Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 27, 1990 TAG: 9006270098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
How swiftly things have changed.
First, North Carolina athletic director John Swofford says - on the record, a rarity these days when expansion is the topic - that the ACC must at least consider the marketplace.
Then Georgia Tech AD Homer Rice says his school might be willing to return to the SEC. Good idea, says football coach Bobby Ross. No way, says basketball's Bobby Cremins.
What's happening here?
Three things have triggered a summer tornado in Division I, meaning the 103 institutions that play football. Those are Penn State's move to the Big Ten, Notre Dame's exclusive TV package with NBC and the possibility that the Federal Trade Commission might rule the College Football Association's television package illegal, meaning further TV deals would have to be done at the conference level.
You do not have to appreciate the fact, but understand all of this expansion talk concerns television money and football.
That may seem a contradiction, what with reform, cost-containment and restructuring going at full bore within the NCAA and periphery groups such as the Knight Commission. But at least half, perhaps 70 percent, of Division I schools lose money, and costs are rising every year.
The only immediate help would be enhanced football packages on TV, and the down-the-road bonanza would be a playoff.
What brought about the ACC's change of mind? "After the CFA meeting, and the ton of talk from the SEC, it had to make you think about revisiting [expansion discussion]," said Virginia athletic director Jim Copeland. "TV is driving it."
The ADs met last week and talked about expansion. They will meet again in late July, along with the athletic faculty chairmen, for further discussions, Copeland said.
"You've got to protect your position," Copeland said. "That may mean we don't expand. Compactness has helped us on the basketball side."
Expansion, or a lack of it, will not endanger ACC basketball. It always has had a lucrative TV package, it made more money during the '80s from the NCAA than anybody, and it will get a large share of the $1 billion that CBS will pay out for the next seven years.
But ACC football never has approached that standard, with only Clemson a perennial national contender. If the league expands - two schools would seem the most logical - it would be to strengthen the fall sport, especially with the TV networks.
ACC leaders plan to discuss "what it does for us competitively," Copeland said, "and what type of school."
The ACC is - by far - the most homogeneous of all the major conferences. Its members are the most compatible. A memory from this year's Final Four was the Duke and Georgia Tech students yelling, "ACC, ACC, ACC," as the Blue Devils were beating Arkansas. That offended some people, including members of the media. Trust me, it doesn't happen elsewhere.
But while the ACC would be interested only in a school that is academically compatible - a category in which the league is No. 1 among the major conferences - it also would want a football power.
Clearly, that makes Florida State the top choice. The Seminoles also will be courted by the SEC, as well as their own Metro's expansion moves. Everybody wants FSU. If the ACC wants the 'Noles, it will get them, because Florida State's first preference would be a league that doesn't include Florida.
Miami, the football king of the '80s, would be a second choice, but down the list. The Hurricanes meet the bill academically, but they're farther away, and not in a good college town. What's more, recent national titles notwithstanding, there's no guarantee Miami can remain at the top in football, especially if Florida achieves its potential under Steve Spurrier. Miami basketball brings nothing to the league.
Like FSU, Miami would be only too happy to join up.
But what if Georgia Tech left? The Jackets have thrived in the ACC, except in football, where the stadium is rarely filled. Atlanta is clearly an SEC town in football, as Georgia is an SEC state.
That could be the opening Virginia Tech would want, although it's a longshot.
Tech would be like that baseball player to be named later, somebody to provide an even number. The Hokies are a wonderful mesh academically and geographically, and a growing influence in the Northern Virginia/D.C. area.
But Tech doesn't fulfill any of the ACC's pressing athletic needs, especially those that relate to football television impact.
Certainly the happenings of the past week should stir some juices in Blacksburg, as in other areas including Columbia, S.C.
The prevailing attitude in the ACC is to look again, to make sure that arrogance doesn't overwhelm reality. In deciding not to play the ostrich role, by re-examining its options, the ACC has raised the hopes of clamoring outsiders.
When will any expansion, among any of the leagues, actually take place? "I've heard of time frames of next summer to the next four years," Copeland said.
Stay tuned.
by CNB