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Message: [QUOTE="Lou_C, post: 686396, member: 3201"] Yeah, that Louisville over UConn thing was way down the line as far as that stuff goes. If you want to know why FSU and Clemson were looking (in as much as they were looking) the biggest impetus would probably be around this: The Big 12 loses two more teams, is on the brink of destruction. They add a MWC team and a Big East team that nobody but nobody had wanted, to form the conference with by far the smallest footprint. And that conference promptly gets a TV deal guaranteeing it's teams >50% of what the ACC was getting. And then signs a deal for the lucrative Champions Bowl, while the ACC is left with a total question mark with the Orange Bowl. The idea that the barely alive Big 12 would have that kind of contract, while the ACC had their contract, looked like a severe, significant lack of foresight and effectiveness by the leadership of the ACC, and seriously called into question the ACC's ability to keep from being permanently outdistanced. There are a million other points of contention that had verious levels of effect, but that was the "we're taking calls" moment. I have serious doubts whether the Big 12 was ever an option for FSU, but I'm pretty sure had the SEC called, that FSU was gone. Have no real clue on Clemson. Now, where the ACC stands today is a far cry different than it was 18 months ago. I do think Swofford is over-credited for the position the ACC is now in compared to the other conferences. The ACC still has some very serious concerns, financial and otherwise, and they cannot let up. It is guaranteed neither safe nor competititve long term. However, what this conference did to go from where it was 18 month ago with a $13M contract, a dead bowl game, etc to where it is today? With absolutely nothing to bargain with, no leverage? For that, Swofford accomplished way more than I ever thought was possible. My hope is, and it is bearing out, is that Swofford and the ACC leadership are now asserting themselves in the way they did over the last 18 months in everything they do going forward. No more "time to lay back, slap backs, be the Southern gentlemen who actually think playing second fiddle to the SEC is a mark of refinement and when is tip-0ff?". If the ACC goes back to "business as usual" they've only prolonged the inevitable by another 10-15 years. If they act like the sharks they've shown they are, then the future can be bright. [/QUOTE]

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