ACC Network Will Be Based Out Of Bristol Instead Of Charlotte

Jim Prather

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Perhaps it is nothing but a pipe dream, but imagine having a chance every couple of years to go up to Annapolis to watch Tech play. That would be amazing.
 

DH9387

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I have never understood this push to invite Navy to join the ACC. I love the service academies and the purity with which they play their sports and I think that the AAC should make a push for all three of them to join, but what benefit would the ACC get out of having Navy as a member? They are good at football, but all of their other sports are meh at best. They have a small fan base and would absolutely bring nothing to the negotiating table to make the addition of a new school worthwhile. I do believe that Notre Dame will one day fully join the ACC and that the conference will more than likely invite a 16th school to even things out, but I highly doubt it would be Navy and I highly doubt Navy's inclusion would be a sticking point for Notre Dame. In order for a school to be worthwhile from a financial standpoint they either have to open up a new market for the ACC Network or just have that massive of a fan base that being within the same state would not matter. With all of the grant of rights deals in place across the power 5, it is almost impossible for a major school to jump ship anytime soon. Pulling in Notre Dame would be big enough that the additional school would not need to be a heavy hitter, just a logical one. This means that more than likely we would be pulling from the AAC. This leaves us two main options: UCONN and Cincy. In my mind, Cincy make way more sense. Their overall athletic state is much higher and they are actively expanding and upgrading their facilities to put them on par with the lower power 5 schools. Additionally, they also open up the Ohio tv market which could potentially bring in some serious coin the conference, and in turn, each member schools payout. The biggest potential issue with this is the Big 12 opting to expand and snatching them up before the ACC has a chance to.
 

BobintheATL99

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I have never understood this push to invite Navy to join the ACC. I love the service academies and the purity with which they play their sports and I think that the AAC should make a push for all three of them to join, but what benefit would the ACC get out of having Navy as a member? They are good at football, but all of their other sports are meh at best. They have a small fan base and would absolutely bring nothing to the negotiating table to make the addition of a new school worthwhile. I do believe that Notre Dame will one day fully join the ACC and that the conference will more than likely invite a 16th school to even things out, but I highly doubt it would be Navy and I highly doubt Navy's inclusion would be a sticking point for Notre Dame. In order for a school to be worthwhile from a financial standpoint they either have to open up a new market for the ACC Network or just have that massive of a fan base that being within the same state would not matter. With all of the grant of rights deals in place across the power 5, it is almost impossible for a major school to jump ship anytime soon. Pulling in Notre Dame would be big enough that the additional school would not need to be a heavy hitter, just a logical one. This means that more than likely we would be pulling from the AAC. This leaves us two main options: UCONN and Cincy. In my mind, Cincy make way more sense. Their overall athletic state is much higher and they are actively expanding and upgrading their facilities to put them on par with the lower power 5 schools. Additionally, they also open up the Ohio tv market which could potentially bring in some serious coin the conference, and in turn, each member schools payout. The biggest potential issue with this is the Big 12 opting to expand and snatching them up before the ACC has a chance to.
Navy may be more of a sticking point than you think. Navy is a traditional rival for ND, but has also been a partner to them. They were literally kept alive as a school by virtue of the Navy's assistance during WW2. That is something that isn't lost on the management of the school (ND). Because they have been historically tied together and ND is extremely loyal to USNA, I would put them together as a package deal moreso than any other school, [BINT], AAU, Catholic, or otherwise.
 

DH9387

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Navy may be more of a sticking point than you think. Navy is a traditional rival for ND, but has also been a partner to them. They were literally kept alive as a school by virtue of the Navy's assistance during WW2. That is something that isn't lost on the management of the school (ND). Because they have been historically tied together and ND is extremely loyal to USNA, I would put them together as a package deal moreso than any other school, [BINT], AAU, Catholic, or otherwise.
I have heard that argument a lot, but have never seen any evidence to back it up (not saying that there isn't any, just that I have not seen it). Notre Dame has changed conference affiliations multiple times (obviously not for football) and has never played in the same league as Navy, so why would that change now? I have heard the argument about preserving a rivalry, but they can still play them in the non-conference schedule every year. Plus, Navy is football only in the AAC and I cannot see us offering them that just to get Notre Dame. What will finally get Notre Dame to join a conference for football is when the money and competitive landscape no longer makes sense for them to remain independent. Forcing a conference to take both them and Navy doesn't help either one of those situations.
 

Oldgoldandwhite

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I have never understood this push to invite Navy to join the ACC. I love the service academies and the purity with which they play their sports and I think that the AAC should make a push for all three of them to join, but what benefit would the ACC get out of having Navy as a member? They are good at football, but all of their other sports are meh at best. They have a small fan base and would absolutely bring nothing to the negotiating table to make the addition of a new school worthwhile. I do believe that Notre Dame will one day fully join the ACC and that the conference will more than likely invite a 16th school to even things out, but I highly doubt it would be Navy and I highly doubt Navy's inclusion would be a sticking point for Notre Dame. In order for a school to be worthwhile from a financial standpoint they either have to open up a new market for the ACC Network or just have that massive of a fan base that being within the same state would not matter. With all of the grant of rights deals in place across the power 5, it is almost impossible for a major school to jump ship anytime soon. Pulling in Notre Dame would be big enough that the additional school would not need to be a heavy hitter, just a logical one. This means that more than likely we would be pulling from the AAC. This leaves us two main options: UCONN and Cincy. In my mind, Cincy make way more sense. Their overall athletic state is much higher and they are actively expanding and upgrading their facilities to put them on par with the lower power 5 schools. Additionally, they also open up the Ohio tv market which could potentially bring in some serious coin the conference, and in turn, each member schools payout. The biggest potential issue with this is the Big 12 opting to expand and snatching them up before the ACC has a chance to.

Norte Dame is required to play Navy every year. This would give them one less opening to schedule. Their coast to coast schedule is one reason they remain an independent.
 

Oldgoldandwhite

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I have heard that argument a lot, but have never seen any evidence to back it up (not saying that there isn't any, just that I have not seen it). Notre Dame has changed conference affiliations multiple times (obviously not for football) and has never played in the same league as Navy, so why would that change now? I have heard the argument about preserving a rivalry, but they can still play them in the non-conference schedule every year. Plus, Navy is football only in the AAC and I cannot see us offering them that just to get Notre Dame. What will finally get Notre Dame to join a conference for football is when the money and competitive landscape no longer makes sense for them to remain independent. Forcing a conference to take both them and Navy doesn't help either one of those situations.
8 or 9 conference games would not allow ND the scheduling flexibility they need. USC, Navy, Stanford, Michigan St. , and another power school every year. Year in and out, they play a tough schedule without any FCS schools.
 

AE 87

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It's fun to speculate. i would like to see us somehow pull Penn State along with ND as permanent members.

8 or 9 conference games would not allow ND the scheduling flexibility they need. USC, Navy, Stanford, Michigan St. , and another power school every year. Year in and out, they play a tough schedule without any FCS schools.

FWIW, that's the argument in favor of inviting Navy into the ACC as ND's permanent partner. However, I think that since it is basically set as the argument against ND joining any conference, it follows that if they decide to join a conference for other reasons, then they would not play those schools every year.
 

DH9387

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8 or 9 conference games would not allow ND the scheduling flexibility they need. USC, Navy, Stanford, Michigan St. , and another power school every year. Year in and out, they play a tough schedule without any FCS schools.
As it currently stands with an 8 game conference schedule, Notre Dame could still play all four of those teams every year along with their ACC slate without having to schedule any FCS teams. As much as I hate it, many traditional rivalries have died with conference realignment, but the schools have moved on and started to create new rivalries while keeping the ones that are truly most valuable to them alive in the non-conference slate. Notre Dame can easily join the ACC and still play Navy every year, just like several other ACC teams have major annual rivalries with non-conference opponents.

I have yet to see a reason why Notre Dame would mandate that Navy join with them. The game can still be played in the non-conference and Navy is in no way, shape, or form in danger of their athletic department folding up without some sort of conference move. The game will live on no matter what sort of affiliation Notre Dame has with any conference, not just the ACC. No other conference would take Notre Dame if Navy must tag along, and I still highly doubt the ACC would either.
 

Vespidae

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I honestly see the ACC bringing in two schools in the near future. I foresee; the FBS consisting of 5-6 mega conferences. Like business, you either grow or you die.

Agreed. Prognosticators suggest that we'll end up with 5 FBS conferences. I personally prefer 4 because it makes bracketing easier, but you get the idea. There is such a huge disparity between the largest programs and the smallest that something has to be done.

Ironically, the other "extreme" is simply to raise academic standards. This would level the playing field for many.
 
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