As you know I’m refraining from a daily discussion of expansion, but that doesn’t mean if an article is submitted to me that I won’t post it.
Other folks have opinions on the topic and as you know we have an open policy on articles submitted here. My thoughts on the subject are here… with my online poll Who should the ACC pick as their 14 member? and Louisville leads all options with 50% of the vote, and The Big 10 may have changed the model for conference expansion.
That said this was sent to me from Jacob Michaels, and here’s his opinion on Maryland’s departure.
In a move driven by budget woes and a downward financial slide, Maryland chose to move to the prosperous Big Ten NCAA and leave behind a rich history with the Atlantic Coast Conference that has spanned a relationship of 59 years. Maryland was one of the charter members of the ACC, but it seems this move has been made more for financial gain than for nostalgia.
I grew up watching the Terps in the ACC so it will be weird to see their spot taken by another team that will fill the now empty 14th membership, but I guess when money is a driving force, a decision like this was not taken lightly and the ACC wont struggle to find a worthy replacement to fill the gap. There are loads of decent colleges willing to join the ACC and the business of regrouping shouldn’t be a difficult one for an institution that has been around for so many years.
The Big 12 lost 4 teams and showed just how quickly a conference can regroup when it bounced back from both the 4 member loss and a rumored dissolution, stronger than ever.
It will be interesting to see if the ACC holds out for Notre Dame or if they will go with any of the other options on offer to fill the 14th full membership.
It’s a gamble, but it could be a good one, much like those online slots games I enjoy playing so much at www.luckynuggetcasino.com/au/online-pokies/ . Other contenders to join the ACC could be Louisville, South Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut or others I haven’t even considered here, but would make a worthy replacement.
Whether the ACC expected Maryland’s defection to the Big Ten , or knew that they were in such a dire financial position that they would need to forsake tradition and replace it with potential financial windfall is unknown, but a statement by ACC Commissioner, John Swofford on November the 19th wished Maryland the best and thanked them for their outstanding contribution. At the time of this statement he made no mention of a replacement, and we now all wait for the ACC to get round to the business of regrouping and release details of the new member in the next few weeks.
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