ACC now only going to do eight conference games

[Scooch]

The MWC has 10 teams. CUSA has 14. They were talking about having four divisions of 6 with a conference semi and final. The NCAA said no, you can only have two divisions. The pods are not divisions. The pods determine who is in the TWO divisions.

No conference is going to have a convoluted approach like that.

 

[sufan]

The vote was 8-6, per ESPN.

Curious how that broke out.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/45303/8-game-schedule-right-move-for-acc

 

[Btstimpy]

Ok now here is the scoop...going to 8 games does a great deal for the ACC:
1. Provides FSU, Clemson, and a few others the ability to continue rivalry games
2. Provides Notre Dame with an even better reason to fully join the ACC as it gives them 4 games OOC...USC, Navy, and two other teams a year once joined...

AND 3--this is the big according to my source...PROVIDES OPPTY TO SCHEDULE OCC WITH ANOTHER CONFERENCE...most likely SEC...and in discussion now.

I would just add that the issue with FSU and Clemson was also wanting 7 home games per year. They each have huge stadiums that they want to play in as much as possible each season for the revenue. In the 9 game format, they would have to give up the 7th home game when playing 5 ACC games on the road because they want at least one cupcake at home each year too.

And point number 2 is important. This was the only way to be able to give Notre Dame the flexibility it wants to even consider adding the 3 additional ACC games to its schedule down the road. Hopefully after they get comfortable with playing ACC schools it can happen for both the ACC and Notre Dame. Then we are back to "Who will be #16?"

As far as the OOC rivalry games, Virginia and Virginia Tech don't have any in particular to add. All are in the Conference. FSU, Clemson, and Georgia Tech have theirs every year. Miami wants to have one with Florida, but the Gators won't do it. Some of the North Carolina Schools play East Carolina. I think Pitt wants to work out something with Penn State and possibly West Virginia.

Who would Syracuse choose as OOC rivalry? Perhaps Rutgers? Or just be like UVA and not have one?

 

[javadoc]

Who would Syracuse choose as OOC rivalry? Perhaps Rutgers? Or just be like UVA and not have one?

Were it not for recent events, it should be Penn St.

 

[MaxwellCuse]

"Who would Syracuse choose as OOC rivalry? Perhaps Rutgers? Or just be like UVA and not have one?"

I think Pitt, when all is said and done, would prefer to renew the Backyard Brawl. That would leave PSU open theortically, although there are many SU fans on this board and elsewhere who find that prospect distasteful. PSU, on the other hand, has been leery of booking H&A series with us because of the Dome's limited capacity. They may not be so choosy in the future, however, if their W-L record goes in the direction most think it will and six-figure attendance days in Happy Valley become a distant memory.

Personally, I wouldn't mind a "rivalry game" with Northwestern, but that's because I'll have family in the Chicago area for the foreseeable future.

 

[MassOrange]

My guess at the vote:

8 games:

Clemson
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Maryland
Miami
Pitt
Syracuse
Virginia Tech

9 games:

Boston College
Duke
NC State
North Carolina
Virginia
Wake Forest

For a continuing OOC rival, I think the 'Neers are the best fit. Maybe every other year though.

 

[kingottoiii]

"
Personally, I wouldn't mind a "rivalry game" with Northwestern, but that's because I'll have family in the Chicago area for the foreseeable future.

Agree with NW. It would be a nice game to play and open the season every year and have a trophy. Plus Chicago in Sept isn't too bad a trip.

 

[riskylogic]

My guess at the vote:

9 games:

Boston College
Duke
NC State
North Carolina
Virginia
Wake Forest

If that's what it is, then two-thirds of the problem can be solved very easily:

NC State-Duke and UNC-Wake as OOC series. Really, cross-divisional games shouldn't count anyway.

 

[TexanMark]

All I know about scheduling is if I were chief scheduler my dream team would consist of KingOtto, Orangxtreme, and Jurrie. Omniorange, Scooch, SWC, tomcat, UEO and MadNY would be consultants on call.

 

[Chip]

Seems like the biggest downside is now we're only going to play Miami and VaTech once every six years. That kinda sucks, I was looking forward to renewing our old rivalries with them. But what can you do? I don't really care enough to get passionate about not playing UNC, UVA, Duke and GaTech more often. And no matter what we're still getting FSU and Clemson every year, so that's cool.

It's funny, so many people here have been so eager to launch into the "super conference" era of the sport. But when you do that --and make no mistake, a 14-team conference is a super conference -- then there are going to be scheduling compromises.

I think people are mostly reacting to the change. It was going to be rotation of 2, now it's 1. Doesn't seem like much but it is when it comes to how much you'll see the other side.

If they started out with this concept from the start it would have been easier. It's the VT game that I really wanted to see back at least every 3 instead of every 6. But oh well.

It's still 7,656,964 times better than staying in the Big East. Give or take 1 billion.

 

[rrlbees]

I think people are mostly reacting to the change. It was going to be rotation of 2, now it's 1. It's the VT game that I really wanted to see back at least every 3 instead of every 6. But oh well.

Yep, the team we all love to hate, we'll sometimes see once a decade.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[rrlbees]

All I know about scheduling is if I were chief scheduler my dream team would consist of KingOtto, Orangxtreme, and Jurrie. Omniorange, Scooch, SWC, tomcat, UEO and MadNY would be consultants on call.

Scheduling is neither as hard as some think nor does it have to be as complicated as some want to make it.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Scooch]

Yep, the team we all love to hate, we'll sometimes see once a decade.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Thing is, we didn't hate VaTech until the mid-90s and then the series ended 7-8 years later.

No reason we wouldn't build the exact same thing with Clemson, assuming we're both good.

 

[omniorange]

So every team plays the teams in the other conference division once every six years, but plays nd once every three years, but it's not a conference game.

Got it.

I think the irony of this post went over most posters heads.

Welcome to the age of mega-conferences.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[WickedOrange]

The ACC should innovate like my fantasy football league and reshuffle the divisions each year.

Every student athlete and fan should get a chance to see every venue within four years, while keeping the rivalry games. Scheduling nightmare... sure, hire some actuary/quant types to work it out.

 

[OrangeChris]

What's the Patriot League's status on their "gradual transition" to scholarship football? How many years until they offer enough scholarships for us to count a win over Colgate as our annual FCS win towards bowl eligibility?

 

[SmilinBob]

The ACC teams see that the SEC schedules only 8 conference games so why not? It's the right move when it comes to having more home games and being bowl eligible thus making more money for each school and conference. Now SU plays 10 aq's in 2013 which is still more than most.

Conferences are too big now but in order to destroy the "lesser" ones it's the way it has to be down I suppose. If this was a way to let ND in it'll even be worse when it comes to playing any other teams in the other division as obviously there will be more teams.

 

[CuseLegacy]

By David Teel
4:43 p.m. EDT, October 3, 2012
Less than a year after approving a nine-game conference football schedule and a year before implementing it, the ACC on Wednesday drastically reversed course.
At the league’s annual fall meetings in suburban Boston, athletic directors and faculty representatives voted to retain the eight-game schedule in place since Florida State joined the ACC in 1992.
The decision was prompted, in large measure, by the conference’s recent addition of Notre Dame for sports other than football.
The Fighting Irish will play five football games per year against ACC teams, on rotation. Adding those non-conference games to a nine-game league slate created too much scheduling inflexibility for some tastes.
For example, consider Clemson, which opposed the nine-game ACC schedule from the start. It has an annual non-conference contest against state rival South Carolina, so in years the Tigers also played Notre Dame, 11 of their 12 regular-season games would have been locked in.
Same holds for Florida State and Georgia Tech, who have annual non-league dates with Florida and Georgia, respectively.
But returning to eight conference games carries a considerable price.
With next year’s arrival of Syracuse and Pittsburgh, the ACC will have 14 full-time members split into seven-team divisions for football. Schools will play their six division rivals annually, plus one permanent crossover opponent – Maryland for Virginia, Boston College for Virginia Tech.
That translates to facing the other six teams from the opposite division once every six years, once every 12 at home. So athletes will play their entire career without playing some schools in their own conference, and marquee programs from the Atlantic Division such as Florida State and Clemson will visit Virginia Tech and Virginia only once every 12 years.
With a nine-game conference schedule, schools would have faced the other six from the opposite division once every three years, once every six at home.
Odd thing is, with Notre Dame rotating five ACC opponents, teams will face the Fighting Irish twice as often as they do six full-time conference members.
Conversely, trimming the league schedule back to eight games, might tempt Notre Dame to further consider full ACC membership. That would leave the Irish four non-conference games and more space to continue traditional rivalries with the likes of Southern California and Navy.
Full membership for Notre Dame would be the only reason for the ACC to search for a 16th school.
Wednesday's announcement also means the athletic directors at each of the ACC's 14 schools are scrambling to add a non-conference game for next season, and beyond.

* Wednesday’s other scheduling news from the ACC was expected: When Notre Dame arrives as the 15th basketball school, teams will have two partners they play twice every season.
In addition to four annual games against partners, the remaining 14 conference games will include two each with two rotating opponents and one each against the remaining 10, five home and five away.
The partners are:
Boston College: Notre Dame and Syracuse.
Clemson: Florida State and Georgia Tech.
Duke: North Carolina and Wake Forest.
Florida State: Clemson and Miami.
Georgia Tech: Clemson and Notre Dame.
Maryland: Pitt and Virginia.
Miami: Florida State and Virginia Tech.
North Carolina: Duke and North Carolina State.
N.C. State: North Carolina and Wake Forest.
Notre Dame: Boston College and Georgia Tech.
Pitt: Maryland and Syracuse.
Syracuse: Boston College and Pitt.
Virginia: Virginia Tech and Maryland.
Virginia Tech: Virginia and Miami.
Wake Forest: Duke and N.C. State.
The ACC tournament will start with three first-round games Wednesday between seeds 10-15. Those winners join seeds 5-9 for Thursday’s four second-round games. The top four seeds have byes into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Also Wednesday, the ACC decided that its 12 highest-ranked basketball teams in the Rating Percentage Index will compete the following season in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Big Ten has 12 members.

 

[sutomcat]

Linky

I actually think this is bad. This means playing teams in the other division even less often and means having to find another OOC game, which is getting increasingly expensive.

I'd be surprised if this didn't impact the TV contract, too.

The biggest immediate impact is that Syracuse lost a home game against an ACC opponent for 2013, so there are two open slots in the schedule that need to be addressed.

I hope that the SU athletic department is able to find a BCS opponent to play in the Dome. They have struggled greatly to fill openings since scheduling maestro Rob Edson left. It would be nice if they get bailed out by the ACC/SEC scheduling agreement the conferences are talking about now. It would be great to play an SEC home and home again, even if it were Vanderbilt. But even if it happens, I think it will be well too late to address next season.

 

[riskylogic]

The ACC should innovate like my fantasy football league and reshuffle the divisions each year.

Pods would be better, but this could work. Shift one pair of cross division rivals every year, so that after seven years, the Atlantic becomes the Coastal, and vice versa.

 

[Alsacs]

ACC could get rid of guaranteed cross over matchups if they changed the divisions slightly,
Put Pitt and Miami in the Atlantic division and NC State and Wake Forest into the Coastal.
Atlantic becomes
Florida State
Clemson
Miami
Boston College
Pitt
Syracuse
Maryland
Coastal becomes
Va. Tech
Virginia
Ga. Tech
NC State
North Carolina
Duke
Wake Forest

As a result of this the schedule becomes
6 division games and 2 cross-over games a year.

 

[kingottoiii]

Atlantic becomes
Florida State
Clemson
Miami
Boston College
Pitt
Syracuse
Maryland
Coastal becomes
Va. Tech
Virginia
Ga. Tech
NC State
North Carolina
Duke
Wake Forest

Coastal is too weak. You could put Clemson in the Coastal and move GA Tech to the Atlantic. As to rivalries you only lose Clemson-GA Tech from yearly matchups. And the Coastal would be the original ACC minus MD plus VT. Also the Coastal teams might be upset that they play a game in the state of Fla only twice in 7 years for recruiting.

 

[KaiserUEO]

Yep, the team we all love to hate, we'll sometimes see once a decade.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

got that CNYers!!!

once a decade...dont go and rake your Fn leaves.

 

[Chip]

Thing is, we didn't hate VaTech until the mid-90s and then the series ended 7-8 years later.

No reason we wouldn't build the exact same thing with Clemson, assuming we're both good.

It was definitely just a conference rivalry like any other. Nothing bigger. VT already had UVA as their primary.

But I think what made it so special is that it came at a time when VT rose as a program. And we were still somewhat new to success as well. But we always went toe to toe with them (not each individual year) while they dominated the others in the league. Couldn't win in our Dome except that one time, and we evened it out the next year. For me personally, it was obviously more because I live and work amongst these Hokies.

The new games are going to be great regardless. If we can step up our level of play, beat these teams in the Dome, the same type things can and should form. I can see it working out with every team in our division other than probably Wake. Maybe it will breathe more life into the SU-Pitt games as well.

Something unrelated that's in this thread, I see a lot of people hoping for some annual opponents OOC. I hope we keep our OOC fresh. We're going to have 7 common opponents each year, then 1 will be fresh from the other side of the ACC. Some years ND will appear. Other than that, I hope we schedule games we can get at home and win as often as we can (Army, MAC, etc.). But not lock in with any BCS conference teams. That's the part that should always be someone new.

If we're doing 8 games, that opens up the possibility for any conference to conference challenges, which would be ideal. We'll get a new opponent from that league each year, and it takes the scheduling part out of our hands.

 

[kingottoiii]

Ok I think this is the best solution. It is kinda long and in depth so you may want to skip this post.

Atlantic will have FSU every year
Coastal will have Miami every year

Pods will be made as so

A. Clemson, BC, Duke
B. VT, Pitt, NC St
C. GA Tech, SU, Wake
D. UVA, MD, UNC

The Atlantic gets (Coastal would get the opposite)

Year 1 A + B
Year 2 C + D
Year 3 A + C
Year 4 B + D
Year 5 A + D
Year 6 B + C

This allows FSU/Miami to play every team 3 times each over 6 seasons. So SU would get FSU/Miami at home 3 times in 12 years. Under the current set up we get Miami once in 12 at home and FSU six times. It is one less game in total but it is more balanced.

In division there would be 6 games which leaves room for 2 cross over games. Those would be split into rivalries like so:

Carolinas: UNC, NC St, Wake, Duke
North- Pitt, SU, BC, MD
Other- FSU, Miami, Clemson, VT, GA Tech, UVA

This allows the Carolina schools to play each other every year. Same for the North schools. So SU would play Pitt, BC, and MD every year just like the current setup. The other group would keep VT-UVA, FSU-Miami, and Clemson-GA Tech as yearly matchups. It would also keep as yearly matchups FSU-Clemson, FSU-GA Tech, VT-Miami. The rest of the games would be rotated among the 6 teams.

So for SU we would see:

FSU/Miami
One team every year which produces 3 home and 3 away over 12 years. Compared to the current setup of 6 home/6 away vs FSU and 1 home/1 away vs Miami.

GA Tech/Pitt/BC/MD/Wake
Each team every year which produces 6 home and 6 away over 12 years. Compared to Pitt/BC/MD/Wake 6 home/6 away and 1 home/1 away vs GA Tech.

Clemson/VT/UVA/UNC/NC St/Duke
Two teams each season once in three years. This produces 2 home and 2 away over 12 years. Compared to Clemson/NC St 6 home/6 away and VT/UVA/UNC/Duke 1 home/1 away.

FSU goes from 12 games to 6
Clemson/NC St go from 12 games to 4
Pitt/BC/MD/Wake stay at 12 games
ND stays at 4 games
VT/UVA/UNC/Duke go from 2 to 4 games
Miami goes from 2 games to 6
GA Tech goes from 2 games to 12

I like this as we play more teams more often. Also we play zero teams less often compared to ND. It is kinda silly that over 12 years we will play ND 4 times yet play six conference teams only twice over the same span. With the above we play no one less than ND.