I was going to save this for a later piece but with preponderance of rumors out in the blogosphere, I feel it incumbent upon me to write it now. For at least two years, I have followed websites like Warchant.com, Cemetery Hill, and Mr. SEC and people like Chip Brown,Greg Swaim, Frank the Tank, and most notably, Chris “the Dude” Lambert. Everyday, I check these pages out whenever available to get an impression on what people know about the crazy subject we call conference realignment. All these people have one thing in common: they are like me: bloggers, which have the same amount of information as I do: bupkus. Some evaluate expansion like Frank the Tank by looking at possible factors like geography, finances, and market. Some of my favorite pieces are the ones he did lately on college basketball and the Big East. He is from Chicago and has a bias towards the Big Ten especially if you read the piece he did on Big Ten possibly expanding South to gain access to the burgeoning markets and fertile recruiting grounds. Chip Brown from Orangebloods.com has a slant towards Texas and Greg Swaim is from Oklahoma. Both are in Big 12 country and have made bold predictions in the past about the Big 12 grabbing Florida State and Clemson from the ACC.
The most infamous and audacious of these bloggers is Chris “the Dude” Lambert. First off, Lambert is from West Virginia and a die-hard Mountaineer fan. Originally, he went by the handle Honus “the Dude” Sneed. He first started gaining notoriety and infamy when he started to predict that Florida State and Clemson are going to leave the ACC for the Big 12. As mentioned before, Greg Swaim and Chip Brown talked about this topic, but if you are looking for Patient Zero in where this all originated from, look no further than The Dude. When the former president of the BOT at Florida State Andy Haggard state that if the Big 12 or other conferences made overtures to Florida State, they would listen. Jimbo Fisher, head coach of the Seminoles, was talking about jumping to another conference. There were even rumors of Florida State’s bleak state of its finances, which would be the catalyst for the move. The Dude was beginning to look like a prophet but eventually, this scuttlebutt died down as Haggard was forced to resign for shooting off at his mouth a bit too much and Eric Barron, president of Florida State, assured commitment to the ACC in several public statements. Clemson rumors did not pan out that much either and like Barron, Terry Don Phillips, athletic director of Clemson, made public assurances of its future in the ACC.
Later on, these rumors mushroomed into a cataclysmic dismantling of the ACC by several conferences. It evolved into the Big 12 taking not only Florida State and Clemson, but also taking Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, and Miami. Like before, the presidents and athletic directors of these schools publicly announced their intentions to stay in the ACC. The majority of these schools, saving Florida State and Maryland, voted for an increase of the exit fee from $20 million to $52 million. Late 2012, the Big Ten accepted Maryland as the 13th member of their conference followed by Rutgers from the Big East. Once more, the Dude seemed that he was about to receive vindication. This has not prompted a mass exodus from other members from the ACC as the Dude hoped for. As a matter of fact, Louisville ended up being the replacement for Maryland and the Big 12 missed out on their chance. Again, this was all just prognostication and that’s it.
Currently, it is purported that the Big Ten has an avaricious appetite for markets in the South and that Virginia is a lock to be the 15th member and North Carolina, Georgia Tech, or Florida State will be the 16th school or all three will be admitted and it the Big Ten will be a 18 team colossus. The Dude claims that he has reliable sources but these same reliable sources have yet to pan out for him like before. Why is this time around so different? Anyways, also the SEC and Big 12 pick the rest of the good meat remaining on the ACC’s metaphorical carcass. Keep in mind, Maryland has announced its intentions to leave the ACC for the Big Ten by 2014 and it is for fiduciary reason but one issue remains unsettled: will they have to pay $52 million or a smaller amount. It is possible that other schools are waiting for the outcome of this lawsuit before they make their moves though it has remained to be seen. The Big Ten is wanting to expand its footprint and has by bringing in Maryland and Rutgers, which respectively delivers them the New York City/New Jersey, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. markets, but does that mean they will expand further? There are two important factors that the Big Ten goes by when adding schools: one, they are a member of the Association of American Universities or AAU. This is a group of premier research institutions that have the utmost academic standards not only in the US and Canada but throughout the world. You could argue that Nebraska was not a member of the AAU and they got admitted. Some insiders say that the Big Ten knew they would lose their AAU status and admitted them anyways. I think it was the fact that by the time that they admitted Nebraska, they were not aware that Nebraska would have lost its AAU membership. If they had it to do over again, they probably would have taken Missouri instead. Number two, they have to be contiguous. Virginia would be a possibility because it borders Maryland but Florida State? Florida State not only does not border any Big Ten member; that would also mean that the Big Ten would have to grab a couple more teams to create a geographic bridge for the Big Ten. Saving Nebraska, every other member of the Big Ten is a member of the AAU, something Florida State is not. The reasons for the admissions of Maryland and Rutgers are not only for markets but the fact that both schools make natural rivals with Penn State, both are AAU members, and both are large land-grant institutions and both are the flagship schools of their states, which the majority of these characteristics are hallmarks of the Big Ten conference.
For the most part, the Dude makes constants inferences and invectives towards the ACC about how unstable it really is and that is a house that is being destroyed from within by the termites in its conference like John Swofford who value basketball more than football to appease the Carolina Mafia. Honestly, North Carolina would much rather be in the ACC because like Texas, they hold ultimate sway in their conference. Maryland leaving the ACC was a big loss considering that there is not only a geographic divide but Maryland was a charter member in that conference. The ACC may not be as strong as the other conferences like the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, and PAC-12, but they will be a part of the Big Five starting in 2014 and they will have Notre Dame in their conference, who is guaranteed to play at least five ACC opponents a year in football and has placed all its other sports in the ACC. To make a deal with Notre was a huge coup on the ACC’s part. The ACC has been very stable throughout the years. As a matter of fact, the only other defection in the ACC has been South Carolina in 1971, in which they were an independent until they joined the SEC in 1992. The reasons that the Dude states that the ACC will crumble from with is for three reasons: one, they do not have a grant of rights; two, the football schools are at odds with basketball schools; three, they make the least amount of money than the other four conference. These are all true but you can also argue the issue of grant of rights with another conference, the SEC. The SEC not only does not have a grant of rights, but they do not have exit or even a waiting period for that matter. At least the ACC has safeguards like exit fees and waiting periods. Some would attest that these rules are a sign of weakness on their part. Honestly, I like SEC’s attitude that if you do not want to be in our conference, get out and do not let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. Since the SEC does not have those, what if the Big Ten does decide to expand further by grabbing Virginia and if they cannot get North Carolina, what about Vanderbilt? They are not a large land grant university or even a flagship school for that matter, but they are a member of the AAU and are in the city of Nashville, a sizable metropole that is steadily growing. Northwestern is a school already in the Big Ten and they are a private institution like Vanderbilt. Tennessee shares a border with Virginia and another possible reason that Vanderbilt may leave is to make even more money Big Ten. Another ancillary benefit may be that Vanderbilt has rarely been competitive in any sport, especially football in the SEC. Like Northwestern, it has been classified as the nerd amongst the big hulking jocks. Honestly, I think Vanderbilt would be very competitive in the Big Ten. from there, if the Big Ten did not want to stop at sixteen, they could grab Georgia Tech, which the state of Georgia shares a border with Tennessee, and then Florida State to penetrate the Florida. Why stop at 18? From there, you could get another SEC school, Missouri, who wants to be in the Big Ten anyways and then grab Kansas, both of those schools are land grant, flagship, AAU schools to make up a 20 team mega conference and have four five team pods? Another thing, I never liked the addition of Missouri to the SEC because it is a terrible cultural fit considering that Missouri is in the Midwest and would fit better with the other Midwest schools in the Big Ten.
In conclusion, these are just random thoughts from a college football maniac who engrosses himself in the world of college football expansion. Websites like Cemetery Hill, Warchant and bloggers Chip Brown, Greg Swaim and the Dude all sort of have wishful thinking to see the ACC destroyed. The most well-known of the bloggers, the Dude, some would say hate the ACC and want to see it demolished because they are like that jilted school girl (West Virginia) that got rejected at the prom (membership) in exchange for hated rivals Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Some hate the ACC for its academic snobbery or the fact that it gleefully raped and pillaged the Big East for new members or to replenish its ranks. This is what it really boils down to: an intense hatred for the ACC. the exceptions to these bloggers is Frank the Tank, who uses analysis of the situation and gives an educated guess of the policies. After all, football is very important in expansion but the Big East situation has shown that it is not everything since the Catholic Seven, along with three new members, will keep the Big East name, have the tournament stay in Madison Square Garden, and also get $3 million a piece. One question I have for the Dude: why not be mad at the SEC? It too rejected West Virginia in favor of Missouri. This is not a hit piece but instead an analysis of the situation and is not intended insult the Dude or any other bloggers. It is like throwing many things on the wall and seeing whatever sticks. I am merely pointing out, saving reputable journalists like Brett McMurphy, nobody really knows what is going on behind the scenes. Nonetheless, these websites do provide entertainment and fodder for college football fans like me who must satiate themselves before the season starts. It is no different than discussing conspiracy theories like the JFK assassination or 9/11 with the Truthers: it is fun to do so but do not bet the ranch on because all it is just conjecture and guesses of the situation. Nonetheless, the Dude abides and admire that he sticks to his guns no matter if he is right or wrong. Until I see a press release, I am not convinced the least bit.
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