I've been thinking about ourconference schedule since the ACC released the new format. The addition of Syracuse and the limited cross-division rotation was the latest reminder that the conference needs to reorganize the divisions along old conference ties. We need to have a "
As the conference continues to grow, we continue to lose identity and history. We are now just a collection of east coast schools that are too good for the Big East and or haven't been poached by the SEC or Big Ten. Pockets of our fanbases are unsatisfied and say they miss the good old days. If you realign, you help reform that history yet still get the financial and voting strength that the larger conference provides.
The move would be fairly clean and still keep things balanced with regard to football strength and potential. Look at this potential mix:
East
Boston College
Louisville
Miami
Pitt
Syracuse
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Atlantic
Duke
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Florida State
North Carolina
NC State
Virginia
Obviously the one problem is that there are only six teams with historical ties to the Big East. One ACC school would have to play elsewhere. In this scenario I moved Wake since it helps balance things based on football history and size of school. Other candidates to play in the east could be Georgia Tech and Florida State (since both joined the ACC in modern times) or Virginia (so they could be geographically aligned with Virginia Tech).
But the big thing this does is placate the old school fans in North Carolina who still feel the newbies ruined the conference. I also think it would help the "east" teams with fan and media interest. BC, Syracuse, Pitt and Miami should be playing each other on a regular basis.
The politics of this are tricky and I doubt anyone is going to push a proposal like this forward. It is too bad since a common sense move like this could strengthen the conference short-term and long-term.
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