Odds Are Miami Will Join the ACC

To repeat what I said in the other expansion thread:

I am NOT looking forward to becoming the flagship football school for Conference USA.

 

I keep hearing/reading this too so I hope there is some truth in it. Like Dave said above, I've heard rumors for years, but never quite like this so I am worried this time...

 

this is the strongest the talks have ever gotten. the big east is scheduled to hold their annyal meetings the 17th-20th. love to be a fly on those walls.

they are pissed that miami is even listening to the acc. however, the hurricanes athletics department lost $1.4 million last year. if it makes financial sense for them to join the acc, they'll do so.

 

I am currently looking for a link to verify this information but I read an article that stated that a conference, by rule of the NCAA, must have 12 teams to have a conference football championship game. That means at least two more teams are coming with Miami. I would like to see just one team come because then you dont have to split up the league and all the basketball rivalries will still be intact.

If they do go to 12, I would rather see Va Tech and maybe South Carolina from the SEC. However, apparently the ACC is more concerned with TV markets than reqional rivalries.

 

Yeah, when the story first broke after Tranghese's (sp?) comments during the Big East tournament a month ago, I blew them off as rumors again. But the story has REALLY picked up steam in the last month. When I saw it hit national sites and shows I started sweating.

But there is one thing I did notice that gives me a little hope. The ACC currently has one hell of a yearly payout for the 9 teams. That payout would be split 12 ways instead of 9. Some studies say that the addition of the championship game would offset that loss from the split. But that would have to be around a $30 million game to get that money back. And I haven't even mentioned ACC basketball tradition yet.

So I am still hoping that this story goes away.

 

Here is a link:

http://espn.go.com/ncaa/s/2003/0505/1549669.html

from the article at the bottom:

"ACC title game: The SEC generally makes about $12 million off its conference championship game. The Big 12 usually makes between $6 million and $9 million off its title game. The ACC would love to land somewhere in the middle, generating another $10 million or so for its coffers. The NCAA mandates that a league have 12 teams before it can schedule a title game. The NCAA mandates that a league have 12 teams before it can schedule a title game."

 

ACC basketball tourney would be a beast adding Miami and 'Cuse in there.

SO I imagine, with this a long drawn out move, the Big East won't just sit on their hands. They won't fold. Who do they go get?

 

No...but your close. It would be the National Champion SUCKACUSE orangemen that I was alluding too earlier. Lots of teams have won championships that I could care less about and lots of them have won that I really disslike..... Suckacuse happens to fall into the latter category. The best thing suckacuse has produced to my knowledge is Donnavan McNabb., and he IS a stud..shame he is a orangemen.

 

one idea being floated:

There is always a possibility the Hurricanes could take a pass on the ACC and combine with the seven other Big East 1-A football schools — Connecticut, Rutgers, Boston College, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Pitt — to form their own Eastern all sports league, leaving the remaining Catholic schools — Villanova, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Providence, Georgetown and Notre Dame - to scramble. If that is the case, the remaining six could approach DePaul and Marquette — non-football playing schools in Conference USA — or Xavier and Dayton from the Atlantic 10 about creating a powerful basketball conference consisting of eight Catholic colleges.

 

I've heard that the Big East will possibly become an all basketball conference if this happens... and that UNCC could possibly be one of their targets to join if this happens