(04-26-2021 09:28 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-26-2021 09:03 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  With the new apportionment of the Congressional seats for the next ten years, I think that's going to influence where the Big Ten leaders might go. If that's the case then getting into the state of NC might become a necessary move. Especially when we have no realistic chance of getting into the larger Southern states. Taking in Missouri in exchange for giving up Nebraska is an acceptable move in that it would potentially reenergize both fan bases. Missouri is a "border" state, so the conference's influence could extend transregionally, if that's even a word.

If the SEC gave up Missouri to the Big 10, had Vanderbilt opt for a partial status , and landed North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, and Florida State, then I think that would be just about perfect for us.

Duke, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Texas A&M
*Vanderbilt

Big 10:
Indiana, Maryland, N.C. State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Virginia Tech
Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Northwestern, Wisconsin

Those make for some pretty nice divisions. With all of Virginia and North Carolina accounted for except Wake Forest the rest is pretty easy.

Big 12:
Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Baylor, Georgia Tech, Miami, Texas, Texas Christian, Texas Tech
Boston College, Clemson, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia
*Notre Dame

This proposed Big 12 conference would almost certainly garner a much better TV contract than either the existing ACC or Big 12 conferences have and would allow the schools in this new conference to close the monetary gap that currently exists with the SEC and Big 10. The new conference would also create some exciting new matchups and reestablish a big traditional rivalry game from the past (OU-Neb).

Even though the money aspect would improve drastically and there would be some exciting potential games with teams like Texas, OU, and Neb, speaking purely from a Clemson perspective, this new conference would be a veritable wasteland. There is only one traditional rival (Ga Tech) and they are not even in Clemson’s pod. WVU would likely be a decent rival but BC, UL, Pitt, and Syracuse do not now nor will they ever consistently pique the interest of most Clemson fans. I think this new conference alignment would more likely than not have a very negative impact on Clemson’s recruiting in the three states that are its prime recruiting grounds – NC, GA, and FL. Other than Ga Tech, the travel involved for Clemson would be horrendous. Below are the driving distances (miles) from Clemson to each of their proposed new conference mates.

Pod 1
UL 439
WVU 492
Pitt 579
Syr 856
BC 964

AVG = 666 miles (can you say omen!)

Pod 2
GT 121
Mia 728
TCU 941
Bay 949
UT 1,049
TT 1,250

AVG = 840 miles

Pod 3
KU 950
OU 982
OSU 982
KSU 1,029
ISU 1,040
NU 1,103

AVG = 1,014 miles

Overall AVG = 850 miles

Only one school (Ga Tech) is within reasonable driving distance while only two other schools (WVU and UL) can be driven to within 7 to 8 hours – this would definitely impact attendance (home and away). For reference, UGA is a school that would be a natural rival for Clemson and is located only 79 miles away. While these distances may not be insurmountable for the football program, they would most certainly be a major burden for all of the other sports.

The other issue I see is that Clemson's in state rival (South Carolina) will continue to be in another conference. With these larger conferences, you will almost certainly have to go to at least 9 if not 10 conference games. This will either negatively impact Clemson's ability to schedule SC and keep 8 home games every year or require us to drop them from our schedule. Of course, other schools would be in the same boat (UGA/GT, UK/UL, VT/UVA, UNC/NCSU, etc.)

An increased payout is definitely needed and would be most welcomed. Potential matchups with UT, OU, and Neb would generate tons of excitement. However, given the choice to remain in the current ACC or move to this new “frankenconference”, I think most Clemson faculty, admins/coaches, and fans would opt to stay with the current ACC.