NatsFan2004

At best, this set is weak and lifeless. At worst, it's sloppily executed. There's nothing to be proud of here, I'm not sure why Charlotte Athletics would be crowing about this.

Love love LOVE this new Frisco set. Putting Teddy in there is great IMO. Although the bat-swinging logo reminds me of this:

Yeah, I could see that...but first, adding Kansas doesn't allow the B16 to add the BTN to Missouri cable/satellite subscribers at the higher in-state rate. So any gains there are mitigated. Kansas basketball's renown would be a good addition to bolster the B16's hoops side, but then none of these changes in the college landscape are really about basketball. It's football and the TV cash that comes with it that is driving the B16 here. True, and that may be why we have heard GT over UNC to the B16 lately. On the other hand...a.) does the conference really care all that much about what the NCAA thinks of them, and b.) in the long-run, wouldn't UNC's cache and prestige mean much more to the conference than adding anyone else?

I'm not sure what Kansas gains the Big Ten in the area that matters most, which is TV markets and overall state population. Here's a quick thumbnail sketch of what the B16 would get if they added each of the rumored schools: Virginia - share of DC TV market (#9 TV market), Norfolk/Virginia Beach (#43), Richmond (#58) | Population: 8.1 million UNC- Charlotte (#24), Raleigh/Durham (#27) | Population: 9.7 million Georgia Tech - Atlanta (#8), Savannah (#96) | Population: 9.8 million Kansas - share of KC TV market (#31), Wichita (#69) | Population: 2.9 million By those metrics alone, any of the 3 ACC schools would be a better 'get' than Kansas.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Hint: In this modern college landscape, every school is looking out for themselves. No one wants to be left behind in the also-ran conferences that will exist when the dust settles. Notre Dame is no different than any other school that's not tied down in this regard.

ESPN reporting the ACC has voted to accept Louisville beginning in 2014 UNC AD: School wants to stay in the ACC "for another 60 years at least" UVA AD: "We firmly stand behind the Atlantic Coast Conference"

Only if they suffer more defections. Another thought, why isn't the ACC going after West Virginia. Is WV locked in some kind of contract? The ACC rejected WVU after the SEC did. Yeah but I think things have changed. I think the ACC would be a lot more receptive to adding them now since they lost Maryland and the loss of Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, NC State are all very real possibilities. If the ACC could grab Louisville to replace Maryland and then extend an invite to Cincinatti, they could make a move back at West Virginia say hey, we are the first real super conference. Even if we lose 1 or 2 members, we'll still have more or equal members than the rest of the conferences. Morgantown is a very small TV market. Even if you expand WVU's "market" to the entire state of WV and part of southeast PA (a generous assumption), you're not picking up that many TV households. And we know that the $ that comes from those is what this whole realignment situation is all about. Louisville, Cincinnati or UConn would all be better choices.

I'd consider adding Army too. Adding the east coast service academies would keep some of the "prestige" associated with the top-level academic institutions in the ACC, plus would give a presence (though muted) in both the NYC and Washington/Baltimore area markets. And of course, Army-Navy would be a conference game, adding more meaning to an already meaningful game. Assuming you added Army/Navy and UConn/Louisville: Army Boston College UConn/Louisville Clemson Florida State NC State Syracuse Wake Forest Duke Georgia Tech Miami Navy North Carolina Pittsburgh Virginia Virginia Tech * Plus Notre Dame for all other sports than football. That's not half-bad, honestly. The question is, would it allow them to compete with the B1G and Big 12 when all is said and done?

Seems like the Big East's desperation to stay afloat is continuing. Maybe with the knowledge that they're going to lose 1-2 more schools in the coming days...? ECU is kind of a "get", but Tulane? Really?

It could be argued that by taking UNC and UVA, you bracket the DC market as well as Raleigh Durham (#27 US market), Norfolk/Virginia Beach (#43) and Richmond (#58) and lock them all down as Big Ten territory all in one fell swoop. Plus by bringing UNC on, you get the benefit of boosting the conference's basketball cachet.

There is a lot to be disagreed with when it comes to his analysis. He makes some decent points, nothing new or profound though. His default answer is either BIG 10 or SEC. My only issue is that he completely disregaurds the possibility of an Eastern/Atlantic Coast conference surviving. It is very possibly that the ACC and Big East can work together and form a super conference. Well, I think you missed his point. He was coming from the perspective of which schools are going to be the lynchpins in keeping the ACC together, and looking at what their other options are. I think the idea of a ACC/Big East "super conference" just plain nutty. Sure it'd have some excellent basketball, but if the football side still trails the other super conferences, you're going to have schools like FSU, VT and NC State looking for a better deal and you're right back where you started. Because at the end of the day, the revenue that comes from football is what this is all about. Also, the whole "conference of convenience" thing hasn't exactly worked out for the Big East - in fact, it's been an unmitigated disaster. Why should a ACC/Big East merger be any different? I'm hoping that the ACC survives. Honestly, as a UVA fan, I am. But here's the thing...if VT and NCSU get serious invites from the SEC and UVA and, say, UNC get the chance to jump to the Big Ten... the writing is going to be on the wall. At that point, every school in the ACC is going to be looking for a lifeboat to escape the sinking ship.

I know it's just a blog, but there is an interesting analysis of the ACC's members and how they're likely to play this situation here: http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com/2012/11/stormy-waters.html I can't say I disagree with his analysis, in general.

Seems to me the winning strategy for the ACC would be to lock down Notre Dame for football and add UConn and Louisville.

1.) There's precedent in the Washington/Baltimore situation. It's been done before. 2.) New York might be the one market where even a 40% stake in TV rights would be worth more than a 100% stake in TV rights elsewhere. 3.) If it's the only way to get a third team in the New York market and MLB/Yankees/Mets want it to happen (ie, it's profitable for all parties), they'll likely find a way to make it happen.

With money, anything is possible. Suppose a new team in Brooklyn would cede a majority of broadcast rights to the Mets/Yankees (a la MASN in Washington/Baltimore). This would allow the existing teams to either make their current broadcast deals more valuable (YES/SNY) or create a new sports network to broadcast the Brooklyn team's games (from which they would receive the majority of the proceeds). That's not to say it will happen, merely that it's possible. IMO, more possible than seeing an MLB team in one of the half-dozen small-time markets that keep getting mentioned.