With the addition of the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University this past weekend, the Atlantic Coast Conference has taken an important step in assuring that it will continue to be a dominant conference in the NCAA.
In today’s environment of conference realignment, not to mention power plays for TV deals and athletic supremacy, it was imperative for the ACC to make a move. The decision was made with relative ease — the conference’s “4-4-4 committee” was established to discuss expansion just last year — and it should be praised, as this was precisely the action fans deserved and the conference needed.
The Orange and Panthers are ideal additions. They are steeped in both athletic and academic tradition and will bring excitement to ACC fans old and new.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford has said the conference is “comfortable” at 14 schools but did rule out the possibility of adding two more.
The ACC should continue to push and obtain more prestigious schools. With the fluidity of conference loyalty and schools jumping ship from weaker conferences, now is the time to expand and, in doing so, preserve the membership of current ACC schools.
The conference recently voted to increase the exit fees for departing schools to $20 million. The Big East Conference will charge Pitt and Syracuse only $5 million apiece for defecting to the ACC, showing the vulnerability of low exit fees.
The next two additions should be similar in academics and athletics as Syracuse and Pitt. If possible, the two schools should increase the conference’s competitiveness in football, especially since the Orange and Panthers are historically more successful on the hardwood.
While the conference should consider geography when making the next decision, they should not let it get in the way of getting a high-class institution.
With the Big XII Conference hemorrhaging members, the University of Texas has been mentioned as a possible addition to the ACC.
