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Conference Realignment Thread: New B1G divisions

Louisville > MD in terms of old money too. They really do fit the ACC profile sans academics. Academics can be improved.
 
Its nice to read articles about this and see how excited the Louisville fan base seems to be about joining the ACC.
 
Adding Louisville over UConn/Cincy/Navy was clearly the best choice on the board.

That said, the Louisville fans I interacted with at the Orange Bowl were atrocious. Completely insufferable. Many missing teeth. Also that C-A-R-D-S CARDS chant is idiotic.

That said: Welcome, Louisville.
 
ArlingtonDeac said:
Louisville has a chance to improve its academic reputation as a new ACC member, as FSU did after joining. WVU is always going to be an academic dumpster fire. I can't see any argument that Louisville isn't a stronger pick-up than WVU. Better location, better market, better academics, bigger endowment, larger AD budget, better current football, better current basketball, and better overall athletic tradition. I think the ACC presidents couldn't imagine taking WVU as a member institution, but with Louisville, they thought, "eh, it's not that much worse than NC State," and think Louisville can improve to get closer.

If you're a fan of Cincy or UCONN, you have to be sweating right now. There's only one chair left in the ACC. Could either school convince the B1G 10 of Big 12 to take them, if the ACC doesn't? I can't see it.
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Cincy is likely the last school. New market, decent size, decent academics, etc. I'm not sure what UConn offers other than recent basketball success which is likely gone now that Calhoun retired. If UConn was any good at bball, they should have blown us out by 30.
 
Basketball tourneys should be fun. Since I have to search for some kind of fun every March now that we're on the outside looking in.
 
ibleedgoldandblack said:
I think the Louisville move is genius for a couple of reasons.

1) Best football school we could get
2) Hopefully shores up FSU (Big 12's most likely ACC target)
3) Eliminates one of the strongest Big 12 prospects from the Big East.

I firmly believe that either the Big 12 or the ACC is going to survive mostly intact, but not both. Anything we can do to add to our position while weakening theirs is a good move. By shoring up our position with FSU while eliminating attractive Big 12 targets, we are making it more likely the ACC survives and the Big 12 gets cannibalized.
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I agree with this, and like the ACC's chances to survive over the Big 12 for a few reasons.

First, when the Pac 12 expands, which it will, it has only one place to go: west. I can't see the Pac 12 simply adding four Mountain West-type schools. Boise, maybe, but after that it's going to want schools in states like Texas, Oklahoma, and so on. I don't see the Big 10 losing any members to anybody, and the Pac 12 isn't going to look at ACC schools all the way on the other coast. That leaves the Big 12 as the Pac 12's inevitable target. Which is trouble for the Big 12.

Second, despite all the anxiety, the SEC is unlikely to poach from the ACC. FSU, GT, Clemson and now Louisville will all have an extremely hard time getting past the voting block of UF, USC, UGA, and now Kentucky, who want no part of new in-state rivals in their conference. Further, none of those schools add new markets to the SEC, which is the entire point of expansion. Given that UNC, NCSU, and UVA have zero interest in joining the SEC over the ACC, there just isn't a logical move east for the SEC. Which means they'll be eyeing those heartland programs, too.

Third, the Longhorn Network, and the inequitable fiscal playing field it creates in the Big 12, is always going to keep its members on the lookout for a better deal. You think WVU wouldn't jump to the SEC tomorrow, if asked?

Fourth, I don't see the Big 10 looking at more ACC schools for their final two spots. They'll be eyeing a total domination of the Midwestern footprint. Kansas. Oklahoma. Maybe down to Texas. The only ACC targets that make any sense for them are in the northern contingent -- Pitt, Syracuse, or BC -- but the Big 10 has never shown much interest in any of them. I could see Cincy, maybe, but I think the Big 10 has their eyes on bigger prizes. In any event, none of the programs the Big 10 might logically want are crucial to the ACC's future anyway, and there are 2-3 spare Big East programs (Cincy, UCONN, Navy) that could plug any ACC loss in that northern group.

That leaves the Big 12 directly poaching from the ACC -- we're talking about a direct loss of FSU, Clemson, and GT to a conference based solely in the heartland (plus West Virginia). Talk about a logistical nightmare for those southern schools. Plus, the new exit fee, and the full support of those three for the litigation against MD, makes such a move unlikely. The addition of Louisville does as well, since it was basically FSU that picked them. Plus, those three schools have to know that the Big 12 is the future target for the other conferences. The ACC is much more stable, so long as they don't jump.

So I don't think the Big 12 has the heft to pick off anything from the ACC at this point, after adding Louisville (and appeasing FSU). And I'd be worried if I were the Big 12. Three power conferences: the Pac 12, the Big 10, and the SEC, all want their major markets of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. How can they hold that off, if directly stealing from the ACC is so unlikely?

Edited to add: I didn't discuss Notre Dame, because obviously they are a target for everyone, and will pick wherever they want to land. But they've picked the ACC already, once, and I think that bodes well for eventually keeping them. They want a primarily east coast/northeast affiliation, because that's where their fan-base is, and the ACC is only future game in that area. But we could lose them and still take one of the Big East's last few decent spare parts (UCONN, Cincy, Navy) and be okay.
 
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Will be interesting to see if this news has any influence on Charlie Strong, who I'm sure will be courted by some of the vacant coaching positions in the SEC. I know he will be offered a boatload at Louisville, I'm thinking he would jump to the SEC anyway. Now that he will be in a better fb conference, he may not jump as fast. Keeping him in the ACC would be huge.
 
Now, ala our Maryland friends who posted for days trying to convince themselves that their B10 move was positive, can I go on a Maryland board and post for three days about how great it is to have Louisville and not them?
 
Really like adding Louisville. Better basketball and football than Maryland and the previously mentioned schools, an aggressive AD, great facilities, fun town, great fan support. I think it's a win all the way around.
 
Not thrilled with this addition, but kudos to the ACC for making another power play.

It's not inconceivable that the Ville's academic rep will improve by being associated with the ACC. It happened to FSU and Va Tech.

I agree that WVU would have been a better option, but hindsight's 20/20. Kitchen's right that nobody knew we're be in this situation when we passed on WVU.
 
deacondamo said:
I'm not sure what UConn offers other than recent basketball success which is likely gone now that Calhoun retired.
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How about a better overall athletic program than Cincy?

Directors Cup standings since 07-08:

UConnCincy
49164
52129
62116
44150
6188


How about academics? UConn comes in at 63rd, Cincy at 139th.
 
I like the move! It helps solidify the ACC which should be every Wake fan's #1 priority.
 
mattwfu99 said:
How about a better overall athletic program than Cincy?

Directors Cup standings since 07-08:

UConnCincy
49164
52129
62116
44150
6188


How about academics? UConn comes in at 63rd, Cincy at 139th.
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Definitely prefer UConn to Cincy. Not even close. But fortunately we can wait for now.
 
Dude, Connecticut as a place is miserable. You of all folks should know this, Matt. We don't want to add that unless we absolutely have to.
 
deacz said:
Definitely prefer UConn to Cincy. Not even close. But fortunately we can wait for now.
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Can we? What is the next big move? Push ND to full membership and add WVa (since academics isn't the main issue) when the B12 dissolves?
 
bobknightfan said:
I almost always agree with Arlington. That is well documented. However I still fail to see what academics has to do with any of this stuff anymore. Why are we still pretending otherwise? I mean, when you recruit a bunch of basketball players who are going to attend a few classes for a couple of semesters so that they can remain eligible long enough to play 1 or 2 years and then leave.....what the hell does a school's academic standards have to do with it? We're all big-time sports whores now. You can't be just a little bit pregnant. What percentage of WF basketball recruits in the last 7 years or so have graduated?
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I think the school presidents, who broker research partnerships and try to attract grants, still care, because it does affect the bottom line of other areas. But academics is the last of 9-10 areas where Louisville beats out WVU. Frankly, I can't think of anything in which Louisville doesn't exceed WVU.
 
bigdoublezero said:
Dude, Connecticut as a place is miserable. You of all folks should know this, Matt. We don't want to add that unless we absolutely have to.
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Who cares how great a place it is? We'll only play them on the road once every 24 years once we've got 35 teams in the conference.
 
No fan of UConn, but I think they should be next. Syracuse and BC are just left alone in the NE without MD. Would add to the basketball footprint, which contrary to some on here, I don't think will diminish with Calhoun's exit. They've established themselves as a bb program. Question is, where does ND fit into all of this? That part time move really doesn't make sense to me right now.
 
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