Recent Comments
In the current or near future arrangement of the SEC no way VT ever wins the SEC or even the division. Therefore no NC. Unless VT can consistently win against GA, Bama, TN, and the like, which has not been shown, the profile of the games with these teams will not be raised. In fact it will decline over time when we always come up short (can't win the big game). VT moving to the SEC is more about the SEC and less about VT. We don't really add anything except for the SEC consolidating as many top 25 teams as they can get. More money will not equal more success.
All this being said there is still the problem of a declining ACC and realignment of other conferences. ODU may even start to pull away recruits in the 757.
Saban is still going to get his. He's earned his rep, and it's a good one. Kids want to play for him. That's not going to change all the sudden if we happen to be in the same conference.
approximate driving times to current SEC schools from Blacksburg:
Tenn 4 hrs
USCe 4.5 hrs
UK 5.5 hrs
UGA 6 hrs
Vandy 6.5 hrs
Aub 8.5 hrs
Bama 9 hrs
Miss St. 10.5 hrs
UF 10.5 hrs
Ole Miss 11 hrs
Missouri 12.5 hrs
LSU 14 hrs
Ark 15 hrs
TA&M 20 hrs
Note that several of those are not that far. And that UNC or NCSU would likely be added as well, for another reasonable drive. And that those longer drives would likely be to the other side of the conference, and thus much less frequent. And that it's not like staying in the ACC means no long drives (think FSU, Miami, BC, and Syracuse). I get that we have a very good geographic fit right now with the ACC, but you can't say the SEC is a bad geographic fit...
definitely would have included it above.
looks like some overexposure on the cell camera...the edges of her hair/head are still black.
as rather "pluses" for being in the ACC...what an ambassador for our school (and fans)! After hearing that I was like, "hell yeah, SEC, we'll start the bidding at $20 million exit fee reimbursement."
What struck me was that he said "Virginia Tech will do whatever it takes to compete at the highest level", followed up with his 'ACC fills this need today' comment. Let's not forget, he is an actual school employee, is he not? I don't know what his W2 says, maybe he he's listed as a private contractor under a PO or whatever. But definitely a spokesperson representing VT, and the lines were a little wider apart for us to be able to read between versus Weaver's political discourse.
Thanks for finding.
Theres not a ton of room over there. You'd have to move or at least reconfigure the practice fields and where would they go? There's hardly any undeveloped or unused land left on campus. Plus Frank wants a new practice facility so they can work on the punting more, I cant say I disagree. I've always said they would probably close the corners in between east-south-west stands first and then look at the north endzone.
Seems like the $EC and the Mothership would realize the ratings and the unquestionable awesomeness of Thursday Night in Lane against insert opponent here. They dont play many, and yes they're early in the year, but they do play Thursday games. Hell they play Fridays too. Its kind of our thing, I think the powers that be would want to continue that.
All that being said, I feel like we're all creaming our pants cause one guy said a sentence to another guy. But hey its the offseason, gotta talk about something right?
Not a chance, sorry. Going a bit off topic here, but the current NHL version allows plays sticks to go through legs, pucks to go through players, and two players to bump into one another with having zero noticeable consequence. NCAA is a much better model than NHL at representing real world gameplay, and Fifa is in an entire league of its own in terms of realism.
As has been alluded to here, the proximity in the ACC isn't to teams that are worth traveling for. I have been in the Charlotte area for a while now and can never seem to get too pumped about going to a Duke or Wake game, regardless of how inexpensive the tickets are. In the ACC, most of what I consider the best away games (GA Tech, Miami, FSU) really aren't that close by.
NOVA alums will be fine. We still can schedule an occasional FedEX game and surely they will travel to the marquee events.
At the end of the day, the SEC creates MORE BIG GAMES. That is what big-time programs will always have.
I'm late to the SEC bandwagon, but I'm there.
My strong preference, which will never happen, is to universally separate football from all other sports for conference alignment purposes. The economics are so different that this makes tons of sense. Would we be in the SEC? Absolutely.
It's too late now, but I really wish the SEC would have gone to 16 last year and taken WVU, Miami and VT. We'd be able to play all our traditional rivals, plus all the great SEC programs. We could continue to schedule UVA as our OOC game just like Georgia/GT and Florida/FSU at the end of the season. And we'd have a ~$35 mil contract with ESPN while UVA withers on the ACC vine.
We can still get all of that except WVU.
Yeah I don't think Nova alumni are packing the stands in Raliegh anyway. I think more alumni outside of the Blacksburg area are likely to attend away games in the SEC, because the matchups will actually be worth traveling for. Imagine alumni in New York. You're definitely not going to games in North Carolina or even Boston, But you might fly to New Orleans or Knoxville for a game.
Listen if you can't get a ticket to an away SEC game sorry! I would rather have to watch it at home with fellow Hokies or in a bar and it be a quality game with purpose then drive to Duke and watch a glorified scrimmage. I would love for someone to give a valid reason for us to now join. Not opinion. The truth is we will never NEVER win a NC in the ACC with the systems that are being put in place now for the NC game. If the SEC is interested then who cares what the other ACC schools are doing. The only negative to joining the SEC is the possibility that we might not win 10 games the first couple of years.
I echo your sentiments about the alumni in NOVA. I think one of the main reasons that travel to so many road ACC games is attractive now is because the overall cost is very reasonable... this is mostly due to the relative ease in getting tickets due to opposing fan base apathy. If VT joins the SEC, tickets are going to be harder to come by, thus much more expensive, and making the extra hrs travel for road games in the SEC the easy part to deal with. And if they have the money to not be worried about more expensive tickets, they can suck it up and drive/fly a little farther. :)
I was in school when the stadium was initially expanded, and I remember reading several articles at the time about how the stadium was originally designed with the idea that an upper deck could be added to the press box side and that both ends could be closed in, resulting in around a 90k capacity. We've done the south end zone. If we replicate that on the north end zone, add the upper deck, we're talking 85K or so, I would think.
Agree on all these points. Here are my main issues:
- Fullback run blocking is atrocious. On stretch plays out of the I-form, the fullback will completely whiff on any player right in front of him
- Apparently every guard from FCS West or San Jose State can routinely pancake-block a 90 DT
- Bionic linebackers who apparently have 46" verticals, as they bat down every over the middle pass from a 6'6 quarterback
- DBs covering two routes at once on deep plays
NCAA 13 seriously needs to improve the gameplay and replay value. What make me want to play is having a realistic simulation of the college football season. The other night I had the difficult set to Heisman and simmed through 3 straight undefeated seasons with the more or less current VT roster. While that would be awesome in real life, it ain't gonna happen. They need to include neutral site games for sure, and what about having mid-season updates? Changes to coaching prestige or stability when Ohio State tubes, or updated uniforms when VT inevitably unveils its weird Nike variation.
I complain, but I'm a slave to this franchise. Damn.
no need to be worried at all
an achievable goal that our AD feels comfortable with, or one that we absolutely need to find a way to meet in order to compete and in fact might be a stretch currently?
Ahead of myself, just thinking if joined SEC would probably need to happen eventually. A lot of probables in that one though. Agree w/ French that 75k would probably be needed eventually.
Unless the politicians see the ACC as a viable option. In reality, the ACC would be losing two teams, but we just got two teams. Tech leaving would cause the crumbling of the ACC after FSU and Clemson, and force them to add at least one other team (big east). Of course, politicians trying to make Tech stay would basically be asking them to suck it up so UVA could enjoy the sports that VT doesn't care enough about to stay in the ACC for.
(I'd leave out the possible expansion of Lane...there are enough rumors going around)
Terrific work. And you nailed that in order for the Hokies to compete, the stadium must be expanded to the 75K mark.
I know you all don't feel sorry for us...the title of that comment should be "don't use us as an excuse" :)
if you're a VT alumnus here and more than a few years removed from graduation, odds are you likely can afford some extra travel costs. 500+ miles r/t to the Triangle aint exactly cheap in your SUV anyway.
Would I pay $300 to go see Duke? Yeah right. LSU???? Do I even need to ask this? It would be like the Sugar Bowl in September.
In all seriousness, it is a compromise, but I think one that most would gladly make. And it's a good excuse to leave the wife and kids at home anyway.
On your last point, having separate football conferences, I think eventually that has to happen. Football will break away from the NCAA and other sports will remain. There's no reason for the conferences to be the same at that point, and the savings from traveling with non-revs will be too much to pass up.