If you watch the ACC/ND press conference and subsequent interviews, it is quite clear that the ACC is staying at 15 and is NOT adding a 16th team, unless ND becomes an ACC Football member. Any other speculation re: a 16th team appears to be a waste of time.
___________________
Mike Stein
Trinity '97, Tent #1 '97
Tampa
reasonable people can disagree, though few would seriously argue that Carolina could rehabilitate itself in 88 years.
one can hardly expect Stanford to join for blernsball given that, by then, it will own the patents for the forced in utero transplantation technology of blernsball's interactive intracranial mirror neuron gaming modules, and most of the ancillary, optional, high-end holographic and tasty snack/beer technology.
~rthomas
I thought it was 7 original teams, to 6 Big East teams now, with Ga Tech, and FSU not being part of either category.
On another note, even though they lost, Louisinana-Monroe almost beat their second straight SEC team. I think the Big East just offered them membership in football.
I couldn't disagree more -- the new 7-blern and neuro-optical squirrel interface requirements going into effect in the 26018 season pretty much force their hands. Besides what other conference would they join? The Andes Federation? The LAC? Stanford will be an all-sports member of the ACC by 26020. Done deal.
As for the 128th team, my vote is for the Munson Institute. Great academics, and gives us market and recruiting access to the Kuyper Belt. Or maybe Rutgers.
Last edited by opossum; 09-15-2012 at 10:12 PM.
I completely understand and agree with the ACC waiting to pickup a 16th member until if and when ND becomes a full member in football. That said, my concern is by that time it possibly happens, there won't be much left to pcik from. IMO, Louisville, Cincinatti, Rutgers and UConn are the best schools left (assuming Nova doesn't upgrad football to Div 1). Rutgers and Uconn have been mentioned in the past as possible targets for the Big 10 in order to get into the NY market. Louisville and Cincinatti (assuming BYU doesn't come back into play) would be viable candidates for the Big 12 to move back to 12 schools. I know all of this would be driven by TV and market share; but if it was found later that it made financial sense for the Big 10 and Big 12 to make these moves before the ACC was ready to choose a 16th member, it would be very slim pickings at that point.
True. But technically, Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame aren't actually members of the ACC.
If the Mayans are right, they'll never play a single ACC game.
Even if we take out UVA and add the three newbies, the count would be 6 v. 6, so the BE teams would not outnumber the original ACC teams.
If you look at the Mayans' Pythagorean win shares, you wouldn't put too much faith in their predictions.
I know it's 6 to 6 (and I wasn't the poster who said Big East teams would outnumber original ACC teams), but 6 former Big East teams (even against 7 traditional ACC teams) does have the potential to change the league's dynamics.
The 16th team has to be from the original Big East. The ACC can then reorganize into two eight team divisions:
Duke, UNC, NCSU, Wake, Md, UVA, Clemson and GT.
BC, ND, Pitt, Syracuse, Miami, VT, FSU, ex-Big East team.
Let's see -- six of the seven original ACC members are still around: Duke, UNC, Clemson, N.C. State, Wake Forest and Maryland. We lost South Carolina 40 years ago.
There are now six former Big East teams in the league -- at least there will be when Notre Dame, Pitt and Syracuse join Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech.
So there will be an equal number of original ACC teams and former Big East teams.
That leaves Virginia (the first outsider to join the ACC), Georgia Tech and Florida State in neither category.
As for the ACC poaching to become the best basketball conference ... that doesn't quite fit the facts. Before the ACC's three-team Big East expansion of 2004-5 (Miami and VPI, then BC), the ACC was clearly the best basketball conference in the modern era. Before that expansion, the ACC was better than the Big East and it wasn't even debatable.
But the ACC's 2004-5 expansion was made to bolster football and the ACC brought in three mediocre basketball programs, weakening its product. The Big East responded by expanding -- adding teams like Louisville, Cincinnati and Marquette which enhanced their basketball prestige.
My point is that the ACC's poaching in 2004/5 is what made the Big East the best basketball conference ... its latest round of poaching is merely restoring the natural order of things.