http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jul/...ence11185/
PINEHURST, N.C. — Last year's Atlantic Coast Conference title game was played on a dreary day, so it was a fitting conclusion to the regular season.
As Wake Forest and Georgia Tech squared off at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., ACC brass tried to put a positive spin on the depressing proceedings. But their disappointment was as difficult to camouflage as the thousands of seats that went unoccupied.
The ACC's audacious foray into big-time college football hasn't made as big a splash as expected, with the league struggling to keep up with the other power conferences. Adding Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College was supposed to guarantee the ACC elite status on the gridiron, but so far that vision has not materialized.
That subject will be among many discussed by coaches and players over the next three days at the ACC Football Kickoff, a media function that will be held at Pinehurst Resort.
By adding Miami and Virginia Tech in
2004, and then Boston College in 2005, a conference traditionally known for its basketball bolstered its stature in football. Florida State joined in 1992 to give the conference credibility, but the Seminoles won 11 conference titles over the next 12 seasons as the rest of the league wallowed in mediocrity and worse.
The ACC split into two six-team divisions in 2005, creating a championship game in a format modeled after the Southeastern and Big 12 conferences. But thanks largely to the dramatic spirals endured by Florida State and Miami, the ACC is still trying to find a spot in the sport's upper crust.
The Seminoles and Hurricanes, who were expected to dominate their respective divisions, each finished 7-6 and unranked last year. They have totaled a 14-10 record in ACC play over the past three seasons.
After losing a total of 19 games from 1987 to 2000, Florida State has dropped 26 in the past six seasons. And Miami, which amassed a 46-4 record and a national title in four seasons before joining the ACC, hasn't won the Coastal Division in the past two years.
Virginia Tech is the only ACC team that has come close to competing on an elite level since expansion. The Hokies are 20-4 in conference play over three years, winning the 2004 ACC crown and advancing to the title game in 2005.
Virginia Tech closed the 2006 regular season with six straight wins, but a Peach Bowl loss to Georgia kept the Hokies out of the final Top 10. The ACC didn't have any teams ranked in the Top 10 of the final Associated Press poll.
The post-expansion ACC is not all gloom and doom in football. The league's prestige is high from a financial standpoint, with fat television contracts translating into major revenue increases.
Skeptics predicted that the nine pre-expansion schools would take a hit in average revenue distribution, but the ACC has managed to increase its annual checks to its members. The increased revenue has helped Clemson increase its budget by almost 44 percent in the last five years,
past the $50 million mark.
The ACC's revenues surpassed $100 million in 2006-07. More than $39 million came from television contracts that would not be nearly as lucrative had the conference stood pat at nine teams.
Nevertheless, the ACC has plenty of ground to make up on the field.
Consider:
--Of the six Bowl Championship Series conferences, only the Big East and the ACC have yet to produce a BCS at-large bid in the format's nine-year existence. The other four BCS conferences have combined for 15 at-large bids, led by the Big Ten's six.
--The ACC's champion has lost seven straight bowl games since Florida State beat Virginia Tech to win the 1999 national title. The Seminoles' 2000 loss to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl is the last time the ACC had a team play for the national title.
--Since 2004, ACC teams have lost 21 of 28 games against non-conference opponents ranked in the Top 25. Since 2000, ACC teams have dropped 31 of 34 games against non-conference opponents ranked in the Top 10. By comparison, the SEC is 10-18 against Top 10 non-conference teams over the same stretch.
Virginia Tech will be a popular pick this week to win the ACC title. But otherwise, there is much uncertainty with new head coaches at Miami, North Carolina State, Boston College and North Carolina. Florida State is breaking in five new assistant coaches, and last year's Coastal Division winner (Georgia Tech) is replacing its offensive coordinator.
Wake Forest is expected to experience a dropoff after suffering major losses on defense. The Demon Deacons went 11-3 while claiming the ACC title for the first time since 1970.
Reach Larry Williams at lwilliams@postandcourier.com.
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ACC struggling to catch up to power conferences
