The Big Five Conferences are going to break away

[UPitt]

Yeah I wonder about that alternate history too. The "Eastern league" would have had to come together way in the early days of the BE, or even before the the formation of the BE. It would have needed college football having more of a head start in the east coast than basketball, so the EL could be founded as an all sports league. Then the catholic schools form their basketball conference. The question for UConn in this alternate universe is - would they get an invite to the Catholic league, or would they stay in the Yankee conference until they decide to upgrade to the EL? Would they have the success in MBB and WBB to facilitate that upgrade in the 80s or 90s? And then would Miami, BC, Cuse etc. still be targets of the ACC in the late 90's onwards?

Miami would have never been in the eastern league. they were only invited into the BE because the BE dropped the ball on PSU. Miami would have been added to the SEC or ACC in the early 90's. As for Uconn, it is hard to say. The Eastern League was to be an exclusive league formed around football centric schools. Uconn was clearly a Basketball centric school and likely would not have tried to join the Eastern League. Pitt, Cuse, and others chose Big East BB over Eastern League FB at a time when Pitt had recently won a NC and had a top 5 FB program with a 25+ BB program.

 

[woomba]

Each of the Major conferences have "blue blood" or "cornerstone" Universities. The Pac has USC, UCLA, Stanford. The B1G has Mich, OSU, PSU. The B12 has Texas, OK. The SEC has Bama, Florida, Georgia, Tenn, Vand, etc. The ACC has UNC, DUKE (BB), FSU, Virginia. The Big East had Miami, Pitt, WVU, Cuse. With 4 localized private schools leading the charge, the Big East was never in a position to compete with the other conferences. PSU and Maryland would have provided additional regional and national support.

If you're talking about "blue blood" in terms of FB or BB prowess some of those schools on that list seem out of place. Stanford's only been good the past 4-5 years and Vandy has never accomplished much in either sport. Nebraska's also missing despite having a better history than schools like Georgia

 

[woomba]

This really is a bad long term idea. It generates no new fans, alienates the 10-15% of fans who are loyal to the Gang of Five, and will turn off a population that dislikes the idea of paying players.

I think what's missing is the data on what percentage of CFB TV viewers nowadays have any ties to an FBS FB playing school - a vested interest in the result to see if it helps their own team in the rankings.

This was definitely skewed to alums and fans historically but if non-vested fans make up a decent chunk of the viewer base nowadays (or can be compelled to watch depending on the quality of the product), I can see the logic that better competition will drive up over ratings even if they lose viewership from fans of smaller schools.

 

[BCINGYA]

Miami would have never been in the eastern league. they were only invited into the BE because the BE dropped the ball on PSU. Miami would have been added to the SEC or ACC in the early 90's. As for Uconn, it is hard to say. The Eastern League was to be an exclusive league formed around football centric schools. Uconn was clearly a Basketball centric school and likely would not have tried to join the Eastern League. Pitt, Cuse, and others chose Big East BB over Eastern League FB at a time when Pitt had recently won a NC and had a top 5 FB program with a 25+ BB program.

The post was a perfect storm of what Ifs'.....I for one would have loved this lineup. The football aspect of the B.E. was formed around 1989. What if Penn state had joined shortly after? before the BIG could have asked? or them seeking out the BIG? They are the lynchpin. This would have been after Miami was a member a few years. With Penn State in the fold would Miami have been satisfied? V.T. was beginning to make a name for itself and W.V. was well established. I don't find it so far fetched.

 

[whaler11]

I think what's missing is the data on what percentage of CFB TV viewers nowadays have any ties to an FBS FB playing school - a vested interest in the result to see if it helps their own team in the rankings.

This was definitely skewed to alums and fans historically but if non-vested fans make up a decent chunk of the viewer base nowadays (or can be compelled to watch depending on the quality of the product), I can see the logic that better competition will drive up over ratings even if they lose viewership from fans of smaller schools.

There are people not watching CFB at all because there aren't good enough games?

Maybe there is some percentage of people who only watch the top matchups - but every Saturday in almost every time slot there are compelling games. If the average televised game was a better matchup I would guess you'd further spread the audience between them rather than increase the total audience. Unless P5 schools are going to start playing on Wednesday and Friday - as far as television ratings go you can only watch one game at a time.

 

[woomba]

There are people not watching CFB at all because there aren't good enough games?

It wouldn't surprise me if that's true - If you look at the ratings the past few years you see that generally speaking ranked teams draw better regardless of conference affiliation / opponent. That's probably partially due to the casual fan tuning in because they don't know enough about the sport to filter any other way.

Maybe there is some percentage of people who only watch the top matchups - but every Saturday in almost every time slot there are compelling games. If the average televised game was a better matchup I would guess you'd further spread the audience between them rather than increase the total audience. Unless P5 schools are going to start playing on Wednesday and Friday - as far as television ratings go you can only watch one game at a time.

Right now that's true in aggregate but not as true at the regional/conference level because of the OOC, scheduling, and bye weeks. Cutting off the lower conferences would alleviate that to a great extent.

I'm not sure if a new division will definitely grow interest compared to the status quo but I don't think a decline is a given either.

 

[UPitt]

If you're talking about "blue blood" in terms of FB or BB prowess some of those schools on that list seem out of place. Stanford's only been good the past 4-5 years and Vandy has never accomplished much in either sport. Nebraska's also missing despite having a better history than schools like Georgia

I was talking "blue blood" or "cornerstone" in terms of the whole package (FB, BB, fanbase, history, national recognition) that a team provides for a conference. Every Major conference has a few teams that you associate with that conference that garner national appeal. The Big East lacked teams that fit into that role. The ACC only has two stand alone teams that fit this role, but the UNC-Duke rivalry and UNC-Virginia connections help provide an additional cornerstone. You can argue that the BE had some BB national appeal cornerstones, but realignment has been defined by football. I agree with Nebraska and the same can be said for Texas A&M, but I was just trying to show that the BE clearly lacked the "cornerstone" schools that the other Major conferences have.

 

[whaler11]

This sounds pretty different than most of the speculation:

http://m.si.com/3201829/whats-next-in-college-sports-talk-of-seismic-change-in-the-air/

 

[B1GALUM]

BCS chiefs flaming NCAA, but can they agree among themselves?
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...ng-ncaa-but-can-they-agree-amongst-themselves

 

[junglehusky]

BCS chiefs flaming NCAA, but can they agree among themselves?
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...ng-ncaa-but-can-they-agree-amongst-themselves

Since 1987, 19 schools have moved up to FBS. None of those are in a BCS league (Big 12, Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC). Yeager suggested the upper level of FCS looks more like the bottom level of FBS than the lower tier of FBS looks like the BCS schools

One school is in a BCS league!!!!!! Must... resist... urge... to punch Dennis Dodd...

 

[B1GALUM]

Big Ten's Jim Delany endorses NCAA approach to change: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...any-endorses-ncaa-approach-to-change/3328041/
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Two days after high-ranking college athletics officials met in Indianapolis to discuss potential changes to the NCAA's governance structure, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany applauded the efforts.
"I thought it was a good step," Delany told reporters at Big Ten men's basketball media day Thursday. "There's been a lot of talk about restructuring over the last six months to a year, a lot of feelings of frustration. Most of the conference commissioners over the summer were reflecting the frustration that was coming from within their conferences for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, it's the practitioners not having a chance to participate. Sometimes, it's not being able to get at certain critical areas that they feel like they need to get at."
Delany reiterated the sentiment that conference commissioners from the "Big 5" conferences — ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12 — hope to gain more power and control in a new governance model so they can use their vast resources to address issues like the full cost of attendance, something that may not be affordable or feasible for all of the NCAA member schools.
"We've at least preliminarily concluded we don't want to leave the NCAA, and we don't need a Division IV," Delany said. "We can be in a big tent if we can get the appropriate matter of political redistribution. We can have an (NCAA men's basketball) tournament, everyone can be in it. We can do revenue sharing. We can all brand together. We can all be Division I together. We can all have a big tent.
"But the conditions for that are that we need the political autonomy and the political authority to address things we must address on behalf of our student-athletes, on behalf of our universities. We have the resources to do it, and we need the authority to do it. How that happens, we'll work that out over the next weeks and months. ...
"We don't want to draw lines and put certain people in and certain people out." ...

 

[CL82]

. As an aside, the fact that Aresco has kept the AAC's offices in Providence remains one of the best jokes of CR.

Bigger fish to fry (or more important fires to put out.) The question is where does it end up. Without UConn, does the American have even a nominal claim to NYC?

 

[upstater]

That would make for a nice conference, but the timing would have never worked out. PSU was denied in the 80,s. Then chose the Big 10 and would not have come back. Without PSU, Maryland was not joining. Miami was added to fill a football void and was only added because PSU was not. VT was added a few years after Miami, but did not have the clout to be in a football first league at the time. And more importantly than all of that, Uconn did not have a D-1 football team until 1999 and did not play in BE until 2003.

Basically, if a football league formed in the 80's it would have PSU and Maryland, but no Uconn, Miami, or VT. If the league formed in the 90's it would have Miami and VT (possibly), but no Uconn, PSU, or Maryland.

It's fun to play the what if game, but in reality one moment defined the Big East more than any others. The Big East turned down PSU and has forever paid the price. Each of the Major conferences have "blue blood" or "cornerstone" Universities. The Pac has USC, UCLA, Stanford. The B1G has Mich, OSU, PSU. The B12 has Texas, OK. The SEC has Bama, Florida, Georgia, Tenn, Vand, etc. The ACC has UNC, DUKE (BB), FSU, Virginia. The Big East had Miami, Pitt, WVU, Cuse. With 4 localized private schools leading the charge, the Big East was never in a position to compete with the other conferences. PSU and Maryland would have provided additional regional and national support.

1988 was the last time Paterno tried to get into the BE and was pushed back. He said he had Maryland in his pocket. He made these comments at a dinner in 1991. I have no idea why he would lie about being rejected.

 

[tzznandrew]

1988 was the last time Paterno tried to get into the BE and was pushed back. He said he had Maryland in his pocket. He made these comments at a dinner in 1991. I have no idea why he would lie about being rejected.

Again...the what ifs...does football conference of:

Boston College
Maryland
Miami
Penn State
Pitt
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple (They were in it, only reason I list them...)
Virginia Tech
West Virginia

ever get raided? Don't they get Florida State instead of the ACC?

 

[FDNY99]

Again...the what ifs...does football conference of:

Boston College
Maryland
Miami
Penn State
Pitt
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple (They were in it, only reason I list them...)
Virginia Tech
West Virginia

ever get raided? Don't they get Florida State instead of the ACC?

Those schools in both football and basketball with their own network and cable subscriber numbers would have been ROLLING IN SERIOUS CASH!!!!!!!

 

[tzznandrew]

Those schools in both football and basketball with their own network and cable subscriber numbers would have been ROLLING IN SERIOUS CASH!!!!!!!

Agreed. You throw Florida State, since they were a free agent until 1991, and that's a great all-sports league for UConn to join...

 

[FDNY99]

Agreed. You throw Florida State, since they were a free agent until 1991, and that's a great all-sports league for UConn to join...

Imagine the crying from the catholic schoo,s if that group walked in to a meeting and told the. they were breaking away and forming their own tv network. Add in UCONN, Louisville and Cincy..CASH COW!!! What could have been...what could have been!

 

[CL82]

Agreed. You throw Florida State, since they were a free agent until 1991, and that's a great all-sports league for UConn to join...

Ah but would we have gotten the chance to upgrade 1A in that league?

 

[SubbaBub]

Again...the what ifs...does football conference of:

Boston College
Maryland
Miami
Penn State
Pitt
Rutgers
Syracuse
Temple (They were in it, only reason I list them...)
Virginia Tech
West Virginia

ever get raided? Don't they get Florida State instead of the ACC?

Yes, Miami still looks around and PSU may have eventually jumped to the B1G anyway or jumped with Miami. History has shown that the BE schools were unable to maintain a viable FB league.

There is a chance having PSU in the league would have been enough for Miami to stay, but the $ to move would still be there, so I think CR still happens, but the names may have been different.

 

[tzznandrew]

Yes, Miami still looks around and PSU may have eventually jumped to the B1G anyway or jumped with Miami. History has shown that the BE schools were unable to maintain a viable FB league.

There is a chance having PSU in the league would have been enough for Miami to stay, but the $ to move would still be there, so I think CR still happens, but the names may have been different.

An ACC without Florida State is less appealing, no? Remember, at the stage we are speaking of, Florida State was an independent. I'd say there's a better than average chance that they come with Miami to this east coast conference.

Remember, accepting Penn State would have signalled that the Basketball Schools were on board with football. They were not, so its a moot point--but I'm taking that as my starting point. The SEC is not taking any of those schools, an ACC without Florida State is not taking any of those schools--only the B1G might (PSU, Maryland, Rutgers).

 

[billybud]

The BE blew it...turned down Penn State because of their basketball then took Miami (in spite of their BB) a few years later....

 

[SubbaBub]

An ACC without Florida State is less appealing, no? Remember, at the stage we are speaking of, Florida State was an independent. I'd say there's a better than average chance that they come with Miami to this east coast conference.

Remember, accepting Penn State would have signalled that the Basketball Schools were on board with football. They were not, so its a moot point--but I'm taking that as my starting point. The SEC is not taking any of those schools, an ACC without Florida State is not taking any of those schools--only the B1G might (PSU, Maryland, Rutgers).

FSU would have always joined the ACC, indies were a dying breed and neither the SEC or B12 would have had any interest at that time, so I think you have to assume at some later date that Miami would have looked at the ACC w/ FSU vs the BE w/ PSU, VT and make a decision. Maybe PSU goes with Miami and VT instead of BC.

I also doubt that FSU would have joined the BE because of the BB onlies, but if PSU, Miami, and VT were already there, it's at least a conversion that would have happened.

 

[Fishy]

If Penn State had joined the Big East, the landscape likely would have looked much different today.

I don't know that FSU joins, (highly doubtful, but not impossible), but it might have spelled trouble for the ACC.

The ACC never attacked the Big East from strength - their football conference was waning at the time of the first raid and their basketball conference was doing the same when they came for Syracuse and Pitt. With Penn State in the Big East, the perception of the league is different, the money is different and I don't think the ACC could have mounted a raid.

 

[billybud]

FSU would have always joined the ACC, indies were a dying breed and neither the SEC or B12 would have had any interest at that time, so I think you have to assume at some later date that Miami would have looked at the ACC w/ FSU vs the BE w/ PSU, VT and make a decision. Maybe PSU goes with Miami and VT instead of BC.

I also doubt that FSU would have joined the BE because of the BB onlies, but if PSU, Miami, and VT were already there, it's at least a conversion that would have happened.

Actually..the SEC had plenty of interest...FSU was talking to the SEC and the ACC. The SEC wanted FSU...so did the ACC.

At the time, the ACC actually payed out more then the SEC...basketball was a driver, not big football contracts.

An account of the 1991 move....

The SEC wasn't the only option. The Metro Conference was exploring the formation of a "super" conference, including the 'Noles in their plans for a 16-team league. The surprise player in the field was the ACC, led by commissioner Gene Corrigan, the former athletic director at Notre Dame, who sought to bolster the league's football stature.
It didn't take long for the committee to realize FSU had become a hot property in the escalating expansion race.
"At that time we thought we had arrived, when you have the SEC at your doorstep," Haggard said. "We had the ACC begging us and the SEC begging us."
At the annual ACC meetings on May 22 in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Florida State was mentioned for the first time. The discussions led Corrigan to schedule another meeting on July 25 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., in the exact room where the conference was formed in 1953.
Frustrated by the league's lack of focus on the expansion issue, Corrigan opted for a different approach at the Sedgefield meeting.
"I said, 'Let's make believe that we've agreed to expand. Each one of you has to write down a name of school,' " Corrigan recalled.
The secret ballot of member schools turned up four votes each for Syracuse and Florida State.
By the close of the four-hour meeting, Corrigan had permission from the ACC athletic directors to approach both schools to gauge interest. His first call was to Syracuse A.D. Jake Crouthamel. Crouthamel expressed interest, but because the Orangemen were charter members of the Big East, said the ACC would have to build a strong case. Corrigan, however, was not interested in wining and dining and told Crouthamel: "Just forget I called."
His call to Goin, however, yielded a different response.
"Bob said, 'Oh my goodness, I was hoping there was some interest [from] the ACC,'" Corrigan said.
Time and popular opinion, at least among FSU's decision-makers, were not on Goin's side and he expressed those concerns to Corrigan during the initial phone call.
Corrigan said that Goin had informed him that talks with Kramer and SEC officials were moving swiftly.
"He [Goin] said, 'We don't have much time,' " said Corrigan, who arranged an Aug. 17 meeting with Sliger and Goin before a group of ACC faculty representatives at the league's offices in Greensboro.
"They were very impressive," Corrigan said of FSU's presentation. "I thought we might get a unanimous vote."
It did not take much to convince Corrigan that the addition of FSU would have a profound impact on the league. Not only would the Seminoles' football program lend credibility to the ACC, but the prospect of tapping into Florida's vast media market was particularly enticing.
Needing six affirmative votes for expansion -- and fully aware that Duke and Maryland were opposed -- Corrigan immediately set out on a whirlwind personal tour in an attempt to sell the league's university presidents.
Sliger and Goin returned to Tallahassee equally impressed, but facing an equally daunting charge -- altering the minds of those who wanted FSU to join the SEC.
Selling the idea
Corrigan had a gut feeling that the face-to-face meeting between Sliger, Goin and ACC representatives had gone well.
"I think our people really liked Bernie," Corrigan said. "The funny thing about Bernie was he really wanted to go into the SEC, but he let other people make that decision."
And that probably was greatest reason for Corrigan's optimism. Goin, FSU's first-year A.D., was the point-man in the school's search for conference affiliation.
"Bob Goin and Gene Corrigan clicked immediately," said former FSU sports information director Wayne Hogan, a Goin confidant throughout the process. "They formed a very tight and lasting relationship right from the beginning."
Goin, however, didn't allow any perceived bias to prevent him from a thorough examination of the two leagues. Armed with comparative charts on subjects as diverse as average SAT scores of incoming freshmen, travel distances between FSU and the two league's schools and projected revenues from football attendance, television contracts and bowl receipts, Goin presented his case.
"My job was to do the pros and the cons and I did that," Goin said. "I shared it with a number of contstituencies there and after a time it started unfolding."
Not surprisingly, in the ACC's favor.
Wake Forest University President Thomas Hearn, who represented the ACC on the NCAA President's Commission, said Sliger's strong stance on academic reform put to rest any questions about FSU's off-field accountability. Sliger was also a member of the President's Commission.
"Bernie had already earned his stars," Hearn said. "No one had any doubt about the integrity of Florida State's commitment to academics."
Since its 1953 inception the ACC had made only one move in terms of membership, and that was replacing charter member South Carolina, which resigned in 1971, with Georgia Tech in 1978. Coincidentally, Georgia Tech had withdrawn from the SEC in 1964, while South Carolina ended 19 years of independence by joining the SEC in 1990.
Corrigan's greatest challenge wasn't selling the league on FSU, but on expansion in general. The eight schools had grown comfortable with their place in the NCAA hierarchy, their philosophies regarding academics and athletics and their revenue-sharing plan that offered the same financial benefits -- much of which came from its lucrative basketball television contract -- to all of its members.
Decision time
While conference affiliation would impact FSU's entire athletic program, suggesting that football was anything less than a major factor in expansion talk would be naive. So while Bowden was not directly involved in the decision, his support was critical in the process.
Not surprisingly, the Birmingham born-and-raised Seminoles coach -- who spent one year as a quarterback at Alabama -- said the SEC was "emotionally" his first choice. Even so, he carefully weighed all options.
"I was probably involved just about as much as anybody in that I agreed to [the ACC]," Bowden said. "I think if I would have wanted to fight for the SEC it might have caused some concerns for everybody, but I didn't feel that way.
"When you started looking at it from a financial perspective and what's best for us, I felt pretty sure what we should do is go ahead and join the ACC. ... Bob [Goin] had it laid out pretty good. I'll be honest with you, it was a no-brainer."
Haggard, like many on the advisory committee, valued Bowden's view on the choice of conference.
"Bobby was totally SEC when it started," Haggard said. "As Bobby's thinking changed, our thinking changed. It ended up unanimous ACC."
By the time a contingent of ACC school and league officials made their Sept. 2 tour of FSU's campus, the league had already made substantial gains on the SEC's initial foothold. Finances, football and basketball prowess aside, the ACC's overall image -- specifically its academic reputation -- had left a strong impression.
"More people here wanted the ACC; that's what really changed me," Sliger said. "The faculty really wanted the ACC. There were very few [faculty members] that had gone to the SEC, but many of them had gone to North Carolina and Virginia, places like that."
While the ACC and FSU continued to discover common ground through the search process, the SEC was losing ground. In early August, athletic directors Joe Dean of LSU and Hootie Ingram, who was at Alabama after nine years with FSU, publicly proclaimed the Seminoles would join the SEC. Time, however, was no longer on the SEC's side and Kramer's timing made it even worse.
Kramer and top aide Mark Womack made their official visit and presentation in Tallahassee on Sept. 11, perhaps not coincidentally, the same day that Corrigan arranged a conference call with the ACC's university presidents to make his final presentation for expansion and Florida State.
Hogan vividly remembers the SEC presentation before the entire FSU athletic department.
"That very day, when Bob Goin and Roy Kramer sat in the room there was very much a different dynamic," Hogan said. "It was very stiff and very cold. ....
"The SEC in those days was certainly the 3,000-pound gorilla. They kept putting out vibes, 'How could you not want to play with us? We've already got a great deal going; wouldn't you want to jump on our train?' "
Whether real or merely perceived, the vibes generated from the SEC's presentation didn't sit well with some at FSU.
"There was quite a bit of feeling that we didn't want to be entrapped; a feeling among some of the fans that if we go into that conference that has been dominated by the Alabamas, Auburns and Georgias we'd be kind of a stepchild," Miller said. "[That] we wouldn't get the respect we deserved."
While Kramer emerged from the five-hour long meeting with FSU officials, declining comment on the school's possible membership, Corrigan forged ahead. His conference call with the presidents went so well that he set a conference call vote on expansion for 9:30 the following morning.
The aftermath
Corrigan woke up on Sept. 12, 1990 certain he had the six votes necessary to move ahead and expand. Duke and Maryland, he knew, would cast the only no votes. He was even more certain that if the league agreed on expansion, adding Florida State would be nothing more than a formality.
In a matter of minutes, Corrigan saw all the hard work on the delicate issue come apart. Clemson, Georgia Tech and Virginia, the strongest supporters on the issue and FSU all along, voted for expansion. Duke and Maryland voted against, but to Corrigan's surprise, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Wake Forest abstained; the equivalent of three no votes.
Expansion was suddenly dead.
"Corrigan was just about in tears when the vote was over," said Tom Mickle, Corrigan's top aide.
"All of a sudden we've got these abstentions," Corrigan recalled. "I've got the athletic directors on another line waiting. ... A couple of them went ballistic."
The resounding voice of the AD's was: "That's not the way we thought we were voting."
Corrigan could have let the issue die, but after conferring with the athletic directors, agreed to have a second vote at 7 p.m., after the abstaining parties had the opportunity to hammer out final questions.
Meanwhile, the SEC had caught wind of the ACC's intention to hold an expansion vote and quickly convened its own conference call. They voted to not extend Florida State an invitation to the conference.
Goin and the Seminoles were in limbo.
As the second vote was taking place Goin was on a plane to an in-state function, kept abreast of the proceedings via cell phone from Hogan, who was in constant communication with Corrigan and Mickle.
At the same time Goin said he was, "dodging Kramer's call because I didn't want him to tell me he didn't want me."
"That was some tense times," Hogan said. "Had that vote not gone our way, we were screwed."
"There was anxiety, but at the same token, I was representing a pretty good university," Goin said . "If you're not carrying a very strong deck, I would have had more anxiety. I don't think we would have been in the open market very long."
It didn't matter. The re-vote went 6-2 in favor of expansion and 8-0 in favor of the Seminoles. FSU had a new home.
Corrigan extended FSU its formal invitation the following day -- Sept. 13 -- and FSU accepted without hestitation.
Kramer said he has no hard feelings about Florida State's maneuvering. Asked if, in the end, he felt Florida State had played the SEC's offer against the ACC's, Kramer said:
"Officially, no. I had known Bernie [Sliger] forever and considered him a friend. I dealt with him and he was very up front. I never felt we were being used.''
"With every fiber in my being I thought it was the right thing at that time for Florida State," Goin said. "That program at that time fit better with the ACC than any. I don't know, they may not make that same decision today as they did 10 years ago."
Goin was never fully able to enjoy the fruits of his effort. He was forced out of his post in 1994 in the wake of allegations that he curried financial favor from a contractor that was working on Doak Campbell Stadium; a charge that he was later cleared of.
In hindsight, Swofford believes the league has benefited greater from FSU's addition than any of the other conferences which branched out, or cropped up like the Big 12, as a result of the expansion rush.
"I think definitely we have," said Swofford, in his fouth year as commissioner. "It's an excellent fit. Of any people that would have been available at that point in time, Florida State was the ideal choice for our league. If we had to do it all over again, Florida State is exactly who we would want to have."

​

 

[Fishy]

The irony with Florida State is that they pursued the SEC for years for an invitation and were constantly turned away.

When the SEC decided to invite them, Florida State turned them away.

And now, we're back to full circle with Florida State wishing for another invitation.