Miami was always in play because, at the time of the original expansion, they were an annual Top 5 program nationally. For a conference looking to improve football, that add was a no-brainer. They crashed at the same time FSU struggled. Had they both been able to maintain what they were, Swofford would've been called a genius.
Their baseball program is also first-rate, and, that is a sport the ACC cares a lot about, too. Plus, they are a good fit academically.
So is BC. At the time they joined, they had a solid program. I know they catch a lot of hell over here...rightfully so... but, they did perform well here initially. They went to the ACCCG in both 2007 and 2008. The Spaziani years ended badly, but, otherwise, they've held their own.
Outside of Miami winning the ACC in 2013, neither have been all that great in hoops.
Miami was the glitzy convertible of its day, that was for sure. The problems I have with what Swofford did were first, he wasn't in the convertible driving business at that time. He was in the conference building business. Heavy lifting would be involved. He needed a couple of serviceable Ford F150s even if they weren't showroom spiffy and one had a couple of dings and some rust (UConn) and the other had more dings and more rust (Rutgers). Second, Miami wasn't going anywhere. The southeast corner of the southeast state just wasn't in play. Better to lay the foundation for the master plan before looking around for shiny baubles.
Your point about baseball is well taken and fits with the objective you offered about content for the network. The academics aspect was good as well up to and including the rejection of WVU. I'm sure you can see where I would be going next so we'll just leave it at that.
We all know of the ACC's interest in UConn. I do not think I've ever heard Swofford ever mention Rutgers, even in passing. Maybe they were in his plans at some point. I do not know that for certain. For some reason, RU was never viewed as a viable option.
I, too, never heard any rumors of Rutty to the ACC. In fact, as long as I've been trolling...er, following the various versions of the UConn board, all I've ever heard was Rutgers to the Big Ten. I makes me wonder why such discussions never materialized. (You don't suppose the answer is kept in Area 51, do you?)
UConn and Syracuse would've made the ACC unquestionably the best basketball conference in 2011, and, that was for sure one of Swofford's goals. Albeit unstated. I believe both would thrive in football here. But, thats just my view.
Truthfully, had it not been at Miami's insistence, BC would've never gotten even a passing glance, IMHO. UConn was in long-range plans, but, I cannot speak on Rutgers. Maybe they were, and, I just never heard it.
As I've said (or implied at any rate) previously on this thread, Swofford is just too myopic for my tastes Too often, his moves seem unrelated to his presumed goals. Why, for example did he decide to monitor the laying of a foundation along the Atlantic seaboard from the shores of the Finger Lakes and the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny? It's not the acquisition of Syracuse and Pitt that I fault. It was the timing. The foundation hadn't been completed. I get that there were member institutions with goals of their own. But it was his job to conceive, articulate, and sell a vision. Failing that meant failing, it was that simple.
Swofford's failure probably won't be immediately apparent. There's far too much current turmoil for that. But he has consigned you guys to the second tier of the P5 for as far as the eye can see. What happens if the SEC decides 16 teams make a better configuration than 14? What happens if they decide to finally fulfill their destiny as the "South East" conference by adding a North Carolina and a Virginia (no offense to Stimpy thinking of VA as a mid-Atlantic state) school. How much does NC State identify with Texas A&M's desire to climb out of Texas' shadow and want to climb out of yours? How fast would VaTech be dialing a good divorce lawyer in their haste to kick UVA to the curb? I don't know those answers but the questions sure would worry me.
-About the SEC, neither Carolina nor State could just up and leave for the SEC on their own. The UNC Board of Governors would never allow that. Period. They will not allow one of them to prosper, while the other is left in a gutted ACC. TBT, Carolina would get first choice of whether or not to leave. That said, if they wanted to go to the SEC, but, State has no solid landing spot, then they stay in the ACC.
We've spoken about UVA in the past. Their Board of Visitors would NEVER allow them to join the SEC, and, its not even a question. I believe stimpy would back me on that. VPI would scoop up an SEC invite in a second. Ditto NCSU. Although, I have read some of the B1G boards in passing, and, both of them would be acceptable, but, neither is AAU, that I know of. -
Let me conclude by again stating my admiration for the University of North Carolina and that a conference affiliation with them would not merely be a "well, it's better than the American" but a truly desirable destination, one that I would quickly warm to. UNC, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State, and the others...very desirable indeed.