Originally Posted by
TywinBlue
Agreed. Cassell Coliseum is the worst lit basketball venue in the ACC.
We can " thank" former Virginia Governor Mark Warner for it:
During the ACC expansion vote on the early 2000s, he allegedly would not allow Virginia to vote in favor unless VaTech was added as well.
Anyone taking a ride to Blacksburg for a conference game should " thank " Warner in their own way.
No, it's Duke's and UNC's fault. When the ACC looked into expansion in the early aughts, all nine members were in favor except for Virginia, Duke and UNC if I recall correctly -- and hoping for a first time. Three-fourths of the ACC membership had to approve a school for admission to the conference. There needed to be one more vote for expansion. Aha!! If Va Tech was a candidate, there is no way Virginia could oppose. No one really wanted VT in the conference -- remote location, close to other ACC schools, no natural fan base, etc. -- but a slate including Virginia Tech could get seven out of nine votes. If Duke and UNC had supported another expansion slate -- any of Miami, BC, Pitt and Syracuse -- VT would not have been invited. But Duke and UNC chose to stand on principle and got the worst possible result. VT was added to the slate of candidates -- Virginia voted "yes" -- and VT, Miami and BC joined the ACC.
You don't need to be John Nash ("A Beautiful Mind") to dope this out. Any politico on Capitol Hill could tell you that if you are going to lose, get the best deal you can. Therefore, it was Duke's and UNC's fault.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013