ACC Accepts Pit and Syracuse

[Wbbfan1]

ESPN - Link

Supposedly ACC may not stop with Pitt & Syracuse and may add another two teams to go to a 16 team conference. Could UConn be one of the additional schools or would thy look to pick up Big 12 teams if A&M does go to the SEC. IMHO probably they would go after a Big 12 school.

Also wonder if someone will sue to stop the move, like Baylor has done.

 

[speedoo]

ESPN - Link

Supposedly ACC may not stop with Pitt & Syracuse and may add another two teams to go to a 16 team conference. Could UConn be one of the additional schools or would thy look to pick up Big 12 teams if A&M does go to the SEC. IMHO probably they would go after a Big 12 school.

Also wonder if someone will sue to stop the move, like Baylor has done.

IMO it makes more sense for the ACC to take more BE schools than Big12 schools, because it is consistent with their previous expansion into the Northeast. Swofford has been making a lot of points about the ACC on the east coast and can you imagine the ACC tournament in MSG?

So my hope is that UConn ends up in the ACC. Big 10 would be better, but the (BE) ship will son be sinking and we won't be choosy.

 

[UConnCat]

A recent report (as in 2pm today) by Andy Katz and Joe Shad of ESPN says that UConn is pursuing membership in the ACC.

"UConn president Susan Herbst is aggressively pursuing membership in the ACC to become the 15th or 16th member institution in the conference, according to a source with direct knowledge with UConn's situation.
According to the source, Herbst was having conversations recently but in light of Pittsburgh's and Syracuse's defections from the Big East, the talks have accelerated in the last 48 hours.
In a statement earlier Sunday, Herbst said that although UConn was "a proud charter member of the Big East" the school was staying "actively involved in discussions with our counterparts from around the country to ensure the successful long-term future of our university's athletic program."
Earlier Sunday, ACC commissioner John Swofford said the league was comfortable with 14 schools but not philosophically opposed to expanding to 16.
Both Duke coach Mike Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina coach Roy Williams have told ESPN.com that they would endorse the ACC expanding to 16 teams comprised of two eight-team divisions."

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...ies-aggressively-seeking-acc-move-source-says

 

[jdubct]

Well things are changing quickly with Herbst pursuing Uconn joining the ACC. I'm curious about what Rutgers does in the next few days.

 

[Kibitzer]

Apparently the next two schools, er, programs to be targeted by the ACC are UConn and Rutgers, which makes an enormous amount of sense from their perspective.

West Viginia then becomes a logical target for the SEC and Louisville and Cincinnati (of the remaining football-basketball schools) become destined for no man's land.

Ironically, as the death of Dave Gavitt (founder of the Big East as a basketball conference is mourned, the death of the Big East (as a marginal football conference) seems imminent.

Can we now expect to someday see the wcbb tournament -- for many years, Big East, but possibly soon to be ACC North -- played in Washington or some other site south of Connecticut?

Time now to re-read that article in the Atlantic magazine about The Shame of College Sports.

 

[VAMike23]

With the way things are going, it seems like a switch to the ACC is now more likely than not. It's unbelievable how fluid and fast-moving these developments have been, all over the country. Just amazing.

 

[alexrgct]

The ACC will be a wonderful basketaball conference if this shakes out.

 

[alexrgct]

I am salivating at the thought of Duke or UNC in CT every year.

 

[Icebear]

I am salivating at the thought of Duke or UNC in CT every year.

I doubt they will be a Gampel every year since a 16 team conference would require 30 games of the schedule to guarantee that. At best it will likely be every other year.

 

[Dairyair]

Like Kib, I also found it ironic that all this "stuff" is happening near the passing of Gavitts. Hey, since UConn BB (particularly men's, but women's, too) got lessened respect playing in the "weak" BE, maybe they'll get some props playing in the ACC.

 

[Dairyair]

On the other hand, with Pitt, SU and maybe Rutgers going ACC, maybe that will become the "weak" BB conference...

 

[HuskyNan]

The ACC will be a wonderful basketaball conference if this shakes out.

Men and women. My goodness but the ACC would be a scary league on the men's side with UConn, SU, Pitt, Duke and UNC. On the women's side there would be UConn, Duke, UNC, Maryland and a bunch of programs with potential.

The Big East is toast. The football schools are bailing which means the remaining bball-onlies will become the New Big East. I do think UConn will end up in the ACC. A knowledgable insider on another board has said there is mutual interest between UConn & the ACC. Coach K of Duke and Gary Williams of UNC ahave spoken of wanting UConn in their league and those guys are heavy hitters.

Thae ACC makes a lof of sense geographically, athletically and academically.

 

[UConnChapette]

It is pretty clear that the football schools in the Big East are actively seeking out new homes, since the end of the Big East, as we have known it, is near. UConn seems to be poised to move in one of two directions: ACC or B1G. Either way, I gain family rivalries where they did not previously exist. We go to ACC, I will have to hear smack talk year round with #2 son at GaTech and forevermore a Yellow Jacket, despite growing up going to UConn games. If we go B1G, my father and sister/brother-in-law will become rival fans since they are Nebraska Big Red through and through. With that part of the family in Nebraska and me in Connecticut, the rivalry wouldn't be as intense as with sonny boy.

I would choose ACC despite my intense dislike for Duke, MD and BCU. There is a very practical reason for that. If I ever get a chance to travel to away football or women's basketball games, I would much rather head south to warmer weather than West/Northwest to significantly colder and snowier weather. I am not getting any younger, and my joints can't take the cold like they used to. Other than that, I don't really care, as long as we end up in a conference that has good competition for women's basketball from top to bottom of the conference. Moving to either the ACC or B1G probably means we will see less 60 point blowouts over the likes of Providence, Seton Hall, etc. That can't be a bad thing, can it?

 

[ursusminor]

So, just as I start grad school in the ACC, UConn might be coming to campus every couple of years? Awesome. Though I might be mugged for wearing visiting team stuff in the student section.

 

[EricLA]

Men and women. My goodness but the ACC would be a scary league on the men's side with UConn, SU, Pitt, Duke and UNC. On the women's side there would be UConn, Duke, UNC, Maryland and a bunch of programs with potential.

The Big East is toast. The football schools are bailing which means the remaining bball-onlies will become the New Big East. I do think UConn will end up in the ACC. A knowledgable insider on another board has said there is mutual interest between UConn & the ACC. Coach K of Duke and Gary Williams of UNC ahave spoken of wanting UConn in their league and those guys are heavy hitters.

Thae ACC makes a lof of sense geographically, athletically and academically.

i sure hope you are right Nan. people were crying on the men's board about the "rivalries". seriously? for UCONN women, the most heated rivalry is against a team not even in our league who we haven't played in a bunch of years - tennessee.

and the big east is relatively new - UCONN used to be in the Yankee conference so our "rivalries" are new compared to ones that have been going on for over 50 years. bottom line is all i care about is UCONN landing in a good conference. it's all driven by football so i'm surprised that Williams and K. have much pull with what football decisions are made.

 

[connboy77]

I think it would be great if UCONN joins the ACC. It makes alot of sense to make the move as soon as possible before the once Big East completely crumbles. I'm looking foward to all the new rivalries. I really believe this is in the best interest of UCONN. Does anyone think this move will effect recruiting, one way or another?

 

[Phil]

Coach K of Duke and Gary Williams of UNC ahave spoken of wanting UConn in their league and those guys are heavy hitters.

.

I trust you mean Roy Williams. Gary is the recently retired coach of MD, not a fan of UConn.

 

[HuskyNan]

Right, Roy. Guess we'd better learn the names, huh?

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Interesting events from today! Guess the wait and see approach will be my stand!

 

[Kibitzer]

A couple important and now highly likely projections:

1. The Big East has no viable future as a football conference.

2. Nationally, there will be four "super" conferences: ACC, SEC, Big 10, and PAC 12. Each will have at least twelve members and as many as 16.

Gee, what a remarkable coincidence that four conference champions in football could perfectly match up in the first of two playoff games for the football national championship. And, similarly, the big conferences (14-16 teams) would have two divisions (e.g., ACC North and ACC South) and wouldn't they make a ton of dough with an annual conference championsip game?

You don't think these folks thought of these big money makers? Nah. Of course not. They are oblivious to the cash cows called playoffs in the NBA, NFL or MLB. Yeah, sure, and a pig just flew over my house.

 

[Icebear]

All this the same week as that article on college sports from The Atlantic.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I was wrong about Pitt and Syracuse. My entire Big East loving family, which includes a Pitt grad, is in mourning. Will I ever feel the same about collegiate sports ever again? What I feel right now, though, is that the NCAA needs to stop punishing athletes who cash in on their fame.