BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

I assume the final vote reflects which schools are confident of a B1G or SEC bid should the ACC fall apart. Does it mean FSU, Clemson, and UNC are confident of bids, but everyone else isn't?

The other schools that get discussed as possible B1G or SEC recruits are UVA and Miami, with a lesser degree of confidence for Duke, VT, and NCSU. Does this vote indicate those schools fear they won't be picked? ESPN confirms that NCSU flipped to yes on the most recent vote. (Acknowledging that there are other reasons to vote yes or no.)

I find NCSU most intriguing. I could see NCSU telling UNC that it would vote no with UNC if UNC committed to demand the inclusion of NCSU in any move to the SEC or B1G (like UVA did for the Hokies in the first round of ACC expansion). I could then see UNC offering vague platitudes but no firm guarantee, which would then cause NCSU to flip to voting to shore up the ACC in case of defections.

For my Wahoos, I think the "yes" vote likely means they are not looking to escape the ACC because they’re not confident of a B1G or SEC invite. Unfortunately UVA appears to be more like Stanford than UNC in terms of appeal to the big boys.

 

AAC commissioner: League won't 'look westward'

 

Rumor has it that VT’s president overruled the athletic department in order to suck up to Stanford and Cal for an AAU invite.

 

Pitt likes to think it treads in the same waters as Stanford and Cal -- and given their academic rankings, they might -- so it didn't surprise me they were on board with this, especially since Notre Dame wanted it. My belief is that, since Pitt and ND have a history, they're going to do whatever's in the best interest of the Domers in the hopes that if the Domers eventually join a conference that they'll secure a spot at the table for them as well.

 

Stanford and SMU will just cut the checks to fund their shortfalls, but Jesus, Cal athletics is hundreds of millions in debt. Now they are going to sink further and further into the morass by earning just $8-10 million in TV rights for the foreseeable future, with about 1/4 of that being gobbled up by increased travel costs. The only games Cal draws fans for are Stanford, UCLA and USC. Old Blues aren't gonna be thrilled by Wake Forest and Boston College, Syracuse or Pitt.

And if I'm UCLA, I'm not paying Calimoney since the Bears are now joining a P4 conference.

Of course, now booster every dime that SMU and Stanford must use to support the annual operations budget is one less dime it can use as funding for capital projects and investment in the future. That million or two that went toward new turf or a locker room enhancement is now going toward plane tickets to Syracuse and hotels in Winston-Salem.

Now at least there's some clarity for OSU and Wazzu. I don't think the AAC was ever an option and today's statement by their commissioner is just saving face.

If we're gonna go to the MWC, then let's go, make the announcement and start the preparations. That league seems well-run and makes sense geographically, athletically and academically for a couple of land-grant universities from smaller Western States.

 

Wait, does the ACC own “The band is on the field!” now?

 

I've got an old grade school friend in San Francisco so I'm totally on board with this, assuming this stays together long enough to even be scheduled.

 

One of Billy Packer’s finer calls, brought to you by Food Lion.

 

Cal Chancellor Carol Christ on non-revenue travel for sports like baseball, softball, volleyball and soccer:

"The ACC is really interested in using Dallas as a place where teams may come together to minimize the travel."

Great! Come to Stanford/Cal to play baseball and never have a home conference game! You'd be like the House of David or Bingo Long's Traveling All-Stars!

 

Baseball teams play half their games in Florida or southern Cal, anyway.

 

Stanford played 35 of its 64 games at Sunken Diamond. Cal played only 22 of its 52 at home. Cal had three home games cancelled by the wet spring but generally spring weather in the Bay Area is very conducive to baseball, and Stanford has one of the nicest diamonds in the country.

But I'm sure they'll be thrilled to hop on a plane and play in Dallas.