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Lines are already being redrawn CHARLOTTE — Imagine an ACC with basketball divisions. Now imagine those divisions being called, oh, Northern and Southern, with seven schools in each.
Guess where the line is going to be drawn?
Right here in North Carolina. The geographic Big Four, the heart and soul of the ACC since 1953, could be among the things sacrificed by a bold new league of 14 or more members.
John Swofford, the commissioner of the ACC, spoke Wednesday during the league’s Operation Basketball. He said the addition of Syracuse and Pittsburgh would effectively begin in January when the league begins to discuss scheduling.
That doesn’t mean the two schools are joining next season. They’re still in the Big East right now, and the commissioner of that league said just this week that they will remain in the Big East for the next 2½ years.
Don’t count on that happening .
And even then, don’t assume that the ACC will automatically go to divisions or 18-game or 19-game basketball schedules or a five-day ACC basketball tournament. But all those things will be discussed beginning in January.
These are uncertain times for the ACC, but that’s not a bad thing. These are uncertain times for all leagues, and for most of them that’s certainly a bad thing. The ACC is dealing from a position of strength now. Swofford knows it, and the league’s basketball coaches know it.
“This is a good time for our conference,” Mike Krzyzewski said.
The Duke coach said he wouldn’t be opposed to divisions. In fact, he said it’s probably the right thing to do. He said it’s important to keep it simple.
“North and South,” he said.
And if that means breaking up the Big Four in some divisional way, then so be it. Even if it means breaking up Duke and North Carolina.
“As long as we still play twice a year,” Krzyzewski said.
In other words, just about everything’s on the table.
Swofford didn’t spend much time Wednesday talking about recent expansion. That’s in the past. He didn’t talk much about future expansion. That suddenly seems less likely than it seemed last month. Wednesday’s talking points were about 14 schools playing basketball and what that might mean.
Among the things it might mean is the end of the mythical regular-season “championship.” If basketball goes to divisions, that will end. That won’t bother as many people as you might expect. And it will bother some others.
Krzyzewski would have no problem with it.
“That’s not how we crown our champion any- way,” he said.
Roy Williams would.
“I always believed that what you did over 14 or 16 games was more important than what you did over a weekend,” the North Carolina coach said.
Williams said it would affect scheduling outside the league, forcing him to consider ending series with the likes of Kentucky and Texas and Arizona and Michigan State.
“Mike (Krzyzewski) always said the ACC should be a national league,” Williams said.
Krzyzewski said that might be one of the things sacrificed by divisions.
This is going to be interesting, and Swofford’s hint that it could all begin in January only makes it more interesting.
“It’s likely that we will go to an 18-game (conference) schedule when we go to 14 teams,” the commissioner said. “That’s highly likely. One of the things as a conference that you want to do as you get bigger is you want to play each other as much as is reasonable and possible.”
Swofford said finding the right balance will be the key, balance for the schools and the programs and the fans. That’s not going to go over well with everyone. It’s not going to go over well with some people outside North Carolina, and it’s not going to go over well with some people within the state’s borders.
The addition of Virginia Tech, Boston College and Miami brought all sorts of changes to the ACC, some good and some not so good. The addition of Pitt and Syracuse will bring more change.
Some good, some bad and some downright blasphemous.
Imagine a day when the ACC is broken in half for basketball. Now imagine State, Carolina and Duke in the Southern Division. And not Wake. Mix and match them anyway you want, but if the ACC is happy with 14 schools, and it is, and it starts to make plans for possible divisions within the league, and it is, you’re going to see the Big Four split up.
Change has come to the ACC. And we haven’t even gotten started yet.
Guess where the line is going to be drawn?
Right here in North Carolina. The geographic Big Four, the heart and soul of the ACC since 1953, could be among the things sacrificed by a bold new league of 14 or more members.
John Swofford, the commissioner of the ACC, spoke Wednesday during the league’s Operation Basketball. He said the addition of Syracuse and Pittsburgh would effectively begin in January when the league begins to discuss scheduling.
That doesn’t mean the two schools are joining next season. They’re still in the Big East right now, and the commissioner of that league said just this week that they will remain in the Big East for the next 2½ years.
Don’t count on that happening .
And even then, don’t assume that the ACC will automatically go to divisions or 18-game or 19-game basketball schedules or a five-day ACC basketball tournament. But all those things will be discussed beginning in January.
These are uncertain times for the ACC, but that’s not a bad thing. These are uncertain times for all leagues, and for most of them that’s certainly a bad thing. The ACC is dealing from a position of strength now. Swofford knows it, and the league’s basketball coaches know it.
“This is a good time for our conference,” Mike Krzyzewski said.
The Duke coach said he wouldn’t be opposed to divisions. In fact, he said it’s probably the right thing to do. He said it’s important to keep it simple.
“North and South,” he said.
And if that means breaking up the Big Four in some divisional way, then so be it. Even if it means breaking up Duke and North Carolina.
“As long as we still play twice a year,” Krzyzewski said.
In other words, just about everything’s on the table.
Swofford didn’t spend much time Wednesday talking about recent expansion. That’s in the past. He didn’t talk much about future expansion. That suddenly seems less likely than it seemed last month. Wednesday’s talking points were about 14 schools playing basketball and what that might mean.
Among the things it might mean is the end of the mythical regular-season “championship.” If basketball goes to divisions, that will end. That won’t bother as many people as you might expect. And it will bother some others.
Krzyzewski would have no problem with it.
“That’s not how we crown our champion any- way,” he said.
Roy Williams would.
“I always believed that what you did over 14 or 16 games was more important than what you did over a weekend,” the North Carolina coach said.
Williams said it would affect scheduling outside the league, forcing him to consider ending series with the likes of Kentucky and Texas and Arizona and Michigan State.
“Mike (Krzyzewski) always said the ACC should be a national league,” Williams said.
Krzyzewski said that might be one of the things sacrificed by divisions.
This is going to be interesting, and Swofford’s hint that it could all begin in January only makes it more interesting.
“It’s likely that we will go to an 18-game (conference) schedule when we go to 14 teams,” the commissioner said. “That’s highly likely. One of the things as a conference that you want to do as you get bigger is you want to play each other as much as is reasonable and possible.”
Swofford said finding the right balance will be the key, balance for the schools and the programs and the fans. That’s not going to go over well with everyone. It’s not going to go over well with some people outside North Carolina, and it’s not going to go over well with some people within the state’s borders.
The addition of Virginia Tech, Boston College and Miami brought all sorts of changes to the ACC, some good and some not so good. The addition of Pitt and Syracuse will bring more change.
Some good, some bad and some downright blasphemous.
Imagine a day when the ACC is broken in half for basketball. Now imagine State, Carolina and Duke in the Southern Division. And not Wake. Mix and match them anyway you want, but if the ACC is happy with 14 schools, and it is, and it starts to make plans for possible divisions within the league, and it is, you’re going to see the Big Four split up.
Change has come to the ACC. And we haven’t even gotten started yet.
