Wilbon on Maryland Leaving the ACC | Syracusefan.com

Wilbon on Maryland Leaving the ACC

TexanMark

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...1/michael-wilbon-on-maryland-and-the-big-ten/

My feelings: Maryland certainly has the right to leave but if they think they were an outlier in the ACC just wait. Cuse, BC and Pitt (to a lessor degree) all lose by not having Maryland there. However, we need to keep Maryland in a regular rotation for OOC games in FB and BB.


Interesting comment from a Barn01 under the article in the comments section:

When reading the pro-Big 10 comments under any story about the Terps leaving the ACC these days, it's worth noting that--via a Freedom of Information request--the Baltimore Sun recently revealed that the University of Maryland has been planting pro-Big 10 move/anti-ACC propaganda on the blogs in an effort to sway public opinion. Brian Ullman, the university's assistant vice president for marketing and communications, emailed Maryland's athletic director, president, chancellor, and several others that "Several of us placed comments on boards and media sites last night." According to the Baltimore Sun "Ullmann also wrote that the school planned to 'engage professional assistance in helping to drop positive messages into the blogs, comments and message board sites. I will arrange for this service today.'"

Maryland's fans, alumni, and students are overwhelmingly against the move to the Big 10. Overwhelmingly. But we had no say in it. It was done in secret and without any input from the Maryland fan base. Of course many fans "understand the move" that doesn't change the fact that we were opposed to it. So when you read comments on blogs from alleged MD "fans" who are so excited to leave the traditions of the ACC, when you read comments about how "The Big Ten is so academically superior to this collection of self-satisfied crap, it's not even funny" just keep in mind that MD's hired goons like Brian Ullmann plant baseless propaganda like this in the comment sections and to take it with a grain of salt.
 
Thanks for posting this. Its like when the Doctor came in and retired "44" .
Somethings should not change. (until I am dead and gone)
 
I've taken some heat, deservedly, for predicting Maryland would never leave the ACC.

I did that because I know pretty well some heavy-hitters in the Terrapin Club and I was listening to them. They scoffed at the idea. When the move was announced they were outraged. These are guys who hate Duke and UNC with a passion.

At last check these guys were still highly pissed even if they understand the financial hole the Athletic Department was in. They are angry because Maryland spent themselves into this hole. No one forced them to expand the stadium. They blame everyone over there from departed AD Debbie Yow (who they didn't like anyway) to he current AD and President, who in their opinion, have been lying/misrepresenting since the announcement was made.

The move was 100% about money and the Maryland mouthpieces tried to make it seem that the move was about everything but money. And these big donors don't like being treated as if they were stupid. They aren't .

The root cause of the trouble is in the Maryland law that prohibits using General Fund money to subsidize the Athletic Department. They have to be self-sustaining. This is different from Rutgers where the Athletic Department is ripping off the students --- most of whom don't care about RU athletics --- for $26Million a year.

I guess this is settled. Maryland can't go back to the ACC, I don't think. But there better be a lot of money from the B1G because lots of these big donors are sitting on their wallets right now.

When you are close to the Maryland financial supporters, you understand why SU doesn't have the same sort of group. These are guys who were probably the first member of their family to go to college. Maryland, as the state school, was what they could afford. They credit the place with having saved their lives.

As opposed to economically-distressed CNY, there has been a gigantic amount of money made in Maryland and DC over the last 50 years. And these Maryland guys in construction, real estate development, retail, and even law, have made a ton of money.

Lots of SU's alumni donations come from alums in the NYC area and these aren't the most athletically-minded. Maryland's support comes from 50 miles away or less. If you want to see UMCPs donor base go to Baltimore and look up at the offices on the top floors of the building that look out at the Inner Harbor.
 
I've taken some heat, deservedly, for predicting Maryland would never leave the ACC.

I did that because I know pretty well some heavy-hitters in the Terrapin Club and I was listening to them. They scoffed at the idea. When the move was announced they were outraged. These are guys who hate Duke and UNC with a passion.

At last check these guys were still highly pissed even if they understand the financial hole the Athletic Department was in. They are angry because Maryland spent themselves into this hole. No one forced them to expand the stadium. They blame everyone over there from departed AD Debbie Yow (who they didn't like anyway) to he current AD and President, who in their opinion, have been lying/misrepresenting since the announcement was made.

The move was 100% about money and the Maryland mouthpieces tried to make it seem that the move was about everything but money. And these big donors don't like being treated as if they were stupid. They aren't .

The root cause of the trouble is in the Maryland law that prohibits using General Fund money to subsidize the Athletic Department. They have to be self-sustaining. This is different from Rutgers where the Athletic Department is ripping off the students --- most of whom don't care about RU athletics --- for $26Million a year.

I guess this is settled. Maryland can't go back to the ACC, I don't think. But there better be a lot of money from the B1G because lots of these big donors are sitting on their wallets right now.

When you are close to the Maryland financial supporters, you understand why SU doesn't have the same sort of group. These are guys who were probably the first member of their family to go to college. Maryland, as the state school, was what they could afford. They credit the place with having saved their lives.

As opposed to economically-distressed CNY, there has been a gigantic amount of money made in Maryland and DC over the last 50 years. And these Maryland guys in construction, real estate development, retail, and even law, have made a ton of money.

Lots of SU's alumni donations come from alums in the NYC area and these aren't the most athletically-minded. Maryland's support comes from 50 miles away or less. If you want to see UMCPs donor base go to Baltimore and look up at the offices on the top floors of the building that look out at the Inner Harbor.

As a fellow MD resident who has ties to the MD AD, you are spot on. You get a lot of flack on this board, but I agree with you that most MD fans didn't think the BIG would ever happen. I am unaware about what their current state of mind is, so this is interesting to hear that for the most part they are sitting on their hands. I truly feel the effect will occur in 5-10 years when they will realize they can no longer compete truly in any revenue sport. They'll always have womens lax and FH titles...
 
jr4750;

I never understood the financial impact of the B1G Network. I still don't.

In Montgomery Cuunty on FIOS the B1G Network comes as part on the second level package. Do they really expect that having Maryland as part of the B1G Network is going to cause significant numbers of people to upgrade from the basic package? I have never watched a game on the B1G Network, I don't think. There's always a better game on than Purdue v, Penn State basketball.

It must be a real pot of gold for the B1G. How else would they justify adding that steaming pile of crap from New Brunswick? The ACC expanded twice and never gave them a sniff. Money from the cable companies has to be the only reason.
 
It makes you wonder if all the "insiders" and kooks on the WVU message boards were/are paid to spread misinformation to try to destabilize the ACC as well as praise the Big 12 move.

When it was first happening I dismissed it but with the new information coming out about UMD doing it I wouldn't put it past them.
 
...
My feelings: Maryland certainly has the right to leave but if they think they were an outlier in the ACC just wait. Cuse, BC and Pitt (to a lessor degree) all lose by not having Maryland there. However, we need to keep Maryland in a regular rotation for OOC games in FB and BB....
I don't see that SU loses by having Maryland bolt to the Big10 (and certainly not by having RU join them).
No basketball tradition at all between SU and either of those schools, and as you note we can add Maryland for occasional OOC games in FB, just as we do with NW or Minny or PSU. For BB, I would rather add back G-town in DC, StJohn's in MSG, and UConn.

On the flip side, I see why Maryland's fans are concerned about what they lose -- those big existing ACC rivalries in BB in nearby states. I don't like losing our traditional rivalries in BB, but at least we gain UNC and Duke, and keep Pitt and Louisville.
 
In the B1G, there is a single team that Maryland fans will be interested in playing; Penn State. And that is in football only. There's a long history of Penn State dominance over Maryland in football. The last time Maryland won was in the early 1960's.

If there are any schools that benefit from Maryland leaving the ACC it has to be Virginia and Virginia Tech. Both these schools have recruited the DC area well. Now they are in even better shape.

Maryland lacrosse has got to suffer. The ACC --- with the addition of SU and ND --- is now the undisputed center of the lacrosse universe. The ACC lacrosse tournament is as good as the NCAA tournament. In fact, it might be better given there are no weak sisters in ACC lacrosse.

As an SU fan in the DC area, I am very sorry to see them go.

But when I think about Maryland's future I am reminded of the saying about doing something for money only. "When you marry for money, you earn every cent of it."
 
I don't see that SU loses by having Maryland bolt to the Big10 (and certainly not by having RU join them).
No basketball tradition at all between SU and either of those schools, and as you note we can add Maryland for occasional OOC games in FB, just as we do with NW or Minny or PSU. For BB, I would rather add back G-town in DC, StJohn's in MSG, and UConn.

On the flip side, I see why Maryland's fans are concerned about what they lose -- those big existing ACC rivalries in BB in nearby states. I don't like losing our traditional rivalries in BB, but at least we gain UNC and Duke, and keep Pitt and Louisville.

The big thing SU loses by Maryland leaving is a regular presence in the metropolitan DC area. With the Maxwell School, SU had a lot of alumni in the DC area (part of the reason why we own the Verizon Center when we play Georgetown). UVA isn't really a local game to those who live and work around DC.
 
The big thing SU loses by Maryland leaving is a regular presence in the metropolitan DC area. With the Maxwell School, SU had a lot of alumni in the DC area (part of the reason why we own the Verizon Center when we play Georgetown). UVA isn't really a local game to those who live and work around DC.

That's true. But our playing UVA and VT regularly will keep us in the Washington media (TV and press).

And UVA isn't all that far away. It's less than a 2 hour drive that is relatively easy. VT, UNC, NCSU, Duke, and WF are about 4 hrs of about half as far as Syracuse is from DC.

And if the ACC BB tourney were to settle into the Verizon Center, we would have that.
 
To add fuel to Townie's superb posts.

The story is circulating that Yow appointed an advisory committee regarding the expansion of the stadium. Her hand-picked committee told her not to do it but she went ahead anyway.

I have RCN in MontCo. BTN is a premium channel I get in a package with ESPNU. On July 1st, all the Md cable providers will have to pay more for BTN because Md becomes a B1G state (the figure that keeps being thrown around is that the providers pay 10 cents per subscriber now and it goes up to a $1 per on 1 July). Comcast is the biggest provider in Md and has already told the B1G it will fight tooth and nail to keep BTN on its premium tier and not on basic tier (with the ESPN mother ship) as the B1G demands.
 
I think the biggest thing hurting Maryland is the current state of their teams. Our move to the ACC has been aided by two things: the relationships with former BE schools that already exist, and the recent success of our programs. It's a lot easier to generate interest, formulate rivalries, etc. when you're competing with and/or beating the traditional powers. If Maryland struggles in the B1G, it won't be a whole lot of fun, especially for the people who aren't counting the money.
 
No basketball tradition at all between SU and either of those schools, and as you note we can add Maryland for occasional OOC games in FB, just as we do with NW or Minny or PSU. For BB, I would rather add back G-town in DC, StJohn's in MSG, and UConn.
Agree with this, except for UConn. We gain nothing by playing them. Nothing. The only time we will (and should) play them is either in a early-season tournament (Maui, CvC, etc.) when they are the ACK participant, or in the NCAA's (which you know will happen, given the selection committee's sense of humor).
 
To add fuel to Townie's superb posts.

The story is circulating that Yow appointed an advisory committee regarding the expansion of the stadium. Her hand-picked committee told her not to do it but she went ahead anyway.

I have RCN in MontCo. BTN is a premium channel I get in a package with ESPNU. On July 1st, all the Md cable providers will have to pay more for BTN because Md becomes a B1G state (the figure that keeps being thrown around is that the providers pay 10 cents per subscriber now and it goes up to a $1 per on 1 July). Comcast is the biggest provider in Md and has already told the B1G it will fight tooth and nail to keep BTN on its premium tier and not on basic tier (with the ESPN mother ship) as the B1G demands.

That must be the B1G's rule.

I can see why the cable companies would balk. I can't see them eating the $1.00 per subscriber. They'd have to pass it through to the customer base.

There is increasing price-sensitivity on this service. Everytime my wife sees the FIOS bill she goes ballistic. It seems to creep up inexorably. It used to be under $100 and then $150 and $180 and now its north of $250. I don't know what it is about this particular expense that gets her. But it does.

If they increased our bill by $2 and explained that it was for the B1G network --- which we currently get and never watch --- she'd go through the roof. (The Nordstrom's bill, which I am never shown, is paid without comment.)
 
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As I said before...have fun playing in Iowa and Nebraska. Woo hoo!! That should be a dandy of a road trip for the UMD teams and the fans.
 
maryland jumped into a sinking boat from one that just stabilized -

the big is a dieing league based on population shifts - while the acc is growing-
the money made from the big compared to whats projected from the growing acc will turn out to be minimal when travel and loss of fan base are added in imho-

joisey state did what they had too because the aac sucks - and they were only offered because of tv sets not athletic department trophy's -

the big watered down its product when it should have made it stronger -
 
maryland jumped into a sinking boat from one that just stabilized -

the big is a dieing league based on population shifts - while the acc is growing-
the money made from the big compared to whats projected from the growing acc will turn out to be minimal when travel and loss of fan base are added in imho-

joisey state did what they had too because the aac sucks - and they were only offered because of tv sets not athletic department trophy's -

the big watered down its product when it should have made it stronger -

I think your point about "watering down the product" is right on and is a concept that is way under-appreciated by many on these message boards.

When the B1G added Nebraska it was obviously to add strength to the product.

When the ACC added SU and Pitt it added strength to the product (Consider the impact on SU and Pitt to ACC basketball this year)

Too many on here have a fixation on geography. Its as if on a Saturday afternoon fans chose the games they watch based on the geographic proximity of the teams. (Texas v. Oklahoma? Nahh. Too far away. Alabama v. Auburn? Forgetaboutit. I'll watch Navy v. Villanova. They are both closer")

Both ND and Rutgers add little. Except when RU was making news back in 1006 by suddenly becoming better than dreadful and were a curiosity.
 
It makes you wonder if all the "insiders" and kooks on the WVU message boards were/are paid to spread misinformation to try to destabilize the ACC as well as praise the Big 12 move.

When it was first happening I dismissed it but with the new information coming out about UMD doing it I wouldn't put it past them.

It's all to counter the imminent move of Oklahoma to the Big Ten.
 
I've taken some heat, deservedly, for predicting Maryland would never leave the ACC.

I did that because I know pretty well some heavy-hitters in the Terrapin Club and I was listening to them. They scoffed at the idea. When the move was announced they were outraged. These are guys who hate Duke and UNC with a passion.

At last check these guys were still highly pissed even if they understand the financial hole the Athletic Department was in. They are angry because Maryland spent themselves into this hole. No one forced them to expand the stadium. They blame everyone over there from departed AD Debbie Yow (who they didn't like anyway) to he current AD and President, who in their opinion, have been lying/misrepresenting since the announcement was made.

The move was 100% about money and the Maryland mouthpieces tried to make it seem that the move was about everything but money. And these big donors don't like being treated as if they were stupid. They aren't .

The root cause of the trouble is in the Maryland law that prohibits using General Fund money to subsidize the Athletic Department. They have to be self-sustaining. This is different from Rutgers where the Athletic Department is ripping off the students --- most of whom don't care about RU athletics --- for $26Million a year.

I guess this is settled. Maryland can't go back to the ACC, I don't think. But there better be a lot of money from the B1G because lots of these big donors are sitting on their wallets right now.

When you are close to the Maryland financial supporters, you understand why SU doesn't have the same sort of group. These are guys who were probably the first member of their family to go to college. Maryland, as the state school, was what they could afford. They credit the place with having saved their lives.

As opposed to economically-distressed CNY, there has been a gigantic amount of money made in Maryland and DC over the last 50 years. And these Maryland guys in construction, real estate development, retail, and even law, have made a ton of money.

Lots of SU's alumni donations come from alums in the NYC area and these aren't the most athletically-minded. Maryland's support comes from 50 miles away or less. If you want to see UMCPs donor base go to Baltimore and look up at the offices on the top floors of the building that look out at the Inner Harbor.


I have agreed with your position. I wonder how Maryland is going to come up with the $50M exit fee. And if they can't, then what happens? I still believe there is a small chance they remain, because the ACC is running out the clock on the lawsuit. Could the ACC get an injunction to prevent Maryland from playing any Big 10 games until the exit fee is paid?
 
It's all to counter the imminent move of Oklahoma to the Big Ten.


Oklahoma has to decide which is the more important rivalry - Nebraska or Texas.
 
Agree with this, except for UConn. We gain nothing by playing them. Nothing. The only time we will (and should) play them is either in a early-season tournament (Maui, CvC, etc.) when they are the ACK participant, or in the NCAA's (which you know will happen, given the selection committee's sense of humor).
Mostly agree. But I wouldn't mind a game against UConn in NYC on a regular basis. They are a quality non-conference opponent.
 
Mostly agree. But I wouldn't mind a game against UConn in NYC on a regular basis. They are a quality non-conference opponent.


Nope. If we play them, we give them a chance for a high profile win against a national opponent. After Louisville leaves the ACK next year, who is left for them to play? Memphis and Cincinnati, who are middling schools. In 5 years or so, UConn will become another Temple or UMass, which is exactly where we want them - out of the top 25 and out of the national picture.
 
Nope. If we play them, we give them a chance for a high profile win against a national opponent. After Louisville leaves the ACK next year, who is left for them to play? Memphis and Cincinnati, who are middling schools. In 5 years or so, UConn will become another Temple or UMass, which is exactly where we want them - out of the top 25 and out of the national picture.
yup
 

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