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Message: [QUOTE="CarolinaCuse, post: 16876, member: 510"] I'm kind of indifferent about which two more teams the ACC should add to get to 16. The reality of the 16-team megaconferences is that there will be some decent universities/teams that spend most of their existance in the middle to bottom of conference standings. A few things I think about: [LIST] [*]As SU is a private instititution with higher academic standards, my preference would be to keep the academic and recruiting playing field as level as possible. The ACC is (without a doubt) the best academic match for SU (in comparison to Big East hybrid and Big Ten). Four private institutions in ACC with Duke, Miami, SU, and Wake helps keep SU's type of academic structure well represented. [*]Additionally, I like the idea of an east coast conference akin to the Pac-12. When you think of the top athletic conference on the west coast, it stops at the Pac-12... enough said. ACC could be that for the east coast (except with a much larger population). [*]I like that the ACC footprint is where many of our alumni are located - up and down the east coast (including some fantastic places to visit/road trip for games). Big Ten? SU's recruiting territory (not just for student-athletes but for students in general) would likely have to change. Hybrid Big East? Forget about it. That model was [U]never[/U] going to work in the long-term (as a mish-mash of schools representing various academic models, levels, geographies, etc.). [/LIST] Personally, I think UConn and Rutgers are probably the best (realistic) fit if the ACC expands to 16. Sure, there is ND, Texas, Penn State, Kansas, etc. IMO, only Notre Dame (as an all-sports member) would be a value-added option. I'm a little more hesitant about UConn in the sense that it overlaps with BC a bit (in terms of territory - recruiting and market). Rutgers... meh, I'm not thrilled about them but they bring geography and can play the role of the perenial bottom-feeder in the league. :) WVU would be ok as another option. It brings a solid athletic reputation but weakens the academic profile of the conference (I personally think they will end up in SEC - much better fit). Who knows... [/QUOTE]

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