BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

Maryland would obviously like to get out without paying the $50 million, but it will easily be able to pay it off with the extra Big Ten money if it has to. You think Coach K is pissed about Maryland leaving, just wait until UNC and UVa join them and FSU, Clemson, Va. Tech, N.C State and Georgia Tech start jumping at offers from the Big 12, Big Ten and SEC.

 

Is it politically possible for either UVA or North Carolina to jump without Tech or NC State? Or in North Carolina's case abandon Duke and Wake?

And I don't know if Florida State is ready to jump to the Big Twelve yet. Their President did not seem enthusiastic. For Florida State to go alone separates them from any natural rivalries. But if the Big 12 offered Clemson, GT, Miami and Florida State I would think you would see an exodus.

 

If (when) the ACC falls apart, Duke and Wake are gonna be screwed.

 

The Dirty Dozen. ??

 

The key question is, which judge?

This thing mirrors the WVU-Big East legal shenanigans rather closely. In both instances, each party sued the other in its home state to effectively push for the home-court advantage. The only thing that hasn't happened yet, that I would have expected to happen by now, is for the ACC to move to dismiss the lawsuit in Prince Georges County. No surprise at all -- none -- that the judge in NC refused to dismiss the ACC suit against Maryland.

I have to assume all this legal wrangling is -- just like WVU-Big East -- merely a precursor to a settlement because, let's be real, the exit fee is punitive. There's no way the ACC is suffering $52 million in damages with Maryland leaving, especially because they snatched up Louisville so quickly. The ACC would have a stronger case in court, I'd think, if a gaping hole in its membership remained where Maryland used to be.

One thing I can't understand is why so many people are suggesting this could be Maryland's last season in the ACC. Nowhere have I heard or read that Maryland wants out immediately, unlike WVU-Big East. Maryland just wants out without paying so much and time isn't an issue. WVU was willing to pay whatever it took to get out of the Big East because the Big 12 had promised X amount of television inventory (10-team league) to its TV networks. That's a key difference.

 

No, MD has one more sports year in the ACC, 2013-2014.

What people were saying over the past two weeks was that game with Duke at Comcast Center might be the last time Duke will be visiting College Park.

Which could be true due the lack of home and home conference games since the conference is too big for traditional basketball scheduling.

 

The case is not headed to federal court. Maryland would have already had to ask for it to be "removed" and there would already have been a ruling on it. If the judge is already dealing with motions to dismiss then either Maryland waived its jurisdictional argument or that was denied. I suspect that Maryland's contract with the ACC had a forum clause that said any disputes would be heard in North Carolina courts, specifically those of Guilford County, and that North Carolina law would be controlling law. That's just a guess, though it's pretty standard in contract law. It would have been the federal court in Greensboro had it been removed.

While the perception will surely exist that no North Carolina judge is going to rule against the ACC, I think that's perhaps unfair. The particular judge assigned, Joe Craig, is one of the most well respected jurists in the state, and has shown a willingness to make unpopular decisions in the past. You'd be hard pressed to find a better trial judge in state courts.

 

In both the UVa and UNC cases, if it's clear that Tech and State have landing spots in another major conference - particularly the SEC, then it won't be a problem at all. If it's not clear, particularly in State's case, then it would be a huge political issue for the UNC system, which includes both schools, to handle.

As for UNC leaving Duke, I do not believe there'd be much of a problem moving to a conference without them. The two schools are so close in proximity, they're likely to continue playing each other in most sports. Wake is, sadly, a non-factor. Duke has little to no political clout outside of Durham and if it was sold as a necessity to keep UNC in big time sports, people would accept it.

That said, I don't believe UNC or UVa are leaving the ACC anytime soon.

 

Even if there is a mass exodus of the football schools I mentioned to another conference? At that point do the North Carolina schools jump off the sinking ship.

 

At what point do conferences lose all meaning? If you have a 16-team league, a conference loses its identity in BASKETBALL (see Big East), let alone football. It is the anomaly of Boston that the world's biggest college town is maybe the U.S city with the lowest interest in college sports, except for hockey, but low as it was before, interest in BC football and basketball declined when it joined the ACC. I'd argue the consolidation trend will collapse on itself before too long.

 

I just love how monopoly friendly this country's become.