It's bound to happen at some point and it might be later than sooner, but who do you guys think will be the 15th and 16th teams invited into the ACC?

My guess is Cincinnati at the 15th spot, but the 16th spot is not so clear.

I would like to say East Carolina but I'm not sure about their academic reputation, and I realize their basketball is suspect (even though they played UNC to the wire this season).

I think ECU has a lot of potential football wise, it'll be interesting to see what they do in the AAC over the next few years.

Feel free to chime in ...

ACC stays at 14 unless something happens that brings ND on board in football. And after their latest TV deal extension with NBC, there's very little chance of that. The only thing that could change that would be a rule making it more difficult for an indy to make it to a national championship game. But since it's now obvious, if ND is forced into a conference, that the ACC will be that conference, there's no way the other 4 power conferences would let that happen - they want ND to remain indy rather than help the ACC, so they'll do all they can to ensure ND has a shot at a national title without joining a conference.

And if the impossible does happen and ND comes on board as #15 in football, then let them choose whoever they want as #16.

Navy would be looking for a new home and it checks all the boxes (except it's not a research university).

Navy is the best option for the ACC if they need a 16th team.

I go with Cincinnati in all sports and Navy with Football to supplement ND for now and let the chips fall if or when ND may join for Football.

PLEASE CONSIDER CINCINNATI! We have both a top 25 Football and Basketball team. We have a Billion dollar endowment and a top 25 in the world most beautiful campus. We are a huge Research Institution and are very close to AAU membership. We would complete the new geographic border with the final piece tying the Louisville to Pittsburgh markets. Top 35 TV market. Home to multiple Fortune 500 companies. 70 million dollar stadium renovation in place. We just completed a 1 billion dollar fund raising campaign. We are already rivals
with at least three of the newer teams. We have locked in two great Coaches in Tommy T and Mick. We have atop 25 recruiting class just signed in basketball with a couple more maybe to add. We just had the number 1 QB in the nation transfer from ND. We are competitive with your teams....See wins against Duke and VA Tech last year in games much closer to those campuses, and the win to go to the Sweet Sixteen against FSU the year before in BBALL. I'm just sayin Give us a shot! The ACC is clearly where we want and need to be and are willing to do most anything to improve any area we need to.

(04-23-2013 08:58 AM)Bearcat T Wrote:  PLEASE CONSIDER CINCINNATI! We have both a top 25 Football and Basketball team. We have a Billion dollar endowment and a top 25 in the world most beautiful campus. We are a huge Research Institution and are very close to AAU membership. We would complete the new geographic border with the final piece tying the Louisville to Pittsburgh markets. Top 35 TV market. Home to multiple Fortune 500 companies. 70 million dollar stadium renovation in place. We just completed a 1 billion dollar fund raising campaign. We are already rivals
with at least three of the newer teams. We have locked in two great Coaches in Tommy T and Mick. We have atop 25 recruiting class just signed in basketball with a couple more maybe to add. We just had the number 1 QB in the nation transfer from ND. We are competitive with your teams....See wins against Duke and VA Tech last year in games much closer to those campuses, and the win to go to the Sweet Sixteen against FSU the year before in BBALL. I'm just sayin Give us a shot! The ACC is clearly where we want and need to be and are willing to do most anything to improve any area we need to.

You have to prove your worth by challenging one mid-upper B1G team to a fight to the death.

I think that Connecticut is starting to make moves now to position themselves higher during the next round of realignment.

At some point the B12 and WVU will decide it is in both of their best interests to find WVU another home. I'm not sure if the ACC will have changed their mind on them though.

I don't think Cincy has enough fans.

I don't really like the idea of Navy. I don't think they would be competitive in the long run.

We would love to show our strength against a Big 10 team that is why we are playing Purdue at home and Illinois on the road this year. we play at Ohio St next year and at Michigan in 2017 or 18? As for Cincy not having enough fans. We took 26k to the Orange Bowl, 35k to the Sugar Bowl, !5k to the Liberty Bowl and 12k to the Belk Bowl in the last five years. We fill Nippert for most games and avg over 10k for Big East games.

(04-23-2013 09:55 AM)Bearcat T Wrote:  We would love to show our strength against a Big 10 team that is why we are playing Purdue at home and Illinois on the road this year. we play at Ohio St next year and at Michigan in 2017 or 18? As for Cincy not having enough fans. We took 26k to the Orange Bowl, 35k to the Sugar Bowl, !5k to the Liberty Bowl and 12k to the Belk Bowl in the last five years. We fill Nippert for most games and avg over 10k for Big East games.

I didn't say "play." I said fight to the death. Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves! Two schools enter...one school leaves!

Seriously though, UC fields very competitive teams. There is no denying that. However, UC's geography isn't in line with the rest of the conference (UL is an outlier because they make a ton of money). UC doesn't rake in the cash, UC's only existing conference rival/hope of a rival is UL, and UC academics are WAY below the ACC average. UC isn't going to the ACC unless everything falls apart, which won't happen in the foreseeable future.

You have a MUCH better shot of joining the Big XII. All you have to do is convince the Mormon Church that BYU can play on Sundays and you're in.

No expansion without Notre Dame.

You need to re-check both your geography and Academics comments. Cincy is an almost perfect fit geographically ...It sits right between Pittsburgh and Louisville on the same OHIO RIVER in fact! Check the Cincy drive time to The heart of ACC country Greensboro NC we are closer than
at least 5 schools in the conference. A far as Academics You need to check out UC we are probably next in line for ACU membership. We are an Enormous Research institution we would fit right in the middle of the current ACC in most Academic areas.

(04-23-2013 11:06 AM)Bearcat T Wrote:  You need to re-check both your geography and Academics comments. Cincy is an almost perfect fit geographically ...It sits right between Pittsburgh and Louisville on the same OHIO RIVER in fact! Check the Cincy drive time to The heart of ACC country Greensboro NC we are closer than
at least 5 schools in the conference. A far as Academics You need to check out UC we are probably next in line for ACU membership. We are an Enormous Research institution we would fit right in the middle of the current ACC in most Academic areas.

The ACC average academic rank is #55 and the 2nd worst in the conference is #106. UC's rank is #139. See the problem? AAU status matters as much as markets, and that is not at all. You aren't even close to the middle of the ACC in most academic areas.

UC is also on the wrong side of the app mountains and isn't in a state that touches the atlantic. UL is an outlier and ND is the defnition of an outlier. Neither's geography should be used to justify adding UC. As far as your river argument is concerned: LSU is on the Mississippi, which begins in Michigan, but nobody in their right mind thinks that LSU wouldn't be a geographic outlier in the B1G.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreview...nnati-3125

I agree there will be no further expansion unless ND goes all in. If that happens, I hope UC gets serious consideration over UConn and WVU.

The best thing for Cincy to do over the next 5-8 years is promote the hell out of the programs to corporate sponsors, tap into untapped alumni/resources, invest in their facilities, grow the fanbase, and ultimately, win, a lot.

Cincinnati fits perfectly geographically actually very much closer than Syracuse does. We are
1 1/2 hrs from UL 4 hours from Pitt 3 from ND. About a 6 hr drive to Greensboro...compare that to BC Miami, Syracuse, Fla State etc. There is a lot more to Academics than just the rating you use and even using your ranking we are not far off and actually much higher than UL etc. We have several of our colleges ranked in the top 10 to 50 etc. We are a large Urban University with over 42k students 80% of which live on or within blocks of campus so look at how our ranking have improved over the last five years! Granted they have the Athletic budget almost 2nd to none. What about our 1 billion dollar endowment how does that fit? What about our campus to 25 in the world how does that fit? What about the # of Fortune 500 companies within 5 to 15 minutes of campus how does that compare? How about both teams in the top 25 the last two years how does that compare? How about wins and losses vs ACC teams in the last five years in the two major sports..How does that compare? Exactly!!!Tthat is why Cincinnati needs to be the next team in the ACC! We will keep on and keep on improving in all areas until you let us in LOL Good Luck to all of you!

what good reason would the ACC have to divide up the pie further w/o the school(s) bringing in new large TV market shares and a great national profile.
The ACC don't actually need to expand.

Navy would be a scrub in football and I don't recall their basketball ever being any good. Terrible addition.

WVU should be #1 on the list. Then some UC and UConn combination as #2 and #3.

Unless we are talking non-football members, then I think Georgetown and Villanova are tremendous options. "Throw in" St. John's to get to an even number of members. I'd like to permanently halt the northern football expansion but would very much be in favor of a north/south split in all the other sports if we had a larger, northeastern contingency.

(04-23-2013 11:58 AM)Bearcat T Wrote:  Cincinnati fits perfectly geographically actually very much closer than Syracuse does. We are
1 1/2 hrs from UL 4 hours from Pitt 3 from ND. About a 6 hr drive to Greensboro...compare that to BC Miami, Syracuse, Fla State etc. There is a lot more to Academics than just the rating you use and even using your ranking we are not far off and actually much higher than UL etc. We have several of our colleges ranked in the top 10 to 50 etc. We are a large Urban University with over 42k students 80% of which live on or within blocks of campus so look at how our ranking have improved over the last five years! Granted they have the Athletic budget almost 2nd to none. What about our 1 billion dollar endowment how does that fit? What about our campus to 25 in the world how does that fit? What about the # of Fortune 500 companies within 5 to 15 minutes of campus how does that compare? How about both teams in the top 25 the last two years how does that compare? How about wins and losses vs ACC teams in the last five years in the two major sports..How does that compare? Exactly!!!Tthat is why Cincinnati needs to be the next team in the ACC! We will keep on and keep on improving in all areas until you let us in LOL Good Luck to all of you!

You keep comparing UC to UL. UL makes a ton of money. UC doesn't. UL won the Sugar Bowl and the men's BB NC in the same year that their women's team made it to the Final Four. Athletics aside, UL is an outlier in every possible way. The fact that UC is simialr to UL in every way but athletics hurts your case.

"What about our campus to 25 in the world how does that fit?"
I'm not sure what you mean, but I think that you're telling me that you have a really, really nice campus. How does that affect any other school in the ACC?

"What about the # of Fortune 500 companies within 5 to 15 minutes of campus how does that compare?"
Unless they are donating money to the conference, how does this affect any other school in the ACC?

"about our 1 billion dollar endowment how does that fit?"
Unless it translates into either really strong academics or a strong athletic following, how would this affect any school in the ACC?

"Cincinnati fits perfectly geographically"
No. UMD did and USC would.

"geographically actually very much closer than Syracuse does."
Boston College disagrees.

"How about both teams in the top 25 the last two years how does that compare? How about wins and losses vs ACC teams in the last five years in the two major sports..How does that compare?"
Nobody ever said that UC didn't field competitive teams, and if anyone does, let me know and I will argue with them. However, UC isn't a "name brand" and UC doesn't make money. It would improve the perception of the ACC and it wouldn't improve the ACC's payout.

If UC wants to be in the ACC (without it falling apart first) UC needs to improve its academics by about 80 places and improve its payout by about 90%.

(04-23-2013 10:15 AM)nzmorange Wrote:  

(04-23-2013 09:55 AM)Bearcat T Wrote:  We would love to show our strength against a Big 10 team that is why we are playing Purdue at home and Illinois on the road this year. we play at Ohio St next year and at Michigan in 2017 or 18? As for Cincy not having enough fans. We took 26k to the Orange Bowl, 35k to the Sugar Bowl, !5k to the Liberty Bowl and 12k to the Belk Bowl in the last five years. We fill Nippert for most games and avg over 10k for Big East games.

I didn't say "play." I said fight to the death. [i]Two schools enter...one school leaves!

While I think the complete and utter destruction of Columbus, OH is definitely taking this whole competition thing too far, I must admit that would make Cincinnati a virtual lock...

I think UC has a decent shot at being #16.