Classic Globe hatchet job on Boston College, and the national laughingstock part is much more due to some bad hires than the move to the ACC, but it is an opening to look at some of the missteps administrators make with conference re-alignment.
From BC's side, having a top 5 Clemson or FSU football team come once a year does generate excitement, but most fans do not care about playing a UVa or a Wake Forest. Likewise in basketball with UNC/Duke generating some buzz in the media or around town/the alumnae base/current students.
The increase in TV money might still make it a good short term thing strictly from a fiscal perspective, but long term it will only hurt them.
From the ACC's side, they looked at market size and assumed they'd capture the same share that old ACC basketball or current SEC football games do in their region, which fundamentally doesn't understand the dynamics at play. A hypothetical scenario where #5 Duke, #8 UNC, #22 NC State headline the ACC standings or tournament naturally generates more regional discussion and brings in more casual fans than #3 Miami, #6 Louisville, #8 Syracuse does.
Boston (and New York) are pro sports towns, but I really wonder how much that dial would be tilted if some version of the old Eastern 8 had been playing for the last 20 years with like BC, UConn, UMass, Syracuse, Rutgers, Providence, Pitt, West Virginia, Temple, Georgetown, Villanova, maybe even a UNH/URI/Northeastern involved. As much as it might have theoretically limited any individual program's ceiling, and certainly would have impossible in real-time due to football, I think it's a no brainer that being in a conference with many of those schools would have been beneficial for every individual one over their current situation, preferred by every fan base over their current one, and led to more regional excitement and water cooler talk. Too bad there wasn't a Dave Gavitt in the Eastern 8's office.
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Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan
The Big 12 is MUCH more likely to be the one that gets split up. It's right in the middle and easily pieced out into the other four conferences.
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Unless Bill Simmons Presidential Sports Czar idea comes to fruition and somebody does this in a way that makes sense nationally, we all know what it comes down to. FSU, Clemson, Duke/UNC, Oklahoma and most importantly Texas have all the power there. They'll do what's best for them, whether it's under an ACC banner, Big XII banner, creating something new, or splitting off and making sure they get the last homes in the SEC/B1G/PAC-10. Missouri did a great job jumping early and ensuring they have a seat at the table going forward and not leaving themselves at the mercy of Texas's choice, but the Big XII will never be split up until the moment Texas decides to leave.