I got this question ( Should John Swofford call up Jim Delany for an ACC/Big 10 Scheduling Alliance? ) from @MikeBonfanti (A big FSU fan) on twitter today. Right after that @NoleFan86 said the call was obvious to make. These are a couple of Nole fans I have had some good twitter conversations in the past and I respect their opinions.
I’m on board with this or a possible scheduling alliance with the SEC. Back in May one of my favorite SEC blogs Mr.SEC suggested such a SEC/ACC partnership. What’s driving some of this conversation?
Well it was the recent breakdown of the near certain Pac 12/Big 10 scheduling alliance. The Chicago Tribune reports the Big 10 schedule is basically starting over as it comes to their schedules. It’s time for John Swofford to start investigating this possibility if they haven’t done so already.
The tricky part in all of this as it was with the Pac 12/Big 10 scheduling is that the Pac 12 wants 9 conference games and the Big 10 was at 8. The ACC is currently at 9, and three ACC teams Florida State, Clemson, and Georgia Tech are locked into games with in-state SEC rivals Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. This was the rift in the Pac 12. Some Pac 12 teams had yearly opponents like Notre Dame scheduled and didn’t want 11 tough games. This would somewhat lend itself to the SEC/ACC scheduling alliance as 3 teams are already matched up, which would leave ACC teams 2 more games to schedule as they wish.
The other scenario is for the ACC to go back down to 8 conference games, and the two lowest finishing ACC teams being left out of next year’s partner schedule. For example Florida State would get a yearly game with Florida then maybe a Wisconsin and the issue of strength of schedule would never come up. Do you lose a game with a cross division rival? Yeah that’s a loss but something has to give here.
If I were John Swofford these are a couple of scenarios what I would bring to the University presidents…
1) Recommend a scheduling alliance with the SEC and a 9 game conference schedule. Use the partnership with Notre Dame to create a pre-season game Charlotte as the GreenvilleOnline.com suggested. If you can get past a couple of errors in the article, I love the idea. To their credit the according to the article the ACC has considered such a game already.
2) Recommend a schedule alliance with the Big 10 and an 8 game conference schedule. If you lose a conference game, you just gained several games of national interest. The Big 10 is looking for a partner. Why not the ACC? Yes the 9 game ACC schedule was decided on February, but given the current new developments of the new playoffs and Big 10/Pac 12 partner schedule dissolving I would think everything is back on the table.
Look at this year for example as West Virginia put Florida State in a scheduling snafu by backing out of their game, while Clemson and Georgia upped the cancellation fee for their 2013 2014 games to $3 Million dollars.
It sounds like to me it would be beneficial to form scheduling alliances to ensure quality Out of Conference games for the ACC teams.
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2 pings
TaxGamer says:
July 16, 2012 at 9:51 am (UTC -5)
Aside from poor editing, the article makes some valid points from an ACC perspective. However, the PAC and B1G will not refuse to relinquish the annual Rose Bowl match-up. In the current realignment environment, B1G and PAC are trying to remain viable NC contenders by improving their SoS and in creating the playoff committee. To counter attack the Rose Bowl issue, the SEC formed an annual bowl alliance with BIG 12 that placed the best team from each conference that did not make the playoffs. This move essentially nullified the Rose Bowl issue by creating a similar game between 2 football crazy conferences with TV market pull. However, the alliance also provided stability to the Big 12, making it the clear choice as the fourth super conference (when and if they are created). By limiting the ACC’s power, both the SEC, B1G and Big 12 will be able to lure away the elite football programs from the ACC and acquire additional TV markets. This is why FSU is looking into moving from the ACC to the Big 12. The SEC will try and pull football schools or schools with new tv markets that have the ability/potential to match the SEC’s football fanaticism. B1G will also step in to grab more northern teams that provide TV markets and improving the SoS. Aside from FSU, VaTech, Clemson and (maybe) Miami, what schools have decent enough football teams to be anything more than a weak OoC game at this point? This leads to the question, why would an SEC/B1G pairing with the ACC add anything of value? Not to sound harsh, but sometimes the harsh reality is hard to face.
IMO the more basketball focused AAU schools of the ACC and Big East should create a basketball conference before it is too late to do so.
Jfann says:
July 16, 2012 at 9:13 pm (UTC -5)
It is a SEC blogger Mr.SEC that I linked that proposed the merits of an ACC/SEC scheduling alliance. The ACC is in a far stronger position that you give it credit for…