The ACC is having some meetings up in Boston. Interesting tidbits:
Because of scheduling agreement w/Notre Dame, ACC will only play 8-game conference schedule, sources told @espn
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) October 3, 2012
Cue outrage from Clemson and FSU fans over this decision, because, well at this point it seems that whatever the ACC does they feel they are being screwed by it. They complained about the ACC schedule and the non-con scheduling headaches. Then when they went to 9, it was about how they were losing money from not having the extra home game. So, I’m sure they will still find reason to complain.
Really this is great for members that have BCS-opponent rivalry games outside the conference. Clemson, GT, FSU all have to be thrilled. As should Pitt.
For Pitt, it does open the door to either having both WVU and PSU on the non-con. Or more likely setting up some sort of rotation with both. With ND popping on every 3 years or so. It definitely makes the Pitt-Penn State game more likely for an annual game. Penn State will need to schedule better now that the Big 10 has stuck with 8 games and dropped the annual game with the Pac-10.
I saw some suggestions that the Big 10 and ACC should consider a football crossover annually. Just like they do in basketball. Not a bad idea, but I just don’t see that happening any time soon.
For schools with in-conference rivalry games, it is a bit more of a headache. It means finding an additional game. The costs of that, and with the unknown of how much strength of schedule will matter in the future BCS playoff rankings may force scheduling home-and home games against good opponents for the non-con.
The other downside. It means only playing some teams in the conference once every six years, and once every twelve at home. You can forget really any chance of developing a good hate with Maryland if we see them less often than we will see Notre Dame. Syracuse is protected from the other division. That means Maryland, FSU and BC will be rare occurrences.
Regarding the Notre Dame situation. Unlike in the Big East, ND can’t try and force teams to play in a pro stadium or neutral site. Nor can they pick and choose the teams. It is rotating straight home-and-home. Here’s the ACC Commissioner on the matter.
Q: How will you allocate the five Notre Dame football games to your conference members?
A: It’s up to the ACC to do that. Notre Dame will accept whatever five games the ACC gives them on any given year. Conceptually what we intend to do is rotate through the entire membership — 14 schools for those five games. We do have some teams that currently have contracts with Notre Dame and we need to take a look at that. We would like to accomplish this without disrupting those particular games that are currently under contract. But once we reach a clean point the idea is to rotate the games through the membership. So that every school knows they will get Notre Dame once every three years either in their home stadium or at Notre Dame.
That does sound like present contracts with ND-Pitt and other ACC schools get to be honored. So that’s nice.
As for the basketball side of thing. The addition of a 15th team changes the structure of the schedule a little. Rather than one “protected” home-and-home, there will be two. Pitt already had Maryland for twice a year. Syracuse now becomes the second one.
The ACC will continue to play an 18-game conference schedule with the addition of Notre Dame. The scheduling model will be based on a two-partner format.
Each year, teams will play every league opponent at least once with the two partners playing home and away annually. In addition to the four annual games against partners, the remaining 14 conference games will feature home and away games with two rotating opponents and five home-only games and five road-only games.
The two-primary-partner format preserves competitive balance and builds upon traditional rivalries while providing the opportunity to create new ones.
Boston College – Notre Dame and Syracuse
Clemson – Florida State and Georgia Tech
Duke – North Carolina and Wake Forest
Florida State – Clemson and Miami
Georgia Tech – Clemson and Notre Dame
Maryland – Pitt and Virginia
Miami – Florida State and Virginia Tech
North Carolina – Duke and NC State
NC State – North Carolina and Wake Forest
Notre Dame – Boston College and Georgia Tech
Pitt – Maryland and Syracuse
Syracuse – Boston College and Pitt
Virginia – Maryland and Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech – Miami and Virginia
Wake Forest – Duke and NC StateFollowing the regular season, the ACC Tournament format will continue to feature all league members. The Tournament will begin with three games on Wednesday, followed by four games on Thursday and Friday, two semifinals on Saturday and the championship game on Sunday. The top four seeds will continue to receive byes into Friday’s quarterfinal round.
In the annual ACC/B1G Challenge, the decision was made to include the 12 teams with the best RPI from the previous year.
Mildly surprised Pitt wasn’t handed ND in basketball because of geography. But I really do love having Cuse twice a year.
Would much rather play another ACC team than any of those teams.
Do like Maryland twice and Syracuse twice now.
Wish the football crossover would have been MD.
As much as I’m all for never playing WVU again and leaving them on an island, if it comes down to WVU or Savannah State, I’ll take WVU.
Every year we get a big rivalry game- be it home or away.
though i like playing more conference games in conference, it creates an unbalanced schedule from year to year. 4 home, 5 away. next year 5 home, 4 away. tough for home and away ooc.
and i would prefer the ooc games played against similar types of teams. i’d rather lose to tennessee than ysu.
also agree with the cuse as our other bb crossover.
and welcome iron duke.
keep calm
hail to pitt
jaime and ben won’t schedule a regular season game.
keep calm
hail to pitt
I have been to games at Fla. St. and Clemson and if we only play them once every 6 years that will be a trip every 12. It is a treat to go to games at those locations and will be missing that.I would much prefer once every 3 years.
pa the hell with them.
You have that, you’re locked in to playing at least 9 BCS teams, obviously. Hopefully you get WVU and PSU, or if only one of them, then another BCS team from another conference, and a cupcake.
Now, eight games, you have four spots. Even if PSU and WVU would work out, you have two other spots that will be cupcakes.
What if PSU or WVU doesn’t work out, maybe just one, then you have three open games, who do you think we’ll get???
I don’t like it, don’t like it at all.
And the Notre Dame chipping begins. We can start to keep track.
The first scent of a non-football Notre Dame has appeared. Catching a small scent of the BE.
Hope it doesn’t become a full blown stench.
That is all conjecture at best.
Actually, the merry go round had seemed to be coming to a stop, and with the extra money each acc school got, it’s my personal opinion, that neither of those schools, or any other were going anywhere.
My personal opinion, was that ND was never going anywhere but the ACC ever. They were never going to the Big 12, and the Big 10 would have made them just another mid western school.
We’ve had these arguments ad nauseum I know, but, so it starts.
PSU
WVU
1BCS Team
1 cupcake
8 ACC games, hat’s off to him, I will love it too.
If it ends up
PSU OR WVU
1 BCS and 2 cupcakes or 3 cupcakes
8 ACC games
it’s a loser.
Only time will tell, hopefully Jamie isn’t scheduling the OOC football games!!!
I love Jamie, a spade’s a spade.
PSU or WVU
1 BCS game
1 MAC or CUSA
1 FCS
8 ACC games
That way Pitt can make sure that they have 7 home games each year. If they go with an annual rivalry of both WVU and PSU they wouldn’t be able to do that.
ND years will be:
8 ACC games
1 ND game
1 FCS game
1 Mid Major game
1 Major conference team
Non-ND years
8 ACC
1 FCS
1 Low level along the lines of at FIU (how exactly is that a scheduled game by the way?)
1 Mid Major
1 Major Conference team
I was hoping with the 9 conf game schedule, it might make it easier, to not have to schedule cup cakes, on the “5” year, you allready have 5 home games. On a “4” home year, maybe you could line it up to have your other BCS games be home that year.
A lot of work of course, but, this is the business they’ve chosen!!! LOL
When you start scheduling 2 or 3………….
