By David Teel
4:05 p.m. EDT, October 4, 2012
As
ACC athletic directors scrambled Thursday to find a fourth non-conference football game for next season and beyond,
Old Dominion’s Wood Selig relaxed, waited for the calls and counted the money.
Not exactly, but you get the picture.
The ACC’s decision Wednesday to pare its conference schedule from nine to eight games forces its 14 programs to find an additional non-league contest for 2013 and the foreseeable future. And few, if any schools, have more openings for next year than ODU, which is transitioning from the Championship Subdivision (the old Division I-AA) to the Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A).
Only two of the Monarchs’ 12 games for 2013 are set, home against Charlotte and at Norfolk State, leaving five home and five road dates.
“We’ve got to be careful we don’t overextend,” Selig said. “But we’ve got probably as much flexibility in our schedule as anybody in the country for 2013. We could max out at five I-As on the road.”
Since only one victory over an FCS opponent can count toward bowl eligibility, FBS programs are loathe to play more than one FCS team in a year. So ODU is not a viable option for ACC teams that already have an FCS opponent scheduled in 2013.
That includes
Virginia, which will play VMI, and
Virginia Tech, which will face Western Carolina.
Maryland,
Miami,
Wake Forest,
North Carolina and Syracuse do not have FCS teams scheduled — yet.
The sudden urgency for ACC schools gives ODU leverage to ask for more than the standard guarantee an FCS program receives from playing at an FBS — Maryland paid
William and Mary $250,000 for their game last month.
“It really does,” Selig said, “and that’s unique. We don’t often find ourselves in that position at the I-AA level.”
The Monarchs begin playing eight
Conference USA rivals in 2014 and are searching for non-league opponents to fit that calendar as well. Starting in ’14, ODU will be classified FBS, making it viable to any ACC program.
“Definitely (more attractive) with the ACC’s decision to go eight (conference games) instead of nine,” Selig said. “We’ve been talking to many of the ACC schools, and they’ve kind of been telling us, ‘We need to see how this vote goes.’ And so now that it is official, I think we’re going to have more serious conversations.”
ACC athletic directors and faculty representatives voted less than a year ago to expand the league schedule from eight to nine games, starting in 2013. That was triggered by the impending arrivals of Syracuse and Pittsburgh, which will give the conference 14 members.
But last month’s announcement of a football scheduling partnership with
Notre Dame — the Irish will play five ACC teams annually on rotation and join the league for other sports — created too much inflexibility for some and prompted the reversal.
Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver preferred the nine-game model and has a curious idea for solving the 2013 dilemma.
“I’m not opposed to playing someone in the conference as a non-conference game,” he said.
Such a contest would not count in the ACC standings, and Michael Kelly, the league’s associate commissioner for football, said the conference would have no problem with the arrangement.
Better yet, in Weaver's mind, playing an ACC colleague would allow Tech and others to avoid the steep guarantees major conference teams pay those from the Mid-American, Sun Belt and other second-tier leagues. The going rate for those programs ranges from $750,000 and up.
The Hokies have non-conference games in 2013 against Alabama in Atlanta and Marshall and Western Carolina at home. A designated non-league game against an ACC school would be versus an Atlantic Division team not on the schedule: Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Clemson and Syracuse are possible options.
Virginia is similarly positioned with 2013 dates against VMI and Ball State at home, and
Penn State on the road. Executive associate athletic director Jon Oliver, who coordinates the Cavaliers’ scheduling, declined to comment.
With three non-conference games contracted for 2013-16, Weaver thought Virginia Tech was set.
“How much harder did your job just get?” I asked.
“Very difficult,” Weaver said. “Quite honestly, I don’t know where we’re going to start.”
Fans on Twitter suggested
East Carolina, a frequent Hokies opponent past (2007-11) and future (2015-17). Makes sense, but Pirates athletic director Terry Holland said they are booked for next season.
Looking at 2014 and beyond, much hinges on the Notre Dame rotation. When does it start (2014 is the target)? When and where do you play them?
“I’ve got to take a couple of days,” Weaver said, “and ponder the whole thing.”
He’s not alone.
.
