On Saturday morning a lot of Big East fans woke up to the rude awakening of Pitt and Syracuse applying for entrance to the ACC. Our Big East (and UConn) guy Pete Sonski (@PSPRGuy) wrote a little about this on Sunday morning. Since then there have been differing stories with one of them being UConn also trying to gain entrance into the ACC. I figured now would be a good time to go “around the horn” to our go-to sites for ACC and Big East football and share some of their thoughts from the last couple of days with you:
BIG EAST:
So someone please explain what Syracuse and Pitt – especially Pitt since they seem to be the ones taking moral thrashing – did that was so unethical? Purposefully led the conference against its own best interests as leaders of an influential committee? Nope. Did the whole deal behind the conference’s back? Didn’t do that either. They even told everyone that they would look. Not tell Marinatto until a reporter called and told him? Doesn’t seem like.
Rather, it seems the Big East is the first organization in the history of capitalism to lie in order to make itself look weaker. They’ve done a good job controlling the narrative with the precision of a well-oiled political machine. The problem is, that’s the first thing the conference has done right in a long time.
Every conceivable sign screams that Rutgers should join the ACC. However, money has its own unique way of changing those equations, and Rutgers just happens to need that money a tad bit more than most other athletic departments; which is why Tim Pernetti joined with Oliver Luck and Steve Pederson to fight John Marinatto’s brazen attempt to destroy the Big East. The athletic department’s livelihood was literally on the line with this charade. Rutgers was backed into a corner, and acted in self-defense to guard its interests when they were threatened. Now Pernetti and Schiano have Rutgers on the one-yard line in triple overtime, ready to punch the ball in and go home winners. Every action over the past decade – building the Hale Center, Stadium Expansion, and the like, it’s all led up to this precise moment. With Tim Pernetti blocking the way, just as he used to on the gridiron, Rutgers supporters can rest safe and secure that the athletic department’s future is finally in good hands.
Syracuse- Orange::44
Any “talking” the Big East had with those Big 12 schools wasn’t good enough. It’s like having the engagement ring in your pocket, seeing the perfect time to propose to your girlfriend, and then just kind of looking at her paralyzed. So, credit to the Presidents/ADs for Syracuse and Pittsburgh for realizing that hey, our league’s not doing what it has to do to survive, so we have to look out for ourselves.
What remains of the Big East is an unwieldy, rickety 15-team structure well on its way to collapse. Seven football teams remain, but the Northeastern character of the league (on the football side, at least) is all but gone – just UConn and Rutgers. The endgame appears obvious at this point – the total disintegration of the Big East as a football conference – and now that the game is on, it’s time to make moves.
Yes, it is an extremely good time to panic. USF’s problem isn’t that Pittsburgh and Syracuse are leaving the Big East. Any superconference scenario assumed they would be some of the first ones to go. The problem is that they aren’t going to the Big 10. And that really puts our dear old alma mater up a creek.
ACC:
The ACC and SEC Blog
This move towards expansion indicates the ACC wanted to protect itself from other leagues raiding their members as well as secure their place in the new super conference world that is coming (sadly IMO)….Personally, I think college football is losing a little bit of luster going to this super conference alignment. The feel of conference camaraderie is lessened greatly when you have 14 or 16 teams in a league because you cannot play each other enough.
Boston College- BC Interruption
I don’t need to tell you that the additions of Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC is a BIG, big win for Boston College. Above all else, it validates the school’s 2003 decision to leave the Big East. Syracuse was part of the original ACC expansion plan as a way of expanding into the northeast portion of the country. That original plan is now realized with a conference that spans from Chestnut Hill to Miami and picks up two new states and markets between Massachusetts and Maryland.
What does it mean for Clemson to add these two? Well they’re not good at football. Pitt would be a challenge of course, possibly an annoying gnat like BC. They’re both good at basketball, so winning the ACC will become tougher once again. Now, we’re even lower in the midpack. It could however improve our basketball recruiting footprint, but we don’t even own Atlanta so I’m not very optimistic about that point. In baseball they weaken the conference.
Virginia Tech- Gobbler Country
I’m excited about the move because it means the ACC is being proactive in expansion. Our Pitt blog, Cardiac Hill, is also excited about the move, saying the Panthers are fortunate to be joining the ACC. Over on the Syracuse side of things, TNIAAM thinks this wouldn’t have been done unless West Virginia-to-the-SEC was further along than we thought.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
