Unfortunately, the ACC are out of their collective minds. Exhibit A: Louisville. Exhibit B: rejecting WVU. Exhibit C: screwing up so badly that they lost Maryland. Exhibit D: not realizing that UConn + Rutgers + Syracuse + their ND deal locks down the top media market and likely ensures that they can get a network going.
Total morons down there.
This, a thousand times. Instead of locking down the entire east coast media market ensuring the ACC had schools in every top market from Miami to Boston, inclusive of Atlanta, Charlotte, DC/Baltimore, NY, as well as Chicago, AND keep the B1G (a conference with its own network) out of NYC, they opted to protect the all important western PA and northern KY markets and keep the B12 (a conference without it's own network) out of their backyard and invited Pitt, then Louisville. The ACC had a chance to grab one of WVU or Pitt, RU, UConn, and SU, and still bring ND into the fold. This would have been a HUGE network bonanza/payday, and most likely keeps UMd in the fold...giving them a true North/South conference:
ACC South:UM, FSU, GT, Clem, UNC, NCSU, Duke, WF
ACC North: BC, SU, UConn, RU, WVU or Pitt, UMd, VT, UVa
or 4 team "pods" of where every other year the 4 team pods rotate to ensure everyone plays everyone a minimum of twice every 6 years, but play your most local teams annually.
UM, FSU, GT, Clem
UNC, NCSU, Duke, WF
UVa, VT, UMd, WVU or Pitt
BC, SU, UConn, RU
They still could have brought on ND as 17 for Olympic sports and a FB scheduling arrangement. This keep the B1G out of NYC, maybe the B12 grabs UL and one of Pitt or WVU, big deal. That's more of an intrusion on the B1G's and SEC's geographic footprint, not the ACC's.