2. Would you REALLY rather have UCF instead of USF?
3. Give it up: Vanderbilt is NEVER coming, and Notre Dame is so unlikely as to be virtually impossible.
I'd suggest the ACC add USF as #18, to insure access to Florida no matter what else happens. Then I'd look grab a couple of Big XII teams in 2031. to get to 20 (or back to 18 or 16 if the ACC loses anyone).
It's not as loony as it would appear on the surface. Stop for a moment, clear you mind of all of the wild Xlance swap scenarios and flush them. Then break down each component on its own merits.
Let's say the ACC does lose two schools. Right now the most Obvious is Florida State and the second most suspicious is Clemson.
California and Stanford replace those. The value of California and Stanford is roughly equal to what the current ACC payment is, the inventory remains the same, 2 out and 2 in and you are still at 14 full plus Notre Dame.
The SEC and Big 10 are at 18 each and that's a denser 18 when it comes to wins and losses.
Notre Dame likes to claim that they don't dodge big time opponents, and that's true. But neither do they seek more than 3 major foes on annual schedule. And they like playing where the recruits are. As long as Miami remains in the ACC and as long as the ACC has a second school in Florida Notre Dame can play one Florida School in South Bend and the other in the State of Florida. Miami is a strong enough opponent with name recognition to count. USF for a while would be a likely win but an opportunity to reach part of the state of Florida Notre Dame likely doesn't reach well already. SMU is their chance to have a conference presence, meaning ongoing presence, in DFW. When I saw SMU included in the mix that was the first thought in my mind. Texas and A&M are going to be slogging through a tough SEC schedule made tougher if FSU and Clemson head our way. The last thing they will want is an OOC game against Notre Dame. They risk a lot and don't gain much more than they have with most of their SEC schedule. So making sure N.D. has access to the largest Texas city is quite the bait to lure them. Georgia trips are regular enough in another recruit heavy state as long Georgia Tech is part of the ACC. Therefore, an ACC with a guaranteed presence in California, Florida, Texas and Georgia, which focuses primarily on academics but maintains athletic play at the highest level, which has lost its two most prominent football programs, is actually ideal for the Irish. It is what they want. Stanford, Miami, North Carolina, California, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and a game in Dallas provides national exposure in the most recruit heavy states, against old brands, but brands, and is a schedule N.D. can use annually to get into the CFP.
Are they going to join the Big 10? Why? USC isn't enough of a reason when they would suffer likely losses to a Penn State, Ohio State, or a rebuilding Michigan and doing so in an 18 member Big 10 limits their ability to schedule where they need to in order to remain relevant in recruiting. Will they join the SEC? That may mean 5 or 6 games a year where the opponent is just as likely to beat them as not. That destroys the mystique of Notre Dame and the attrition for athletes is brutal. In a 3 or 4 conference upper tier the ACC is now the best possible conference for Notre Dame. The Big 12 is tough and you don't play any household names. An ACC with the recipe listed would be as good as it gets for them moving forward.
So add SMU and USF and you are at 16.
Now pull the SEC go to for securing hoops, add Kansas. When hoops is freed that will a program which will balloon in value and it's already given a WSJ valuation of half a billion. It's really the last P5 prize on the table that adds value besides Notre Dame. Notre Dame joins in full, because like Zach Mayo in "An Officer and a Gentleman" they have nowhere else to go. There's your 18. And it is easily #3 in terms of branding and reach, and damn close to being #1 in academics.
Now for the most preposterous notion of Vanderbilt willingly coming to the ACC. This very moment Vanderbilt makes 10 million more a year in sports revenue than the average ACC school. It however is under pressure from the SEC to upgrade facilities last upgraded 43 years ago in 1980. It has major space problems for growth of research at its campus site in Nashville because the commercial value of adjacent land is so high. Would they not be relieved to be part of an academic consortium which included Duke, Virginia, UNC, Pitt, Miami, and reached into New York, a region where it draws well for students. Would it not give the ACC a presence in a major market (Nashville), and would the loss after the ACC's bump up from these moves of 5 million in revenue be worth getting out of the last car in the rollercoaster ride of the SEC? If not now, when? It's not like they haven't thought about it before. And in the ACC Vanderbilt would actually have a reasonable chance of improving. It's the only conference move they could make which wouldn't damage the only sport they gain notoriety in, baseball.
As to Louisville, their valuation is high enough for the SEC, but it woud be a double down in Kentucky, but in a different part of the state which has some reach into Southern Ohio. Bottom line: Louisville earns the SEC more than Vanderbilt in terms of athletic revenue. And while Vanderbilt is the SEC's academic bell cow, there is no reason why the ACC and SEC can't share an academic consortium. Doing so and including regional academic stalwarts like Emory and Tulane would actually give such a consortium the same number of AAU schools that the Big 10 has and with more strength at the top.
Am I saying that Notre Dame will join the ACC and Vanderbilt would move to it, or that the ACC would be forward thinking enough to add Kansas (which would pair nicely with SMU btw)? No. But I am saying for once the whole concept is much more possible than it would appear on the surface.
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