And so it begins again...
I am a little out of the loop here, but I have been trying to keep up with the stories. As most of you probably already know, there has been talk about FSU/Clemson making moves for the Big 12. This is just like the move from A&M, and it has caused way too many rumors and speculations. I was hoping to get some Hokie opinions on the matter and see what the consensus is about what people from VT think/want.
Here is a decent article with rumors, etc. that will give some background:
http://247sports.com/Board/30/FSU-and-Clemson-to-Big-12-9457896/1
In short, FSU/Clemson might leave for the Big 12 in June, leaving us in the ACC endzone with a football while everybody else is on the basketball court. There is also talk in the article about BC and ND going to the Big 12 as well, and even some mentioning of the SEC offering FSU and Clemson spots just to keep the Big 12 out of the south.
Personally, I love the ACCademics, but we are an SEC school when it comes to football. With Mike London trying hard to get the 757, and the SEC pulling good recruits from VA, it would be a good move for us to get out of the basketball conference that we are in and solidify our dominating presence in the area. We also can't ignore more money and more competition. Then again, as stated before with speculations from the A&M move, UVA's hand was forced to get us into the ACC, and leaving would be the nail in the coffin for its football program after FSU and Clemson.
Comments
I'm sick of it!
Yup, I'm "that guy"
I know this sewing circle gossip just involves spinning tires in forums, but I have my reasons.
I am a football fan. Virginia Tech is a football school. The ACC is an everything else conference.
I am just hopeful that something will happen that will get us into a conference where we can compete with teams that people actually care about. Although it is hard to see past my bias, I believe that the cHokies that lost against Boise State because of the bs block in the back call, the ones that lost to Michigan because of that bs catch call, the ones that could've should've beaten Bama in the opener, and the ones that lost to JMU less than a week after a tough road game because we didn't have the energy or worry to play could actually get past that inevitable clutch game losing hump and put a national title in uva's face. The fact of the matter is we have hit the ACC ceiling, and the only direction is down from here (just looked at what the ACC did to FSU's football program).
There, my therapy for the day is done. With all that being said, I don't think we will leave the ACC.
VT is not a Football School
Football is a big draw and successful program for sure. Even Alababa, LSU, Oklahoba, OSU, Notre Dame, USC, ... do not consider themselves Football schools. I do not want VT to be a "football" school. I want VT to be a great all around university that affords anyone an opportunity for a great education and to participate on great sports teams that will compete with anyone. We are too good to be limited to just football. Great universities have great teams no matter what the sport or the conference affiliation.
I wish that was the case
(to preface, this is not at all about academics)
VT is a football school, just like most of the names you mentioned. We are also strong in other sports, just not relative to football. We give away prizes to the first x number of people to show up for our lesser attended sports, and if I walked around campus and asked, I doubt even one out of 100 people would be able to tell me one player on our soccer team, track, tennis, baseball, etc. I'm sure one out of every five people could give me at least ONE name from basketball, but that's about it. Football? I think that statistic is quite a bit higher. It's unfortunate to say, especially since soccer is my favorite sport, but we are a football school and football is what brings in the money and fans, and it should be the determining factor in any major decisions. For further argument, just look at VT's record in every sport except for football vs UVA - they are our antithesis in both sports and academics, despite some recent regression in their bb program.
I digress. This post isn't to argue about the equality of our sports programs, but about the conference moves. Specifically, I really wanted to hear opinions on if this move would be possible and what repercussions it might have (not just on VT).
In light of the ACC's new TV deal would it be worth it for them to leave and pay that $25 million(?) exit fee for a couple extra mil a year and life in a notoriously unstable conference where UT gets more money cause they bullied everybody else into it?
Plus its an easier path to the MNC, not to mention travel expenses for the non-revs.
Haggard is a whore
If FSU is as cash-strapped as they claim to be, I highly doubt a conference switch at this point is going to make things any better. This is all saber rattling by one goofus who has a bone to pick with Tobacco Road.
The TV deal is an albatross but it IS more income than we've been getting. Considering the national-level product the ACC has been putting on the field the past decade, I'm not sure we deserved much more than we received with the deal.
All we need is for two other teams to pick up some slack...
If VT and two other teams in the ACC (preferably either FSU, Clemson, GT or Miami) can live up to expectations and go without losing any 'stupid' games (ie, Wake/FSU '11, NCst/Clemson '11, GT/Clemson '11, JMU/VT '10, etc.) then ACC football will be held in high regard by the media and no team would really consider leaving.
-Top 3 SEC teams (LSU, Bama, Ark) had a combined 3 losses going into the post season, 0 to non-top 3 conference teams, 0 out of conference.
-Top 3 P12 teams (Oregon, Stanford, USC) had a combined 5 losses going into the post season, 1 to non-top 3 conference teams, 1 out of conference.
-Top 3 B10 teams (Wisc, Mich St, Mich) had a combined 6 losses going into the post season, 3 to non-top 3 conference teams, 1 out of conference.
-Top 3 B12 teams (OKst, Kst, OU) had a combined 6 losses going into the post season, 2 to non-top 3 conference teams, 0 out of conference.
-Top 3 ACC teams (Clem, VT, FSU?) had a combined 9 losses going into the post season, 4 to non-top 3 conference teams, 2 out of conference
If the ACC as a whole can avoid a lot of out of conference losses and the top teams of the ACC can avoid losses to the middle/bottom of the ACC, then the ACC can get some respect. More respect for the ACC football = less speculation/rumors/possibility of realignment.
Top to bottom
I think this just shows ACC has greater parity. The bottom of the "top" conferences are very bad. The top play some very weak OOC games. But they do seem to win some of the big OOC games. There are not that many big OOC games between top teams. I am not sure there is a way to correlate on field success with media coverage or vice versa. A lot of it is marketing and brand name recognition.
Even if that happened
It's not going to happen. VT and FSU are, mostly, the only names from the ACC that football people care about. Clemson is borderline because they do have a strong football following, but most other teams in the ACC that are thrown in a football conversation get a quick chuckle and a roll of the eyes. (Georgia Tech has had 15 minutes of fame the past few years, but that flame will die out quick...I've been to GaTech on many gamedays and it's terrible, and most of ATL likes UGA anyways).
The ACC will not get the chance to earn respect like you are mentioning unless something drastically changes in the next 10 years.
(We will be better than P12 in the next few years because USC is their only team, in my opinion, that has a consistent program.)
Wow, ODU to C-USA
Didnt see that coming, as an alum of JMU (former Bburg townie) I gotta say I'm jealous.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/ncaa/05/17/old-dominion-c...
Looks like ECU finally has a conference game thats not at least a 12 hour drive
ODU
Has stars in its eyes. They are thinking bowl games and TV coverage. Not happening any time soon. This may be a big financial mistake and at best it is a big risk. This affects more than just football. All sports will have to travel extensively. Not sure they can absorb all the addtional costs without raising fees or prices.
Stadium holds 19,818 but not much room to expand, especially considering limited parking availability.
I guess someone thinks it can work.
VT-SEC Chatter Heating up
That's ESPN SEC Blogger Chris Low from Finebaum's radio show earlier today.
It's looming
Everybody is getting in position to plausibly deny any communications slash get ready to leave the conference if FSU and Clemson leave.
There is literally too much going on to even begin to comment on...super conferences, playoffs, Big 12/SEC bowl contract, SEC's network in 2014, Notre Dame still being off in the corner, and, of course, how the ACC will fair if half of this happens.
I guess the other elephant in the corner of the room is when/how the Big East will fall apart.
Any guesses on when this bubble will burst? I think the FSU decision will either pump the brakes or open NOS valve, but when will that even happen?