Imagine if Maryland were still in the ACC...

[AZcuse77]

Just imagine if Maryland were still in the ACC how this conference would be even more brutal. They are leading the way in the Big Ten at 18-2 (6-1) in what is the fourth best league at maximum.

I know it was mostly a money grab but being a basketball school I wonder if most fans are happy to have the softer competition or regret not being in the best conference in America.

At least the get the excitement of trouncing Rutgers twice a year.

 

[adk(roc)CUSE]

I was sad to see Maryland go. We have a bit of a history with them. Had looked forward to playing them more often.

 

[Bayside44]

If there was Maryland no Louisville most likely.

 

[RF2044]

Just imagine if Maryland were still in the ACC how this conference would be even more brutal. They are leading the way in the Big Ten at 18-2 (6-1) in what is the fourth best league at maximum.

I know it was mostly a money grab but being a basketball school I wonder if most fans are happy to have the softer competition or regret not being in the best conference in America.

At least the get the excitement of trouncing Rutgers twice a year.

The B1G blows. And that's not just conference parasitism--they stink this year. Perhaps no marquee teams. That's part of the reason for Maryland's inflated record.

 

[Trueblue25]

Louisville's the better program.

 

[Delmar]

Money is money, so they won't look back, but they lost a lot of historical rivalries, and are in a conference that plays thug basketball. The biggest loss was in lacrosse.

 

[AZcuse77]

If there was Maryland no Louisville most likely.

Is it just the timing? I don't remember why this would be as the ACC could certainly be 16 not 15.

 

[AZcuse77]

Money is money, so they won't look back, but they lost a lot of historical rivalries, and are in a conference that plays thug basketball. The biggest loss was in lacrosse.

Yeah they just seem like much more of an ACC school with basketball leading the way and lacrosse wise for sure (not that lax would matter enough)... if anything I thought Syracuse was a better fit for the Big Ten than Maryland location wise but I'd rather be in the best basketball conference and at least this year the best football conference than be able to lead a lesser league.

Yes football drives the bus but they are pretty irrelevant in football...

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Is it just the timing? I don't remember why this would be as the ACC could certainly be 16 not 15.

Louisville was brought in as a replacement for Maryland.

 

[AZcuse77]

Louisville was brought in as a replacement for Maryland.

Yes but I don't see why it had to be an either/or... this was right around the start of major expansion / shifting right? I thought the bigger issue with Louisville was that they would lower the ACC academic profile, not that the ACC was so against expanding at that point but I don't remember too well.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Yes but I don't see why it had to be an either/or... this was right around the start of major expansion / shifting right? I thought the bigger
issue with Louisville was that they would lower the ACC academic profile, not that the ACC was so against expanding at that point but I don't remember too well.

Can't have 15 football teams. Not fair for the Atlantic Div to get stuck with 8 while the Coastal had only 7.

Until ND decides to bring their football team into the fold, we're stuck at 14FB/15BB.

 

[AZcuse77]

Can't have 15 football teams. Not fair for the Atlantic Div to get stuck with 8 while the Coastal had only 7.

Until ND decides to bring their football team into the fold, we're stuck at 14FB/15BB.

Hmm Ok. Hopefully the raised profile of ACC football will change ND's opinion... I believe the ACC has been threatening to kick them out if they don't bring football for years now, and I remember reading some stuff awhile back that they were seriously considering adding football. So all timing I guess as it's too late for MD but I would have enjoyed SU playing them just about as much as anyone.

I wonder if the ACC would still do the ridiculous double bye system in the ACC tournament if we had 16 to protect the Dukes and UNCs from having to play an extra game. 16 teams is perfect... 4 games to win the title, if you are the top team you get to play BC not get 2 byes.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I believe the ACC has been threatening to kick them out if they don't bring football for years now, and I remember reading some stuff awhile back that they were seriously considering adding football.

Notre Dame's contract with the ACC as a member in all sports but football is locked in through 2035-36.

Nobody is threatening to kick them out.

 

[dasher]

Notre Dame's contract with the ACC as a member in all sports but football is locked in through 2035-36.

Nobody is threatening to kick them out.

WRONG!!! Fans have been threatening for years. No one with any authority has been however.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Louisville's the better program.

By far. They are a major player in both bball and fball. Kentucky is as corrupt a state as it gets going back to bootlegging days. Frankfort is controlled by various aspects of UK and UL activity and the bourbon barons. Those two schools control the state. Big cash cows.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I don't think Maryland fans care they're not in the **best conference**. They're probably happy to be 18-2 considering the seasons they've had pre-2015.

 

[Townie72]

No one at Maryland wanted to go to the B1G. No coaches, no athletes, no students, no boosters, no alumni, no local fans, no one.

But Maryland had no choice to go to the B1G because of its athletic financial sqeeze. The State law in Maryland says that Athletics cannot get money from the General Fund. The Athletic Department has to be self-supporting. (Contrast this to Rutgers where the Athletic Department has been tapping into the General Fund and Student Fees to offset a $26M a year deficit for many years.)

When the Fridge came in and Maryland felt the money from renewed interest in football, they doubled down and increased the stadium size anticipating more revenue. Football never lived up to the promise of the early Fridge years. Now Maryland had it's old revenue problems plus the cost of a bigger Byrd stadium.

When the B1G came calling, Maryland had no choice but to go for strictly financial reasons.

Maryland would have been a great mini-Rivalry for SU in the ACC. We could have competed with Maryland in football. The BB rivalry would have started almost immediaely and the lacrosse one as well.

Maryland has a huge contingent of out-of-State students that come from the areas that SU draws its student s (NJ, NY, and SE PA)

 

[TheGov3304]

I was sad to see Maryland go. We have a bit of a history with them. Had looked forward to playing them more often.

It is a shame that Maryland went to the Big 10. Although I really like Notre Dame and Louisville, wouldn't it make more sense geographically for one of them to join the Big 10 and Maryland join the ACC?

Although, geography doesn't mean anything today with how crazy the conferences now are...

 

[Hoo's That]

For an Old School perspective.

No one in the ACC wanted "Maryland" to leave the ACC. They were a founding member, after all. They did it strictly for money; the financial situation of the University as a whole still is woefully mismanaged, not just the athletic department. UVa fans particularly miss the opportunity to see a close-by away game for football and the other, non-Mbball non-revenue sports (Mbball is sold out).

What really ticked off a lot of (if not all) Maryland fans was how quickly the ACC brought in Louisville to replace them. It was 100% correctly interpreted as a "Careful the doorknob doesn't hit you in the a$$"-type response. They were hoping that the ACC would just drift around looking for a replacement while school after school would either turn us down or tell us, "We'll have to think about it." They were also not amused about how they were cut off from having Pitt replace Duke as a bball home-and-home and how the MLax tourney was moved to Philly in 2014, which would have been their turn to host it.

While everyone was sad to see "Maryland" leave. No one, let me repeat that in the strongest, most unambiguous terms possible, NO ONE in the ACC was sad to see the Maryland fans leave. They were the absolute worst fans in the conference. I have never heard UVa fans say that they were hit by thrown objects at any other place, but there were routine reports they were hit by something at Byrd Stadium (usually AA batteries). Cars were keyed in the parking lot. The abusive language was terrible. You expect that kind of talk routinely from students, but not from alums. They never grow out of it. They hit Carlos Boozer's Mom with a thrown soda bottle. If you go to an away game at or meet alums/fans from the pre-2003 ACC schools, ask those folks about their stories about going to games at Maryland and visits by Maryland's fans. Every one of those stories will be true and not a set of alternative facts.

 

[sutomcat]

The B1G blows. And that's not just conference parasitism--they stink this year. Perhaps no marquee teams. That's part of the reason for Maryland's inflated record.

Agree. If anyone is wondering about how good the B1G is in basketball, remember that one of Maryland's two losses was in the B1G-ACC Challenge. They played the last place Pitt Panthers and were blown out. At home.

Northwestern is 6-2 in conference play, Penn State is 4-5, and perhaps most shocking, Rutgers won a game in conference play (when you lay with dogs, you get fleas).

If that awful conference gets more than 3 bids, it would be a travesty.

Pittsburgh vs. Maryland - Game Recap - November 29, 2016 - ESPN

 

[Townie72]

For an Old School perspective.

No one in the ACC wanted "Maryland" to leave the ACC. They were a founding member, after all. They did it strictly for money; the financial situation of the University as a whole still is woefully mismanaged, not just the athletic department. UVa fans particularly miss the opportunity to see a close-by away game for football and the other, non-Mbball non-revenue sports (Mbball is sold out).

What really ticked off a lot of (if not all) Maryland fans was how quickly the ACC brought in Louisville to replace them. It was 100% correctly interpreted as a "Careful the doorknob doesn't hit you in the a$$"-type response. They were hoping that the ACC would just drift around looking for a replacement while school after school would either turn us down or tell us, "We'll have to think about it." They were also not amused about how they were cut off from having Pitt replace Duke as a bball home-and-home and how the MLax tourney was moved to Philly in 2014, which would have been their turn to host it.

While everyone was sad to see "Maryland" leave. No one, let me repeat that in the strongest, most unambiguous terms possible, NO ONE in the ACC was sad to see the Maryland fans leave. They were the absolute worst fans in the conference. I have never heard UVa fans say that they were hit by thrown objects at any other place, but there were routine reports they were hit by something at Byrd Stadium (usually AA batteries). Cars were keyed in the parking lot. The abusive language was terrible. You expect that kind of talk routinely from students, but not from alums. They never grow out of it. They hit Carlos Boozer's Mom with a thrown soda bottle. If you go to an away game at or meet alums/fans from the pre-2003 ACC schools, ask those folks about their stories about going to games at Maryland and visits by Maryland's fans. Every one of those stories will be true and not a set of alternative facts.

Maryland fans do have that reputation. I have a good friend who worked at NBC Sports for many years. He said their crews hated broadcasting from Cole because of the behavior of the crowd. Hen called them the worst in the Nation by a wide margin.

The question I have is who in the Maryland crowd is doing this.
Orioles crowds --- which represent a broad cross section of Marylanders --- are well-behaved and generally positive. Same with the Ravens crowds when compared with the Eagles or Giants fans.

Redskins fans --- at least the minority who are sober --- aren't into picking fights with fans wearing opposing colors nor do they throw objects at the opposing players.

 

[Bayside44]

Maryland fans do have that reputation. I have a good friend who worked at NBC Sports for many years. He said their crews hated broadcasting from Cole because of the behavior of the crowd. Hen called them the worst in the Nation by a wide margin.

The question I have is who in the Maryland crowd is doing this.
Orioles crowds --- which represent a broad cross section of Marylanders --- are well-behaved and generally positive. Same with the Ravens crowds when compared with the Eagles or Giants fans.

Redskins fans --- at least the minority who are sober --- aren't into picking fights with fans wearing opposing colors nor do they throw objects at the opposing players.

Redskins fans are terrible and not one is sober.

I've heard some pretty ugly things at Os games back when in the pre-Nats days.