What IF… Breakaway? part five
by TexCane & AZ Nole
For years, there have been questions and rumors about the future viability of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The ACC has been battling both a financial revenue gap and internal conflicts for years.
What are the options for the conference and/or schools? In our exercise, we decided to dissolve the ACC conference, and re-form a new 12-school conference. We decided to conduct a DRAFT the twelve schools.
NEW DEVELOPMENT: “Save College Sports”
Over the past week, a new wrinkle has emerged around a provision in the “Save College Sports” act now being considered by the U.S. Congress. This act calls for a ban on any college conference expansion. If passed, it could hasten the next, and last, realignment of college athletics. More on that coming.
Our GOAL:
A very powerful conference in both football and basketball that brings competitive success, financial stability to member schools and the game back to our fans.
But first, we must realize that to dissolve the ACC we would need ten votes (majority) of the eighteen current member schools. That also means at least ten current ACC schools have to be guaranteed a spot in our new conference.
Along with a friend (a Noles fans!), we are conducting a fantasy selection process for a new conference.
Twelve schools.
Our METHODOLOGY:
We are alternating picks, something like a draft. Our only restrictions are our picks must be realistic and located in eastern United States.
So far, we have selected Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech West Virginia and Pittsburgh. You could say these picks established our football and basketball flagships.
NEXT UP: AZ Nole picks school #11
With the eleventh selection, AZ Nole selects Louisville .
“The Cardinals bring a fast rising football program with a highly respected head coach. Louisville also brings a historically strong brand in basketball. They are a permit geographical/cultural fit with the potential for future rivalries with Notre Dame, Pitt, West Virginia and Virginia Tech.”
TexCane is up next.
With the twelfth pick, TexCane selects Connecticut (UConn).
“The Huskies brings a blue blood brand in basketball and a rising football program. They also solidify the conference’s presence in the highly populated northeast corridor. This selection would give our conference very strong brands in basketball.”
Where do we now stand?
Conference Membership: (completed)
Florida State Seminoles
Miami Hurricanes
Clemson Tigers
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
North Carolina Tar Heels
Duke Blue Devils
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Virginia Tech Hokies
West Virginia Mountaineers
Pittsburgh Panthers
Louisville Cardinals
Connecticut Huskies (UConn)
NEXT UP:
Our series will continue with a final market assessment, our plans for revenue distribution, a conference name, a possible strategic alliance, and a potential media rights partner.
BOTTOM LINE:
With the selections of Louisville and UConn, we have enough votes to dissolve the ACC. Our new conference is complete. Now we need to address the strategic issues. This is where it gets interesting. Stay tuned.
GO TEAMS!
related:
“What IF… breakaway?” - part one
“What IF… breakaway?” - part two
“What IF… breakaway?” - part three
“What IF… breakaway?” - part four
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