Article - PSU to the ACC could bring all Penn Staters together

[IthacaMatt]

Big Ten academic thingy.

Penn State ain't leaving that.

It's not like the ACC is chopped liver - North Carolina, Duke, U Va, Ga Tech, Notre Dame (partial), Pitt, Maryland and Syracuse - those are all top 50 schools. I think Wake Forest is pretty close, if not also a top 50.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I agree, the Big 1o has no interest in Rutgers. If Penn St. leaves (and I seriously doubt it), they would make a push for Oklahoma, Texas and ND. I still think the Big 10 is the most logical destination for ND if they ever decide to join a conference for football. Oklahoma State, Baylor, West Virgina, Texas Tech, Kansas and Kansas State would all get invites before Rutgers.

RutgersAl will be be able to tell his grandchildren fond memories of the glory days of Rutgers football and how they were actually ranked in the top 25. Rutgers has peaked. They are at the point on the rollar coaster where you make the slow advance to the top and the free fall is just seconds away. Good bye Rutgers, you won't be missed by anyone!

If the Big 10 was the most logical fit, wouldn't ND have done a partial membership deal with them? I think the way the Big 10 jerked ND around before is going to prevent ND from considering them for the next 10+ years (until the curent people retire). ND and Penn State to the ACC makes the most watched TV network by far. The entire eastern half of the country would be locked in to those games.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Agreed. I think PSU is the prototypical B10 school.

Except that they are seen as an outlier in their conference, and don't feel embraced or like true members. Fans (donors) may help sway them to the ACC if it is in concert with a ND move to full membership.

 

[KaiserUEO]

If the Big 10 was the most logical fit, wouldn't ND have done a partial membership deal with them? I think the way the Big 10 jerked ND around before is going to prevent ND from considering them for the next 10+ years (until the curent people retire). ND and Penn State to the ACC makes the most watched TV network by far. The entire eastern half of the country would be locked in to those games.

i no longer consider ND as a possible b1g member. they will either stay with 5 ACC, or go full. i believe they go full.

 

[PhatOrange]

Penn State's alumni base is also the eastern seaboard. not the midwest.

 

[All4SU]

Except that they are seen as an outlier in their conference, and don't feel embraced or like true members. Fans (donors) may help sway them to the ACC if it is in concert with a ND move to full membership.

Is Florida an outlier in the SEC? Miami in the ACC. People make too much out of being at the edge of a conference geographically. Still, you may be right. Difficult to know how people "feel." My question is this: where are most of PSU's alumni?

 

[Scooch]

My question is this: where are most of PSU's alumni?

Delivering pizzas.

 

[omniorange]

Is Florida an outlier in the SEC? Miami in the ACC. People make too much out of being at the edge of a conference geographically. Still, you may be right. Difficult to know how people "feel." My question is this: where are most of PSU's alumni?

Here is a link to the PSU Alumni Map:

http://alumni.psu.edu/about_us/Alumni Maps 2012.pdf

By state:

PA - 315,967

The above figure is 57% of their total US alumni reside in state

Outside of PA, top 12:

NJ - 25,529
NY - 21,594
VA - 21,295
MD - 20,894
FL - 17,363
CA - 17,243
OH - 10,403
NC - 9,951
TX - 9,383
MA - 6,877
GA - 5,815
IL - 5,212

Not sure this tells us much.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[PhatOrange]

So those numbers say that about 86% of Penn State alumni live in ACC states. If you include NJ it bumps up into the 90% range.

 

[Scooch]

Penn State has always been in an odd spot. They're an eastern school who's fans and alumni are densely concentrated in the northeast corridor. Yet institutionally it is most similar to the large land-grant institutions of the Big Ten.

In terms of athletic culture there's not a single northeastern school that is at all similar to Penn State. No one else draws 100K a game (or even half that), or has the kind of massive alumni/fan base that they do.

And I get the sense that how fans/alums feel about their association the B1G is all about their age. I know some people who are younger alums (20s, early 30s) and all they really know is PSU in the B1G. They don't have much, if any, recollection of them playing eastern schools regularly. I think they'd be totally against the thought of going to the ACC. Older folks may be more nostalgic, I guess.

 

[orange79]

So those numbers say that about 86% of Penn State alumni live in ACC states. If you include NJ it bumps up into the 90% range.

But we won't include NJ. Ever.

 

[omniorange]

Penn State has always been in an odd spot. They're an eastern school who's fans and alumni are densely concentrated in the northeast corridor. Yet institutionally it is most similar to the large land-grant institutions of the Big Ten.

In terms of athletic culture there's not a single northeastern school that is at all similar to Penn State. No one else draws 100K a game (or even half that), or has the kind of massive alumni/fan base that they do.

And I get the sense that how fans/alums feel about their association the B1G is all about their age. I know some people who are younger alums (20s, early 30s) and all they really know is PSU in the B1G. They don't have much, if any, recollection of them playing eastern schools regularly. I think they'd be totally against the thought of going to the ACC. Older folks may be more nostalgic, I guess.

Agree 1000%. But as I stated earlier, fans aren't going to decide this anyway. If the new administration thinks it was that institutional culture that makes them so similar to the likes of tOSU, Michigan, Nebraska, etc. which led them down the path to becoming Ped State, that could make things interesting.

Of course, the recent scandals at Miami and UNC don't help the ACC in this regard either.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[OrangeBlood]

From a $ money standpoint it could work, if the ACC does get Penn St. and then ND to join they could renegotiate their ESPN and work off the NBC deal that ND has. The money would be equal to B10. Also, there would now be a demand for a ACC network. I believe that the ACC would be the most watched league in the country.

Also, it makes sense in terms of location for PSU. Their alumni is on the east coast, they recruit on the east coast and the their road trips would be much shorter. The rivalries would really pick up. The new ACC would put college football on the center stage in the north east weekly.

The problem is that PSU does not fit the typical ACC school. No other school is that big and dedicates that much money to research. I believe that this could cause the deal not to happen.

The key here is ND. If they ever join as a full member, PSU would be the natural choice. I believe that they could be persuaded to come.

I get giddy thinking about the North ACC conference. That would be awesome every week. Rotate the championship game between metlife and charlotte yearly.

 

[arbitragegls]

So those numbers say that about 86% of Penn State alumni live in ACC states. If you include NJ it bumps up into the 90% range.

No...take another look at the #s...there is far more in-state alumni than outside PA based on these #s...perhaps you did not see the PA # above. However, what the #s indicate is that the next alumni concentration is in the ACC footprint...not the B1g footprint...which by the way is a primary basis for Notre Dame to come to the ACC--as well as its institutional east mentality.

 

[PhatOrange]

No...take another look at the #s...there is far more in-state alumni than outside PA based on these #s...perhaps you did not see the PA # above. However, what the #s indicate is that the next alumni concentration is in the ACC footprint...not the B1g footprint...which by the way is a primary basis for Notre Dame to come to the ACC--as well as its institutional east mentality.

Pitt is in the ACC. PA is also an ACC state.

 

[arbitragegls]

Pitt is in the ACC. PA is also an ACC state.

Right...me bad...damn Jack and Coke...so fact is...ACC is where the bulk of the alumni are including PA! Guess there are not a lot of Penn State Alumni in Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and Indiana...damn, makes the move even more like Notre Dame's. Penn State is NOT a Midwestern institution.

 

[omniorange]

Right...me bad...damn Jack and Coke...so fact is...ACC is where the bulk of the alumni are including PA! Guess there are not a lot of Penn State Alumni in Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and Indiana...damn, makes the move even more like Notre Dame's. Penn State is NOT a Midwestern institution.

Best definition I heard for the state of PA was during the run-up to the elections, when a talking head said there are 3 regional cultures in the state, Philly (which is northeastern in culture), Pittsburgh (which is midwestern in culture), and everything in between which they called Pennsytucky.

:rolling:

Cheers,
Neil