What is the ACC going to do? Expand or die?

[eokerholm]

What conference/teams should the ACC merge/consume in order to grow?

With Texas and Oklahoma going to the SEC (making 16) the Big 12 is hunting Pac-12 Teams after adding UHou, Cinci, BYU and UCF (leaving not much in the American Athletic (East Carolina, Tulane, Wichita state, Memphis and S Fla). Change their name to the Big 16?

Big 12 in deep discussions to add up to six Pac-12 teams after USC, UCLA defections to Big Ten

The Big 12 is aiming to maintain its positioning as a power conference while expanding its footprint to a key market

www.cbssports.com

Big 10 is growing with USC and UCLA and other schools applying... https://www.si.com/fannation/colleg...ll expansion took another,the Big Ten in 2024.

American Athletic is losing Cinci to the Big 12.
AA is responding with expansion...

American to review expansion candidates after six Conference USA teams apply for membership

The AAC would be 14-team league once everything shakes out if it assumes all six programs

www.cbssports.com

The ACC is going to need to expand isn't it? Or risk losing Notre Dame to SEC or more likely the Big 10?
or is the answer the single conference (no divisions)?
I know someone mentioned Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt) and that Duke, UNC, and NC State won't let that happen (and or East Carlolina).
What about (Sunbelt) GaSouthern or Texas State (not really close/easy travel).

Rice (Conf USA) is a nerd school in HOU but they SUCK at everything and applied for the AA expansion.

Or is this just a football and TV Rights play?

I also heard on the D1 pod cast they're opening up the option for conferences to expand baseball scholarships to 20-24 from 11.7 and pay additional coaches. The issue is they're leaving it up to the conferences?
The haves will further the divide....from the have nots....
https://www.si.com/college/2022/04/...ting scholarship,periods in the NCAA transfer

SEC is all in on that.
SEC is going to continue to DOMINATE Baseball and Omaha. (6 of the 8 at CWS were SEC (or future SEC).....

How is the ACC posed to continue to compete?

 

[eokerholm]

nothing? Figured you folks would be all over this.... LOL

 

[THWG]

nothing? Figured you folks would be all over this.... LOL

There's a big thread about this in the football section. I would prefer to add Notre Dame as a full member and West Virginia. I would hope that we could stay at 16 and survive, but I have no idea what will happen. I also don't what other 2 schools would be good to add. Maybe Oklahoma State and Coastal Carolina.

I would love to see more baseball scholarships (20 would be the correct number imo) and another paid coach added to the mix though.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

There's a big thread about this in the football section. I would prefer to add Notre Dame as a full member and West Virginia. I would hope that we could stay at 16 and survive, but I have no idea what will happen. I also don't what other 2 schools would be good to add. Maybe Oklahoma State and Coastal Carolina.

I would love to see more baseball scholarships (20 would be the correct number imo) and another paid coach added to the mix though.

Yup, there have been thousands of posts on the subject of realignment in the football section; that’s where the money is. As far as baseball, we’ll be fine no matter what happens. So it's not a big thing for me anymore. I think the ACC will add two more to get to 16. ND is the best from a money point of view but they won't come to the ACC for football till they figure they make more money with the ACC than independent.

I’ve given up on GT football ever being competitive again unless a semi-pro league is formed and GT is in the minor leagues. The NIL was the final straw on top of an academic oriented institution which treats sports as a student first -athlete second type endeavor. Can't say that's right or wrong, IIWII. Baseball at GT will probably be damaged by NIL but not as much as football. Tommy Tanks probably got a big "pay raise" going to LSU.

 

[GTRambler]

Well, after being a GT fan for about 60+ years — and still going strong — all I can say is that it just ain’t like it used to be.

The days of “the student first” in “student-athlete” are over. The almighty dollar has slowly but surely been taking over, over the past two decades or so. It now reigns supreme.

As for the ACC, well, it’s now being steadily marginalized into becoming a “minor conference.” The only thing I can think of in looking toward the future … and trying to predict it (which is a fool’s errand) would be … something like a merger with another currently existing conference … simply to assure the survival of each ACC school’s intercollegiate football team.

Is a merger between the ACC and the Big Ten possible? Feasible? Who knows. But I believe the trend just may be heading toward this possibility.

But … on the other hand … before such a merger can become reality, Clemson and Florida State could jump to the SEC, should the SEC be willing to invite them in.

It ain’t over yet. That’s about all I think of, at the moment.

 

[eokerholm]

Figured it was a football/money grab.
Really like the idea of more scholarships and another or more paid coaches. Will definitely make recruiting stronger and easier for those conferences that pony up.

 

[CTJacket]

What conference/teams should the ACC merge/consume in order to grow?
View attachment 12625

With Texas and Oklahoma going to the SEC (making 16) the Big 12 is hunting Pac-12 Teams after adding UHou, Cinci, BYU and UCF (leaving not much in the American Athletic (East Carolina, Tulane, Wichita state, Memphis and S Fla). Change their name to the Big 16?

Big 12 in deep discussions to add up to six Pac-12 teams after USC, UCLA defections to Big Ten

The Big 12 is aiming to maintain its positioning as a power conference while expanding its footprint to a key market

www.cbssports.com

Big 10 is growing with USC and UCLA and other schools applying... https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/ncaa-football/college-football-news-big-ten-expansion-10-schools-reach-out#:~:text=College football realignment: 10 schools,to Big Ten, per report&text=College football expansion took another,the Big Ten in 2024.

American Athletic is losing Cinci to the Big 12.
AA is responding with expansion...

American to review expansion candidates after six Conference USA teams apply for membership

The AAC would be 14-team league once everything shakes out if it assumes all six programs

www.cbssports.com

The ACC is going to need to expand isn't it? Or risk losing Notre Dame to SEC or more likely the Big 10?
or is the answer the single conference (no divisions)?
I know someone mentioned Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt) and that Duke, UNC, and NC State won't let that happen (and or East Carlolina).
What about (Sunbelt) GaSouthern or Texas State (not really close/easy travel).

Rice (Conf USA) is a nerd school in HOU but they SUCK at everything and applied for the AA expansion.

Or is this just a football and TV Rights play?

I also heard on the D1 pod cast they're opening up the option for conferences to expand baseball scholarships to 20-24 from 11.7 and pay additional coaches. The issue is they're leaving it up to the conferences?
The haves will further the divide....from the have nots....
https://www.si.com/college/2022/04/...ting scholarship,periods in the NCAA transfer

SEC is all in on that.
SEC is going to continue to DOMINATE Baseball and Omaha. (6 of the 8 at CWS were SEC (or future SEC).....

How is the ACC posed to continue to compete?

I actually had a crazy work day yesterday and couldn't get to this. I actually believe we should have moved to the B1G when they came calling before.

It actually has more to do with baseball than football. I think a big reason all those $EC schools are crushing it in baseball has to do with the money they make from football. More disposable income from the big money generator equals more money available to our favorite GT sport. At least that's my viewpoint.

Plus I think if we had moved into the B1G before we would have dominated from a baseball perspective over the last 10 years or so (not sure when that Maryland move was but it was around then). Being one of the top teams year in and year out would have likely brought more regional hosting etc.

My very uninformed opinion though so take it FWIW.

 

[FredJacket]

I'm not "read up" on the football thread. But it seems the new normal is something Ga Tech just cannot be competitive in. ...in the revenue sports.

Not sure how it trickles down to baseball. The good news... as has be documented over & over, baseball (by definition) has more random outcomes than nearly all other sports. We can remain relevant, I believe.