OK...

It's Time for ACC Expansion! 12 Teams and a
League Championship Game. Money and Exposure!

We sit back and dominate the SEC on the Field
between 1998 and 2000 (11-4 in the Regular
Season) but have to "listen" about how tough
they are!

We need to be playing a Title game along with
them and the Big 12!

The AD's will NEVER go for Miami. The Carolina
schools have severe animosity problems with E.
Carolina, so we'll leave them out!

Here are four schools that should be looked at.
One should be extended immediately. I won't bore
y'all with the reasons, unless you would like to hear how this team would help the entire conference. UCF!

Two of these three...Virginia Tech (You gotta play
'em anyway UVA...) Syracuse (Age-old and National
Name...) Louisville (Excellent up and coming
sports school...Basketball already established)

What'd y'all think?

Dude, is that a poem?

-JD

I like Marshall but I dont think they are academically on par with the University. Out of the teams that you listed the only one that is really a possibilty would be Louisville. The others are in the Big East and established conference and they would have little insentive to leave.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Terpy:
I like Marshall but I dont think they are academically on par with the University. Out of the teams that you listed the only one that is really a possibilty would be Louisville. The others are in the Big East and established conference and they would have little insentive to leave.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't have a real problem with Marshall...There
facilities would be average at best. UCF, new to
the MAC this year would bring a second Major
Newspaper to the league (Orlando Sentinel). It
would have the league's third largest stadium...
Citrus Bowl (72,000)...It would create more favorable recruiting for all ACC teams in Florida's furtile recruiting grounds. Florida
High School players would know they would be playing in their state once a year.

While the Big East had an outstanding Season last
year...Syracuse is still being courted by the Big
10, along with Missouri. They could be had.

A West Virginia/Pitt deal could be arranged.

Whatever...The league must expand to achieve
the next level (overall)...Any expansion needs
to be quick and needs to include (name) teams
also.

<a href="http://tigerslash.com/pollBooth.pl?qid=2" target="_blank">http://tigerslash.com/pollBooth.pl?qid=2</a>

Paul. I love the idea of expansion. 12 teams is a really nice size for a conference. I really wish Miami would be one of the teams though. They would help both football and basketball. Virginia Tech would only help football, but the rivalry with UVA might be a really nice thing for the conference. Imagine if those teams meet with the added pressure of a conference championship on the line. And, they'd be playing twice a year in bball also. Central Florida would be a really nice addition. They would be behind the rest of in most regards to start out, but they have the potentail to really grow. Syracuse seems really far away, but if they were interested, I'd be all for it.

The most interesting part to me, would be alignment. Say the three new teams were Miami, Virginia Tech and Syracuse. I guess you'd do a North-South kind of thing. But you run into problems when splitting up the Carolina schools.

North
Syracuse
Maryland
Virginia
Virginia Tech

South
Miami
Florida State
Clemson
Georgia Tech

Would you put two in in each division? Or maybe send Virginia and Virginia Tech to the Southern Division?

Now....say Syracuse is not one of the teams. Say its Central Florida. Then we may get this....

North
Maryland
Virginia
Virginia Tech
North Carolina
NC State
Duke

South
Miami
Florida State
Central Florida
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Wake Forest

I think this might be a really nice alignment. The North would be dominant in basketball and the South would be dominant in football.

Charlotte <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" />

If we ever expand again you can pretty much guarantee Miami will be one of the teams added. We need another football power.

Does UCF play D I football?

Yes they do Terpy. We played them last year and barely (yes, we were bad) beat them.

To add a little to LT's post, there's absolutely NO way that UNC, Duke and State could ever be split up into different divisions in any alignment. That scenario would just meet too much resistence from many sources. No way would they risk messing with the most intense rivalry in college basketball (UNC-Duke) -- the rivalry has a mystique that they would be crazy to touch.

Just about the only alignment that could work is one that had UNC, Duke and State in the same division and Wake in the other. This would probably bother some Wake fans... but, let's face it -- the other three schools have bigger rivalries with each other than with Wake. Not that they don't all have great rivalries with Wake too, but they're just slightly below the Triangle rivalries.

So, that would leave me to believe that any expansion and divisional alignment would need to mirror LT's post in many ways. However, I just don't see Central Florida as an ACC-caliber school. We can do better than that.

If we only add one team (and I would think it would definitely be Miami), then this is a possibility:

North
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
Duke
NC State

South
Miami
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Clemson
Wake Forest

If we added two more teams (in addition to Miami), then we would need to even them out among the North and South divisions. I don't see any viable options in adding anything more than one out of Syracuse, West Virginia, Boston College, Louisville, Pittsburgh, etc., etc. If you add even one of those northern teams, then you are still going to need to add another team in the South in addition to Miami to make the North-South thing work.

I just don't see that happening. Thus, it's either just Miami or nothing at all....

-JD

<small>[ April 12, 2002, 04:13 PM: Message edited by: JD Heel ]</small>

I'd add Miami, Syracuse, and Virgina Tech

Look at these alignments

NC
NCState
'Cuse
Duke
Virgina
Virgina Tech

South
Wake (they'll have a rough year in football)
Miami
Maryland
FSU
Georgia Tech
Clemson

I also wanted to add to LT's astute observation that a divisional alignment like the ones we've suggested would definitely create a basketball-rich North division and a football-rich South.

There's really no way around this if the divisions are set up in a North-South manner (the only way that makes sense anyway with the geography as it is). So, we can only hope that the southern teams get better in basketball and the northern teams improve in football (which took a big step in the right direction this past year with Maryland winning the conference and UNC and State also doing well.)

Adding Miami would strengthen the South even more, but it would also hopefully add a good basketball team down there too.

-JD

Maryland would never go for being added to the South. They are currently the northernmost team in the ACC! It just doesn't make any sense geographywise -- they will be the only ones in the entire conference getting screwed with travel and such (having to go to Miami would be a bear).

Also, it would hurt a budding basketball rivalry between Duke and Maryland.

-JD

Just say no to expansion
if it aint broke-dont fix it

the Big 4 wouldn't be split-shouldn't be split

Lousiville aint Atlantic COAST so they are out

if we do expand it should only be one team-it would get rid of that pesky play-in game

If we were to go with just Miami, and to a total of ten teams, I would not be in favor of using divisions. All ten teams in one conference. We can use a Big 10-like schedule where you skip one team per year in football, and in basketball you'd only get 1 game against 2 teams. That could easily be worked out. What about a slightly different tack on all this. How about adding Syracuse, Boston College and Virginia Tech. Three northern teams that would really extend our conference over the entire Atlantic Coast. Divisions could look like this.

North
Syracuse
Boston College
Virginia Tech
Virginia
Maryland
Wake Forest

South
Duke
North Carolina
NC State
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Florida State

This would keep all the rivalries in tact AND the balance of power in the two major sports is fairly even now. Syracuse and Boston College are both known for being quality academic schools as well.

Couldnt we still play round robin in football and basketball if we had 10 teams? I dont mind expansion but if it means not playing all the teams home and away I dont like it, thats why I dont want to expand to 12.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Laettner's Legacy:
Just say no to expansion</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Laettner's Legacy:
Just say no to expansion
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Terpy:
Couldnt we still play round robin in football and basketball if we had 10 teams? I dont mind expansion but if it means not playing all the teams home and away I dont like it, thats why I dont want to expand to 12.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">