A radical idea to save the ACC Tournament: hold it at the middle of the ACC season, not at the end. We need to add another team so we have 16 teams. During the regular season everybody plays everybody else once, either home or away. Home and away would be reversed the following year for each team. So, that's 15 league games. At the middle of the ACC season - late January of early February, roughly at the time of semester break - we could hold the ACC Tournament over 8 days with games every other day. Teams would be seeded based on their standing in the league at the time of the tourney. Opening game on Saturday, then next round on Tuesday, then Thursday, with the championship on Saturday. Losers would not go home but continue the next round in a losers' bracket, while the winners continued in the winners' bracket. Each round would generate its own winner and loser brackets. So, in the end each team would have played four games, and these games would count in the standings. League would have a champion and a tourney champion.
Advantages:
1. The ACC tourney games would be meaningful because they would count in the overall standings.
2. Potentially once again a considerable money generator for the league and the programs.
3. Would create fan excitement and increased interest.
4. Good revenue for the location, which could be rotated like the ACCT is rotated now.
Disadvantages:
1. Too many league games, a total of 19.
2. Too radical to gain acceptance easily.
3. Need a new ACC member.