The ACC Should Realign in College Football

[GTFLETCH]

In this video, College Football Chronicle talks about why the ACC should realign their divisions within the conference and how to better balance out the divisions to create more regional rivalries.

College Football Chronicle proposed realignment:

ACC North
Syracuse
BC
PITT
Louisville
VT
UVA
Wake

ACC South
Clemson
GT
FSU
Maimi
Duke
UNC
NC ST

Link

 

[travgt01]

They really put a lot of thought into that...Only been talked about for 16 years.

 

[RonJohn]

I don't think the ACC has any desire for such a realignment. They have discussed breaking up the conference into pods. Maybe add two more teams, have four-four team pods and get to play the non-intrapod teams much more often than non-divisional teams now. I think something like that is much more likely than just shuffling the current divisions. However, they need approval from the P5 for that. Currently you either have to have "two" divisions or play every other team in the conference to have a conference championship game.

 

[Oakland]

The northern ACC schools fussed that they would be like the Big East minus Miami. Our attendance would really improve if there was a southern division.

 

[g0lftime]

This realignment makes too much sense. Swafford would have never understood it. Much too logical and doesn't give UNC any advantages.

 

[bobongo]

I don't think the ACC has any desire for such a realignment. They have discussed breaking up the conference into pods. Maybe add two more teams, have four-four team pods and get to play the non-intrapod teams much more often than non-divisional teams now. I think something like that is much more likely than just shuffling the current divisions. However, they need approval from the P5 for that. Currently you either have to have "two" divisions or play every other team in the conference to have a conference championship game.

That would make it even more like a league than a conference, than it already is.
A conference that is too big for every team to play every other team is too big.
A conference champion is a pure conference champion only if everybody plays everybody. But money ruined that.

If a conference is at least held to 12 teams in two divisions, it would afford each member to play teams in the other division not less than 2 out of every 3 years if you play 9 conference games, or every other year if the conference schedule is held to 8 games. It still wouldn't be a true conference but it would be a sight better than 16-team behemoths. But yeah I know, the money...

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Won't happen. You will never see the two Florida schools in the same division. The reason is recruiting. If you realigned this way, the northern schools wouldn't be guaranteed a game in FL every other year which is huge for recruiting.

 

[stech81]

I don't think the ACC has any desire for such a realignment. They have discussed breaking up the conference into pods. Maybe add two more teams, have four-four team pods and get to play the non-intrapod teams much more often than non-divisional teams now. I think something like that is much more likely than just shuffling the current divisions. However, they need approval from the P5 for that. Currently you either have to have "two" divisions or play every other team in the conference to have a conference championship game.

Adding two more teams would not happen till after the TV contracts run out would be a bad idea now to not get more money and add teams.

 

[GoJacketsInRaleigh]

UVA and VT are never going to go for this either. Best you can hope for is PODs. Not even sure how that would work with 14 1/2 teams.

 

[Southpawmac]

That would make it even more like a league than a conference, than it already is.
A conference that is too big for every team to play every other team is too big.
A conference champion is a pure conference champion only if everybody plays everybody. But money ruined that.

If a conference is at least held to 12 teams in two divisions, it would afford each member to play teams in the other division not less than 2 out of every 3 years if you play 9 conference games, or every other year if the conference schedule is held to 8 games. It still wouldn't be a true conference but it would be a sight better than 16-team behemoths. But yeah I know, the money...

A 16 team conference is better than what we have right now. We’re never going back to 12 and never going up to 9 conference games. A 16 team pod system would guarantee that you play every team in the conference at least once in a three year period. So a player, regardless if they play immediately and leave for the NFL early, would play every team during their career.

 

[RonJohn]

A 16 team conference is better than what we have right now. We’re never going back to 12 and never going up to 9 conference games. A 16 team pod system would guarantee that you play every team in the conference at least once in a three year period. So a player, regardless if they play immediately and leave for the NFL early, would play every team during their career.

There were a few reasons that the ACC wanted to go to a pod system. The play every other team more often was one. They also wanted to ensure that if there are two top rated teams that they play in the championship game. Two divisions leaves open the possibility that a mid-level FBS team can play for and potentially win the conference championship even when there are higher rated teams in the other division. It almost happened in 2012 when 6-6 GT played FSU for the championship and lost the game by six points while top 15 Clemson was watching at home.

 

[TechPreacher]

Miami belongs in the North division. They will agree. FSU, GT, Clem, and 4 NC schools. The only other requirement to make it work is that Virginia and UNC have to play each other every year. Make all of that happen, and everyone should be happy.