Techster
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EDIT: I also believe that FSU wants out of the conference eventually no matter what. When they are able to, they will leave. It is kind of like having a wife who wants to leave the marriage, and the husband capitulating to everything that she wants. She ends up leaving anyway and he is broke and broken.
You just now came to that conclusion? I'll go even further, and I'll repeat what I said quite a few times: FSU isn't the only school that wants out of the conference no matter what, and there will be at least 4-6 "major" ACC schools that will leave once the opportunity presents itself. Expect GT to be in that group. FSU is just the only school willing to put its head above the firing line first. The ACC as we know it is entering it's last years.
I also said the Big 12 will be a player. They are trying to position themselves as the next tier below the SEC and B1G. This is a game of inventory and media partners. The Big 12 has the two biggest media players in the college sports game as partners: ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports. I don't think ESPN cares either way if the ACC implodes because they'll just absorb the schools they want into their conference portfolios (SEC/Big 12) and consolidate expenses, and Fox Sports will absorb the other schools they want in their collegiate crown jewel (the B1G). People can scoff that the Big 12 right now doesn't make the same amount the ACC does (they are not far behind), but the fact is their leadership has shown they are willing to be aggressive and think outside of the box. As I keep saying, Conferences and media partners can create brands, but you can't create markets. The Big 12 has expanded to some very large markets and will have the two biggest media partners help improve the brands of the schools under their banners. The major media companies are just as implicit in all the conference expansion as the schools and conferences are.
ACC leadership is stuck in the past and is just treading water to survive. Unfortunately, that hurts GT until we can find a way out of the ACC.