ACC EXPANSION

[Howard Street Hooligan]

I apologize if there's already another thread on this topic but I saw this tweet and thought it was worth a post. Anyone connected know if we've been approached to join the new ACC once the inevitable happens and FSU, UNC Clemson and a few others leave? Do we have a realistic shot?

https://twitter.com/JWMediaDC/status/17 ... gr%5Etweet

[ASU3432Mi]

I believe we could hold our own against over half of this seasons ACC. Hell, we should have beaten their top team.

[CharlotteApp05]

I wouldn't get so focused on football. I had the opportunity to meet with Jim Phillips earlier this year and I am meeting with him again next week. He and his ADs are very focused on Academics and Non-revenue sports. Football and Basketball are obviously huge, but they take A LOT of pride in number of national championships/ year and academic excellence (See recent additions).

[TractorApp]

I would think Tulane and Tulsa bring minimal value to the ACC, so no to them. The states of Oklahoma and Louisiana would not care any more about ACC sports if one or both of those is chosen.
The others would not come close to replacing the schools that are trying to leave, but they could be competitive long-term and could build their fan bases if they are in a new reconfigured ACC. Obviously, the best scenario is for the ACC to promise Notre Dame whatever terms are necessary to get them to commit to All-Sports membership. That would likely keep Clemson, FSU and UNC happily in the Conference because of higher TV money and prestige.

[AppinVA]

I would think Tulane and Tulsa bring minimal value to the ACC, so no to them. The states of Oklahoma and Louisiana would not care any more about ACC sports if one or both of those is chosen.
The others would not come close to replacing the schools that are trying to leave, but they could be competitive long-term and could build their fan bases if they are in a new reconfigured ACC. Obviously, the best scenario is for the ACC to promise Notre Dame whatever terms are necessary to get them to commit to All-Sports membership. That would likely keep Clemson, FSU and UNC happily in the Conference because of higher TV money and prestige.

If they can pull in Notre Dame a lot of this talk goes away.

[Yosef1986]

Just my opinion - the way we are viewed by the ACC - I am not sure we even get a fair chance. There is always some sort of excuse on why we are not included in such talks.

[biggie]

Looks like they'll go anywhere else to avoid us.

[AppinVA]

What benefits Appalachian the most, an ACC that remains intact or a fractured ACC? All I care about is what is best for App. Screw the rest.

[GSUwasGump’sFallbackSchool]

It ain’t coming for us. Like others said, they have non-football and academic priorities when looking for additions. Plus, lord knows what that conference will look like and pay out in 5-10 years.

I also haven’t seen any other reputable sources than that tweet on the topic. I know ECU, Tulane, etc.., fans have to be gushing over it tho.

[Saint3333]

If ECU is on a list, is it really exclusive.

[appchicago]

I've seen lots of replies to suggest that this guy is known to pull stuff out of his nethers.

To the extent that any of it is true, we're probably talking about a worst-case-scenario in the event of a massive exodus of the bigger brands in the conference, at which point the value of conference membership would plummet. I am hopeful that after the 40-50 "biggest brands" abandon the NCAA altogether and form a semi-pro superleague or two, the rest of us can coalesce into conferences that make regional sense.

[BambooRdApp]

If ECU is on a list, is it really exclusive.

EasyU will be falling all over themselves to be on the list. I think writers add them for humor purposes. They are like Charlie Brown..no matter how hard they try to kick Lucy's football, she pulls the "rug pull"...
Most, if not all, on that list are decent TV markets...which EasyU is not.
I hope the the rug continues to get pulled for them.

[Bigdaddyg1]

The current AP top 25 should tell us all we need to know. I count zero G5 schools this week. Remember when we beat Michigan and they changed the rules to allow FCS votes and our name appeared in the "others" section? We thought we'd died and gone to college football heaven. Then we actually cracked the top 25 legitimately. Then previous G5 Cincinnati crashed the top 4. I think those glory days are soon coming to an end.

[canes_mj]

It's not if but when schools leave ACC...varying reports re which schools...but the only real certainties to stay are BC, Wake, GT, Pitt....probably Louisville.....no reports of any interest in Duke from Big 10 or SEC but maybe they can tag together with UNC and a conference sees enough bball value....unsure re State, VT, Miami.....UNC, Clemson, FSU, UVa already have their bags packed. Notre Dame is not joining the ACC; zero chance of that. Yeh the tv value will plummet but almost certainly higher than Sunbelt.

I actually like the Sunbelt matchups for App better, but we'd have to make the move if we could because of the money. We should be beating the door down with our pitch. ACC should have learned that adding markets and not brands is a huge mistake. It's inconceivable that these would be the teams they're considering and we're not on that list. Didn't they learn from adding "markets" in pitts, bc, syracuse...instead of brands? Or watch it happen in C-USA? And it would make sense for ACC to stay regional...because no matter what they're do they're going to be even more second tier than they already are...adding some of those teams just means you have teams no one cares about spread all over.

I think this is at least partly legit as a report....a lot of people think Cal/Stanford/SMU were added mostly in anticipation of teams leaving. Combine those things with reports re the "magnificent 7" meeting to try to get out of the Grant of Rights, the Clemson rumors from last month that they'll be announcing soon.....how and when it'll happen who knows, but it's going to happen.

Swofford messed up by 1. adding the wrong teams (pitt, bc, syracuse); 2. not adding Texas and OU when they wanted to join 3. locking the conference into a terrible and long tv deal

[ArmantiWaterSafety]

The current AP top 25 should tell us all we need to know. I count zero G5 schools this week. Remember when we beat Michigan and they changed the rules to allow FCS votes and our name appeared in the "others" section? We thought we'd died and gone to college football heaven. Then we actually cracked the top 25 legitimately. Then previous G5 Cincinnati crashed the top 4. I think those glory days are soon coming to an end.

Yep, and oddly enough I think the G5 supporters are perpetuating the next split by posting these "G5 top 10" lists and whatnot. We went into this knowing this would eventually happen, but I still think it's weird considering how close in talent the portal and NIL are making all of college football. To not have 2 undefeated teams in the top 25 which has 2-loss teams in it is hilarious.

[BambooRdApp]

.....but the only real certainties to stay are BC, Wake, GT, Pitt....probably Louisville....
If FSU, Clemson, UNC and Dook leave...these schools will be looking for a seat at a table..
I would like to see SBC go to 9 teams on each side so east only meets west only in championship game (assume keeping 3 OOC games). If this were to occur...be nice to pick up ga tech, wake , the ville and other casualty for West side.

[appdaze]

I highly doubt a conference would add a fifth team from a single state.

I don't see us ever getting an invite to the big table at this point. Our other sports are no where close to where they need to be. Our academic research is not to the expansive level that some conferences look for. There are just a lot of reasons. I'm not going to list them all. The move from fcs to fbs was the right move to keep football alive and financially afloat. I just think we are where we are at this point and it will be a long time if ever for us to get a sniff at anything higher than Sunbelt/g5.

[appstate77]

I would not rule it out. Things are crazy and not set in stone. Im sure DG is putting on a strong sell job.

[T-Dog]

We have a game tonight. The hell are y'all wasting oxygen over this?

[appdaze]

We have a game tonight. The hell are y'all wasting oxygen over this?

Because I can't make a Tuesday game so I'm stuck at home cooking dinner for the family and twiddling my thumbs until game time.