MONSTER conference alignment news: RIP ACC

[ColonelSteve]

Cliff notes

1. Penn State is risking losing federal financial aid due to sanctions from the US Dept of Education...if that happens, the school is dead
2. Georgia Tech, Virginia, and North Carolina have applied for membership in the Big 10
3. UNC, Clemson, Virginia Tech, NC State and Florida State are all in discussions with the SEC
4. Florida State, Clemson, Miami and Virginia Tech are all in discussions with the Big 12
5. Virginia Tech wants to stay in the ACC but is still listening to offers just in case the conference really does die
6. The Big 12 is also talking to Louisville while Pitt, Boston College, Duke, Wake Forest and Syracuse are all in danger of being left out

http://www.eersauthority.com/expansion-update-acc-on-the-brink/

[ColonelSteve]

There is talk that the Big East is considering dissolving

Representatives of some of those [remaining] seven schools said this week that the tipping point would be reached if either Connecticut or Louisville heads to another league. Such a loss would be infinitely more important to the basketball schools than Rutgers leaving, because it would further erode an already badly damaged basketball core.

Losing a UConn or Louisville would also give the basketball schools the opportunity to engineer an unprecedented power play and vote to dissolve the league. According to the Big East’s bylaws, the conference can be dissolved by a two-thirds vote of all members. The seven basketball schools, which include Providence College, would own that voting advantage over three all-sports members (Cincinnati, South Florida and either UConn or Louisville). That voting edge would disappear in July, when new members Central Florida, Houston, Memphis and SMU come onboard.

http://gamedayr.com/gamedayr/is-the-big-east-going-to-dissolve-the-conference/

[SalsaKat]

Holy holy s--- if all this passes. Which, still skeptical.

[Dogsoldier202]

The ACC isnt happy about their football conference since their top 3 schools in that conference this year all lost to SEC opponents this weekend and GTech got trounced and they are playing in the ACC title game.

[ColonelSteve]

Holy holy s--- if all this passes. Which, still skeptical.

There HAS to be a reason that Maryland made the jump to the B1G...something just did not seem right with that

[SalsaKat]

^^ The only unusual thing there is why the B1G would care enough to offer Maryland, and the DC market explains that (I guess, how much of that market really cares about Maryland football?). But Maryland accepting is a no-brainer no matter how stable or unstable the ACC is. It's like if Scarlett Johansson propositions you. You don't think about it, you just stammer out a "bwuh... yup" and don't look back.

[Catfan73]

I saw Scarlett Johansson's name and lost my train of thought.

[ColonelSteve]

UCONN and Maryland sites both reporting that North Carolina does have an offer and GT and UVA are next on the table

http://www.theuconnblog.com/2013/2/19/4005856/north-carolina-big-ten-realignment-uconn-acc

http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2013/2/19/4005512/report-north-carolina-has-big-ten-offer-virginia

[UKHistory]

Maryland has huge debt from poor financial planning. The Big 10 offers a substantially larger payout. Coupled with the fact that Maryland has typically felt like an outsider playing in the Carolina League and it is easy to see why they chose to depart.

The ACC appears ready to extract a sizable exit fee. 50 million and not one penny less at the present time.


There HAS to be a reason that Maryland made the jump to the B1G...something just did not seem right with that