There's been talk of FSU, Clemson, etc leaving the ACC for a while now. I think the dominos start falling tomorrow after the emergency board meeting FSU called. They've been thumping their chest louder and louder for a while now. Yes, FSU was screwed over, but with so much money at stake now the NCAA couldn't take another risk after TCU's debacle during last year's championship. How do you respond to being screwed over? Many people respond by doing something irrational. And I think that's what FSU will do tomorrow.
The ACC already changed revenue sharing and expanded West. There aren't many more material financial changes that can be made that the schools with less resources will support. And even if the conference did acquiesce, you still have to deal with Clemson's loss of status. They're recent mediocrity pulled down everyone's perception of the ACC as a football conference (for those that still held a positive perception of the ACC as a football conference). FSU is going to conveniently forget their long run of mediocrity while Clemson say atop the conference...but that's a footnote that no one cares to read at this point.
The saving grace could be that the SEC or B1G may not want FSU as their TV contracts are so large that the addition of one school wouldn't move the needle enough. If so, it's not financially practical for them to leave. That means they have to take Clemson (and others?) with them.
Maybe I'm completely wrong and I'll watch the new FSU-Stanford rivalry develop over the next decade. Maybe the ACC pieces it together like the Big 12 managed to do. Or maybe it's a Pac12 redux. I just hope UVA can grab UNC and hold on tight. That seems like the best option for them regardless of the outcome...because all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.
The ACC already changed revenue sharing and expanded West. There aren't many more material financial changes that can be made that the schools with less resources will support. And even if the conference did acquiesce, you still have to deal with Clemson's loss of status. They're recent mediocrity pulled down everyone's perception of the ACC as a football conference (for those that still held a positive perception of the ACC as a football conference). FSU is going to conveniently forget their long run of mediocrity while Clemson say atop the conference...but that's a footnote that no one cares to read at this point.
The saving grace could be that the SEC or B1G may not want FSU as their TV contracts are so large that the addition of one school wouldn't move the needle enough. If so, it's not financially practical for them to leave. That means they have to take Clemson (and others?) with them.
Maybe I'm completely wrong and I'll watch the new FSU-Stanford rivalry develop over the next decade. Maybe the ACC pieces it together like the Big 12 managed to do. Or maybe it's a Pac12 redux. I just hope UVA can grab UNC and hold on tight. That seems like the best option for them regardless of the outcome...because all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.
