With all of the talk of conference realignment, it’s evident that these decisions will change the landscape of college athletics for years to come.
The addition of Syracuse and Pittsburgh, which will likely go into effect in 2014, puts the ACC at a 14-team conference with talk of adding two more teams to put the total at 16.
This also opens up revenue opportunities for the ACC, but each of the schools leaving the Big East must pay a $5 million fee to their former conference.
The next two teams the media has widely discussed as possible ACC entrants are Connecticut and Rutgers, but the student body of N.C. State thinks otherwise.
“Realistically speaking, probably Connecticut and West Virginia, but unrealistically speaking Texas and one other Big 12 team like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, or Kansas,” Paul Friedlander, a junior in sport management said.
Nick Lively, a sophomore in English, also believes adding the Mountaineers would be beneficial for the conference from both a competitive and geographical prospective.
“I think West Virginia would be a good one,” Lively said. “They’re more dominant. They’re a very well put together team and they’re still on the east coast somewhat.”
Reportedly, Connecticut has been actively seeking membership into the ACC. UConn would bring with it the defending men’s basketball National Champion and the women’s basketball program with the longest winning streak in history which would add to the conference’s rich basketball tradition.
If West Virginia were added to the picture of realignment instead of Rutgers it would definitely raise the conference’s profile in both of the revenue sports, football and men’s basketball. The Mountaineers have won 14 conference championships in football and appeared in 27 bowl games. Its basketball program has won 13 conference championships, most recently in 2010.
One possible outcome being widely discussed is the formation of four power conferences, which will include the ACC, Pac 12, SEC, and the Big 10. A merger between two mid-major conferences, the Mountain West and Conference USA, has also been a topic of interest.
“The way it’s looking you could have the ACC, Pac whatever, Big 10, the SEC, and then have another league that’s a hybrid of the Big East and Big 12,” Friedlander said. “So there could be five or six super conferences. Either four or five would be in the BCS.”
According to Friedlander, he believes that these moves will hurt the mid-majors and schools in non-BCS conferences.
“You’re isolating the little teams,” Friedlander said. “You might as well have another division like 1-AA or 1-AAA.”
Lively also believes that the mid-major conferences are necessary for the college athletics landscape.
“I like the smaller conferences,” Lively said. “I think that it promotes the schools better. Adding those two schools is going to help the ACC in a way. It’s going to promote better overall wellness for the conference, but I feel that we didn’t need to put those two teams in there.”
“If we had four conferences with 16 then it would be too much for me.”
Conference realignment can have many possible outcomes and consequences for both the athletic and financial implications for the ACC, Big East, and the other BCS conferences. When the dust is finally settled, it’s clear that college sports will never be the same.
