I guess I am different than many here in that our basketball National Championships have provided me with much more sustained happiness for decades. In the years before we won championships it was cool to be in what was then considered a premier conference, but winnning championships is so, so, so much more satisfying to me. I think many who voted for ACC don’t know what it’s like to not have them, nor appreciate what a difference each one makes. Two more—in consecutive years no less—would be an insanely unique and defining characteristic that no one can take away (barring severe NCAA improprieties).
A conference, by contrast, can be fleeting; and I am not convinced that the ACC won’t ultimately get swallowed up by the other four of the P5, because it is the weakest football conference among them. So while it is no doubt better than where we are now, the same can be said of the Big East, and I’m not sure that either one of them secures long-term viability, especially for the last one in the pool.
In this poll, the NCs were a no-brainer for me. If the conference choice was switched to the Big Ten I would probably vote the other way, because I think we have a lot more in common with those institutions and it would provide much more certainty for long-term viability, such that it would probably be worth the trade-off with the two consecitive NCs.
