Louisville's Move To The ACC Suddenly 'Not A Done Deal'

[AZHuskiePop]

Lets bring it back to CR: is UConn a better fit for the ACC (I think the perspective of btstimpy) or the B1G (my perspective) with respect to academics and athletics?
Of course, I recognize that either would be better than the AAC but which is a better fit for UConn if CR resumes at some point?

The B1G is a much better fit for UConn
Connecticut and and the near Midwest share historical and demographic ties that are just not present in the ACC. Not to mention simalar industrial backgrounds.
The Schools in the B1G certainly have more appeal in Ct than the ACC schools. Look at the excitment a decent Mich team coming to CT caused in an awfull year. A half-way decent UConn team would easily sell out 50 or even 60k
No team in the ACC could generate that buzz. That's not a knock on them but the Power teams lack the Big Ten History (Notre Dame excluded)
The travel would be simalar.
Sports played would also be simalar.
The Big supports Hockey which wouldn't be an issue for The ACC as were pretty comfortable in Hockey East with our good friends BC.
To most schools women's sports wouldn't even be considered but for UConn it would be, however both this leagues support women's sports. The ACC might have an edge because of BB and Soccer
but both these conferences would be acceptable.
Rutgers, Maryland, and Penn State are within Driving distance
Detroit and Columbus are about one hour by air, Indianapolis 1.5
Chicago 2, Minneapolis 3
I'm not sure about getting to Madison or Lincoln.
The B1G teams NYC fans make UConn a Natural fit.

I know Duke has a huge NYC alumni group but I'm not sure if they know they play football.
I realize UConn to the Big is a long shot but so is UConn to the ACC.
The clincher is the ACC teams we have the biggest potential rivalries with do not want us in the league. Where Rutgers and even Penn State seem to want us. I can see an annual game between Rutgers and UConn at Yankee Stadium
I want to call it the Camp Cup after the Connecticut native who conceived American Football. Actually Rutgers did participate in adopting Camps ideas.

 

[SouthronCross]

Overall, the ACC is top heavy (PAC is ever more top heavy) and weaker on the backend while the B1G is stronger in the middle according to US News. I included Johns Hopkins in the B1G as is it as an ‘associate’ similar to ND is to the ACC ( I did not include U Chicago as they do not play in any of the B1G’s sports nor did I include Navy in the American as it is typically not ranked). For any school not ranked, I used the next lowest overall ranking available 202).
ACC: 1) Duke #7, 2) Notre Dame #18, 3) Virginia #23, 4) Wake Forest #23, 5) UNC #30, 6) BC #31, 7) Georgia Tech #36, 8) U Miami #47), 9) Clemson #62, 10) Syracuse #62, 11) Pittsburgh #62, 12) Virginia Tech #69, 13) Florida St #91, 14) NC St #101, 15) Louisville #161
B1G: 1) Johns Hopkins #12, 2) Northwestern #12, 3) Michigan #28, 4) Penn St #37, 5) Illinois #41, 6) Wisconsin #41, 7) Ohio St #52, 8) Maryland #62, 9) Purdue #68, 10) Rutgers #69, 11) Minnesota #69, 12) Michigan St #73, 13) Iowa #73, 14) Indiana #75, 15) Nebraska #101
As a FYI, the other power 5 are as follows:
XII: 1) Texas #52, 2) Baylor #75, 3) TCU #82, 4) Iowa St #101, 5) Kansas #101, 6) Oklahoma #101, 7) Kansas St #135, 8) Oklahoma St #142, 9) Texas Tech #161, 10) West Virginia #170
PAC: 1) Stanford #5, 2) Cal #20, 3) UCLA #23, 4) USC #23, 5) U Washington #52, 6) Colorado #86, 7) Oregon #109, 8) Arizona #119, 9) Utah #121, 10) Washington St #128, 11) Arizona St #142, 12) Oregon St #142
SEC: 1) Vanderbilt #17, 2) Florida #49, 3) Georgia #60, 4) Texas A&M #69, 5) Alabama #86, 6) Auburn #91, 7) Missouri #97, 8) Tennessee #101, 9) South Carolina #112, 10) Kentucky #119, 11) Arkansas #128, 12) LSU #135, 13) Mississippi St #142, 14) Ole Miss #150
And of course, the American: 1) Tulane #52, 2) UConn #57, 3) SMU #60, 4) Tulsa #86, 5) Temple #121, 6) Cincinnati #135, 7) Central Florida #170, 8) South Florida #170, 9) East Carolina #181, 10) U Houston #190, 11) U Memphis NR #202
UConn’s ranking is the third highest FBS school not aligned with a P5 conference, Rice (#18) is the highest, followed by Tulane (#52)
Overall ranking of conferences by average score: 1) B1G 54.2, 2) ACC 54.9, 2) PAC 80.3, 3) SEC 96.9, 4) XII 112.0, 5) American 129.4

The ACC and the B1G are basically a wash. Great schools is both leagues. Heres hoping UConn joins us soon.

 

[bingethinker]

The ACC and the B1G are basically a wash. Great schools is both leagues. Heres hoping UConn joins us soon.

If you're basing your statement on US News rankings, then yes. The profile of an average Big Ten school is this: 30K+ students, top-20ish public, billion dollar+ endowment, lots and lots of r&d dollars spent annually, top-20ish athletic department.

There is no such profile for an ACC school.

Athletically, ACC schools are all over the place. Some (FSU, UNC, UVa, Duke, and UMD) almost always finish among or near the top-25 departments in the country, but the others are more often than not no where to be found. Academically, there are publics and privates, catholics/jesuits/nonsectarian, large flagships with high research focus and lower-tier "states" that are fall backs. The only large, flagship, research-first state schools in the ACC Maryland could ever relate to/want to be like are Carolina and Virginia. No other ACC schools fits Maryland's academic profile. In the Big Ten, some schools are better, some worse, but they all want to be the same thing. The ACC is a fine conference with [some] good academic schools, but the Big Ten was an understandable move for UMD.

With that said, I think UConn would fit well into the ACC and I hope it happens for them.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

The ACC and the B1G are basically a wash. Great schools is both leagues. Heres hoping UConn joins us soon.

Yes, that was basically the conclusion is that academically the B1G and ACC are about even and well above the next conference (PAC) and far above everyone else outside of the Ivies (big and small). Should football (concussion) or collegiate sports change (European academy model) change far in the future, it would make sense for UConn to be aligned with the conference that can offer more than just football.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

by air, Chicago 2 hours...

Chicago by air in 2 hours? Can I fly with you? Takes me like 5 hours to get to Chicago - 2 hours sitting on the ground at Newark, a 2 hour flight, and then an hour circling O’Hare. Midway is a little bit faster.

 

[btstimpy]

If you're basing your statement on US News rankings, then yes. The profile of an average Big Ten school is this: 30K+ students, top-20ish public, billion dollar+ endowment, lots and lots of r&d dollars spent annually, top-20ish athletic department.

There is no such profile for an ACC school.

Athletically, ACC schools are all over the place. Some (FSU, UNC, UVa, Duke, and UMD) almost always finish among or near the top-25 departments in the country, but the others are more often than not no where to be found. Academically, there are publics and privates, catholics/jesuits/nonsectarian, large flagships with high research focus and lower-tier "states" that are fall backs. The only large, flagship, research-first state schools in the ACC Maryland could ever relate to/want to be like are Carolina and Virginia. No other ACC schools fits Maryland's academic profile. In the Big Ten, some schools are better, some worse, but they all want to be the same thing. The ACC is a fine conference with [some] good academic schools, but the Big Ten was an understandable move for UMD.

With that said, I think UConn would fit well into the ACC and I hope it happens for them.

I can only chuckle at the notion of ACC schools not fitting Maryland's academic profile. The ACC has 15 schools. 11 of the ACC's 15 schools are equal to or better than Maryland academically. I'll agree that Maryland would be in the lower 25% of the ACC academically. UConn is better than Maryland academically. UConn is ranked 57 in USN&WR. Maryland is 62. For that reason UConn would fit well in the ACC. On that we can agree.

And as for Graduate Research, Pittsburgh, Duke, UNC, and Georgia Tech are all significantly larger research institutions than Maryland. Virginia is about the same as Maryland. Maryland didn't go the Big Ten over academics. It went to the Big Ten because its athletic department is broke, and the Big Ten flashed a lot of financial projections in front of Wallace Loh for the athletic department that he believes can be true someday.

 

[ZooCougar]

Strange comment, it could mean or be an indicator that Louisville has another option on the table(Big 12?) and that they are growing tired of the ACC's lawsuit with Maryland. That's just speculation. But this is a really strange comment given that a year ago they were so grateful for being selected.

 

[btstimpy]

Strange comment, it could mean or be an indicator that Louisville has another option on the table(Big 12?) and that they are growing tired of the ACC's lawsuit with Maryland. That's just speculation. But this is a really strange comment given that a year ago they were so grateful for being selected.

I think he got some indication from someone that this lawsuit might drag on past the time for Maryland to leave and that Maryland might not be able to leave until the lawsuit is resolved for some reason. But many on here think Maryland has to leave when they are scheduled to leave. So who knows? He didn't elaborate. The Big XII isn't offering anyone at the moment, so I don't think it is that.

 

[upstater]

I think he got some indication from someone that this lawsuit might drag on past the time for Maryland to leave and that Maryland might not be able to leave until the lawsuit is resolved for some reason. But many on here think Maryland has to leave when they are scheduled to leave. So who knows? He didn't elaborate. The Big XII isn't offering anyone at the moment, so I don't think it is that.

Are there rules that conference members have to play a conference schedule? Maryland could remain part of the ACC while playing an entirely OOC schedule out of conference. The problem, as I imagine it for Louisville, is that Ville would have to have a similar arrangement with the ACC< and that it would be out of the AAC regardless.

 

[ZooCougar]

I think he got some indication from someone that this lawsuit might drag on past the time for Maryland to leave and that Maryland might not be able to leave until the lawsuit is resolved for some reason. But many on here think Maryland has to leave when they are scheduled to leave. So who knows? He didn't elaborate. The Big XII isn't offering anyone at the moment, so I don't think it is that.

No idea. But the comment is really weird. You are probably right, but there is something that triggered the comment, which also could be a message. If there is nothing then why say anything?

 

[btstimpy]

Yes, that was basically the conclusion is that academically the B1G and ACC are about even and well above the next conference (PAC) and far above everyone else outside of the Ivies (big and small). Should football (concussion) or collegiate sports change (European academy model) change far in the future, it would make sense for UConn to be aligned with the conference that can offer more than just football.

The B1G and the ACC are the conferences that sponsor the most sports. So UConn would be good in that regard with either. The real decision would come down to access to the South vs access to the Midwest. That's for recruiting athletes as well as out of state students. Both conferences will have strong presence in the Northeast. And with Notre Dame and Louisville in the ACC, you can make an argument that the ACC will have some presence in the midwest too. It won't be concentrated like the Big Ten, but it is some.

 

[Sea Goat]

The B1G and the ACC are the conferences that sponsor the most sports. So UConn would be good in that regard with either. The real decision would come down to access to the South vs access to the Midwest. That's for recruiting athletes as well as out of state students. Both conferences will have strong presence in the Northeast. And with Notre Dame and Louisville in the ACC, you can make an argument that the ACC will have some presence in the midwest too. It won't be concentrated like the Big Ten, but it is some.

Have to disagree with you, Stimpmeister re: an ACC Midwest presence. First, ND only does what benefits ND - it will not help the ACC in the Midwest to be affiliated with them. Especially when they made a deal with the ACC strictly on their terms. That "special" deal with ND will come back to haunt the ACC - you'll see. Regarding Louisville, it is more southern than Midwest and further, its weak academic standing does not elevate the ACC in the minds of B1G oriented folks. Louisville, while currently flashing in the pan athletically, ultimately creates a black mark on the otherwise decent academic reputation for the ACC.

 

[HuskyHawk]

This is weird. A bunch of ACC and B1G guys arguing about their conferences, in what sounds almost like a bidding war for UConn. Each explaining why it would be the better fit. It's enough to make us feel like Cinderella instead of an ugly step-sister.

Meanwhile, the people that matter aren't having those discussions and we remain on the outside looking in. As for the Maryland - Louisville mess, have any of you read the contracts and letters or resignation or acceptance supposedly sent? I thought not. As such, it's a bit silly for anyone to make bold pronouncements that Maryland is gone, it's a done deal (or not). Based on media reports, I suspect that it's a done deal, and the media is never wrong about anything, right?

I'm making some popcorn and propping my feet up to watch the scenes unfold. Hopefully CR will become entertaining again, maybe even Maryland kissing and making up with the ACC, who knows? Louisville being stranded in the American would be a beautiful thing. And if the ACC and B1G ever saw fit to seek our affections, that would be better still.

 

[billybud]

It is bizarre. But, before you feel all warm and fuzzy about the attention...

It all depends on the allegory you tell yourself.....Cinderella or

Maybe the Big Ten and ACC posters are like buzzards waiting for the cars on the highway to open up so they can rush in and peck what remains of a disfigured carcass (joking.....joking).

Personally? I think that Maryland is long gone, Louisville is in the ACC to stay....and we are awaiting the Big 12 or Big Ten to make the next move. The ACC will be frozen during my lifetime, forever awaiting Notre Dame to come in as #16.

 

[tcf15]

Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN
Louisville & AAC reach agreement allowing UL to officially join ACC on July 1, 2014 sources told @ESPN

 

[UConn Dan]

Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN
Louisville & AAC reach agreement allowing UL to officially join ACC on July 1, 2014 sources told @ESPN

Saw that... McMurphy also responded to someone asking if Rutgers has reached an agreement with the AAC yet and he responded, "Nope."

 

[NickyNewark]

The ACC and the B1G are basically a wash. Great schools is both leagues. Heres hoping UConn joins us soon.

SouthronCross,I hope you realise my post wasn't aimed at your thoughtful,honest post's that never seemed tinged with arrogant elitism!I noted your sensitivity and consideration to others here! I do hope you'll stick around the BY with your contributions.

 

[tcf15]

Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyESPN 2m
Louisville pays $11M to American Athletic Conference to join ACC on July 1, 2014

 

[specialisthusky]

Can't wait for Uconn to someday be the one who pays, instead of collects, the damned exit fees.

 

[btstimpy]

Are there rules that conference members have to play a conference schedule? Maryland could remain part of the ACC while playing an entirely OOC schedule out of conference. The problem, as I imagine it for Louisville, is that Ville would have to have a similar arrangement with the ACC< and that it would be out of the AAC regardless.

I really don't know the answer to this. No idea. But the tweet posted below about Louisville reaching agreement with the ACC on terms may be part of the picture. Maybe this is what Dr. Ramsey was talking about at Louisville. He didn't elaborate enough to explain what he meant about not a done deal.

 

[btstimpy]

Saw that... McMurphy also responded to someone asking if Rutgers has reached an agreement with the AAC yet and he responded, "Nope."

Rutgers sued the AAC to get out of paying their exit fee to the AAC just like Maryland did with the ACC. A Federal Judge in New Jersey recently ruled that the case be transferred to Rhode Island so that a judge in Rhode Island can force arbitration that is specified in the AAC/Big East Bylaws. So it will be arbitrated if Rutgers wants to continue the case in Rhode Island.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/20...g_east_conference_headed_to_rhode_island.html

 

[CTGoonie]

McMurphy now says that Jurich informed the BE/AAC they were leaving in 2011. Well before they had the ACC invite..... Cue conspiracy kitty???

 

[freescooter]

My hope would be for some school, don't really care who as long as it isn't UConn to get locked out of one of these leagues for a season...ideally Louisville can't get into the ACC but the AAC won't accept them back. It would be sort of fun to watch them try and schedule a season as an independent in all sports! after playing Idaho they can go on the road to Butler Community College...

 

[Fishy]

So much time being wasted - Louisville will be in the ACC next year and Rutgers will be in the Big Ten. And we, of course, will be wallowing in Aresco's grease fire.

It's carved in stone, so move on.

 

[freescooter]

So much time being wasted - Louisville will be in the ACC next year and Rutgers will be in the Big Ten. And we, of course, will be wallowing in Aresco's grease fire.

It's carved in stone, so move on.

Of course you are right, but I can dream can't I? Oh, and I thought it was a dumpster fire...