Could/should ACC give other schools a ND type deal for FB?
A frequent suggestion on this forum is to give Texas a Notre Dame type deal to bring them under the ACC umbrella. They already have a separate TV contract with the LHN, and would want to keep the option of scheduling heavily in their home state for recruiting purposes. That suggestion has its pros and cons, and I suppose I could live with it. Not sure how Clemson and Florida State would feel about it.
Then I thought of another option, one that sounded crazy at first, but which is growing on me. Why not offer a deal to Wake Forest and Boston College?
Huh?
I'm not suggesting that the deal would have those schools rotate through the entire league. But what if we offered Wake guaranteed games against UNC, Duke, NC State, Syracuse every year and either UVa or Va Tech (in alternating years)? Those are schools they would want to play.
For BC, guarantee them Syracuse, Pitt, Duke and NC State, and then alternate with Wake in playing either UVa or Va Tech.
In addition, BC would get Notre Dame every year, instead of every three, while Wake wouldn't get the Irish at all. That leaves ND's commitment as playing the other 12 teams every third year (four each year plus BC).
What's in it for the Deacs and Eagles? Yes, they would lose the chance to play for the ACC championship. Recent history notwithstanding, that's probably not a big loss. But they would retain access to the ACC bowl tie-ins, and with a more reasonable schedule they would have a much better chance of becoming bowl eligible every year. Let them retain their share of conference revenues. That doesn't reduce any other member's share.
Both Wake and BC would be able to build schedules with a heavy local flavor, helping them fill their stadiums with games that matter to their fans. They could play each other plus Army and UMass every year. Wake could schedule App State and Charlotte, while BC could play UConn.
What does the ACC gain? With only 12 teams, it gets an opportunity to rearrange divisions with less pain, and could keep a balanced 8 game league slate with no crossovers, so you play OOD opponents every other year, while still allowing for (and even facilitating) games against SEC rivals. Your tentpole teams, Clemson and FSU, don't have to play Wake or BC, which aren't attractive for their fans and pull down their SOS. Ga Tech could be moved to the Coastal division where they would face both Clemson and Florida State every year.
It sounds like a lot of moving parts, but it really isn't. Nobody new has to be integrated into the league, and basketball isn't burdened with even more teams.
Like I said. Sounds crazy at first, but give it a chance to grow on you. After all, this is the time of year to fantasize while we wait for the games to begin in the Fall.
(This post was last modified: 05-09-2017 12:08 PM by ken d.)
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