THE ATLANTIC BLUEGRASS STATE CONFERENCE

ACC, just name the divisions FOOTBALL and BASKETBALL. FB: BC, Clem, FSU, GT, Mia, VT, UVA. BB: Duke, UNC, Wake, NCS, ND, Ville, Cuse, Pitt
— Spilly (@IAmSpilly) November 28, 2012

These things keep happening. I just want to thank someone for calling us a "Football" school.

THE BIG EAST REUNION TOUR

Really quick, because even I'm sick of conference stuff.

My thoughts and mild guarantees:

• With about 95 % certainty, UConn, based on geography, hoops and its academic ranking, is going to be the next team into the ACC. 
• A divisional realignment will absolutely happen, reuniting the 2003 version of Big East + Virginia. Sorry 'Hoos. Thus, basically, it's a playoff between the Old Big East and the Old ACC for a major bowl spot.
• I wouldn't be surprised to see a lifeline for hoops to keep old rivalries together and get the league 16. Probably Georgetown or Villanova (with the idea that 'Nova could go FBS if ND caved and joined a conference).

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN FOR ACC TO BUILD A HOCKEY CONFERENCE

Perhaps you heard - Notre Dame is joining the ACC almost completely in all of its sporting endeavors. 20 of the schools 22 programs will be making their way into the regular schedule for everything from basketball through Olympic sports like soccer, women's field hockey, baseball, softball, among others. I mean, it's no 31 programs like BC currently has, but you do what you can.

Last year around this time, the Irish were busy announcing another conference change - in Hockey. Left in no man's land by way of the Big Ten hockey deal and the banding together of the best squads in the CCHA and WCHA, Notre Dame found their way into HockeyEast. They will now share almost every sport with the Eagles as conference mates in all but football. Notre Dame is now the only other school with a hockey program in the ACC - but that means we are a third of the way there for an ACC hockey conference of our own.

Let's start with some of our other new conference members. Syracuse has long been prime to join the NCAA hockey ranks. They have a minor league team and facility in town and enough upstate talent to certainly justify both men's and women's clubs - just a little investment a la a legacy gift like Penn State got, and we're up to three. Tap on Pitt, too, who probably would do anything to get attention off of Sunseri and the Todd Graham fiasco - as well as a great relationship with a town that has become hockey crazed again thanks to the Penguins and a new arena.

What would it take to get two more schools to join in? I mean, those other schools would maybe have to give up investment in other programs to keep balance of scholarships in tact under Title IX, but how hard can that be? NC State and Maryland are right near towns with NHL franchises, NC State carries a varsity Rifle squad and the Terps could probably shelf another few programs (they did cut eight at the end of last year) to make it happen.

It's just all so easy. I don't see why it hasn't happened yet.

UPDATE: We only need two more, as reader Leather_D points out on Twitter. May as well start planning the 2014-15 schedule now.

BIG EAST CONTINUES CRAZY ASS RISK GAME OF SURVIVAL

Big East Football Timeline, for funsies and because I want my damn schedule already and I still blame them. One little asterisk (*) means it was the first season for a team. Two (**) means it was that school's last.

2003

BC

Miami** to ACC

VT** to ACC

West Virginia

Pitt

Syracuse

Rutgers

Temple

2004

BC** to ACC

West Virginia

Pitt

Syracuse

Rutgers

UConn* from Division IAA

Temple** booted into non-existence

2005-2011

West Virginia** to Big XII, in either 2012 or 2014, but probably 2012, but maybe NEVER

Pitt

Syracuse

Rutgers

UConn

USF

Louisville

Cincinnati

2012 (most likely scenario, at least today)

Pitt** to ACC, maybe for 2013, but maybe not until 2013 

Syracuse** to ACC, maybe for 2013, but maybe not until 2013

Rutgers

UConn

USF

Louisville

Cincinnati

Boise State* from MWC

Memphis* from C-USA

2013 (if Pitt and Cuse get out)

Rutgers

UConn

USF

Louisville

Cincinnati

Boise State

Memphis

San Diego State* from MWC in 2013
Central Florida* from C-USA in 2013
Houston* from C-USA in 2013
SMU* from C-USA in 2013

WAITING FOR THE SCHEDULE: THE BIG EAST HOLDS US IN SUSPENSE

Hoping for an ACC schedule sometime soon? Just chill, bro. It's going to be a bit, and part of that is because of the Big East holding West Virginia's divorce papers in limbo. Oh, sure, the Big 12 wants to release WVU's schedule for its inaugural season as early as next year. The Big East will fight the 'neers tooth and nail, though, about their plans to not fulfill the required 27-month limbo required.

As long as that is happening, clarity on the 2012 schedule landscape is far off. It affects more than the Big XII. With Florida State set for a non-conference match with West Virginia, the ACC is kind of one puzzle piece behind.

As we joked about the ACC press release announcing new divisions, the time table for Pitt and 'Cuse is so unknown that even the conference can't make any moves about it. The Big East is so determined to not let anyone else jump early and break their deadlines - even as it pressures its new recruits to join faster - that it is throwing the planning for the upcoming season into these delightful stalls and holds.

While we sit idly for the 2012 schedule, let's assume the Big East wins and gets to keep its lame duck schools through the waiting period (which would include the 2013*** football season). You want a scheduling nightmare? How about figuring out a conference slate for the following 13 team alignment:

• Cincinnati
• Connecticut
• Louisville
• Rutgers
• South Florida
• Syracuse* (ACC in 2014)
• Pitt* (ACC in 2014)
• West Virginia** (Big XII in 2014)
• Boise State (from MWC in 2013)
• San Diego State (from MWC in 2013)
• Central Florida (from C-USA in 2013)
• Houston (from C-USA in 2013)
• SMU (from C-USA in 2013)

*Trying to leave for 2013
**Wants to leave yesterday
***Navy joins in 2015, Air Force likely to follow suit

So, that's that. West Virginia very well may be given two schedules for the 2012 season. I think it should get to pick which one looks better on a weekly basis, determined six days in advance. "Kansas in week three followed by UConn in week four? Yes please!"

DESTINATION SYRACUSE: EVERY OTHER YEAR

Either BC lobbied hard or they drew the divisions for Pitt and Syracuse out of a hat and we lucked out, but looks like the Orange will be joining the Atlantic when they finally get released from the Big East in 2036.

Three other notes:

• That dream of getting rid of VT as our yearly crossover? Not going to happen.
• The ACC will be moving to nine conference games to make sure that it doesn't take a twelve year cycle to have home-and-homes with schools in the opposite division.
• Suspiciously absent from the official release: the year in which this schedule will begin.

Until then, see you in Sunny Syracuse in 2014...or 2015...or 2016. At least it'll be every other year after that.

ON (POTENTIALLY) GIVING UP THE YEARLY VIRGINIA TECH GAME

The sun sets over Lane Stadium during a 1999 Virginia Tech-Boston College game. (Simon Bruty/SI)

Some quick stats for you, courtesy of the College Football Data Warehouse: this Saturday's game in Blacksburg will mark the 20th meeting of BC and Virginia Tech and the ninth over the six years the two teams have both been members of the ACC. Yes, VaTech has a large advantage in the history (13 wins to six losses), but the series has also been the home of many BC great moments of the last decade.

The continued playing of Tech was designed when the original divisions of the ACC were set back during BC's exit from the Big East. When first establishing divisions, the ACC chose to go with a capsule that included all five teams from your team's group and then three schools from the opposite side of the table - but of those teams, one would be a yearly rivalry game. When scoping out those rivalries, they actually all worked out quite nicely: Florida State-Miami would be a guaranteed match every year, as would Georgia Tech-Clemson and Virginia-Maryland. The North Carolina schools were split between a public school rivalry of UNC-NC State and Wake Forest-Duke, nice and clean.

That left BC and VT - argued as a "Big East Reunion" rivalry. What needs to be taken into consideration is that BC and Tech had barely a blip of a relationship on the football field at this point. BC had won only one of the previous 10 games when this was announced - a late November game in Blacksburg in 2004 that was the team's necessary sixth win to get bowl eligible. All of the history between these two has been recent, and a little lucky given that there were a few great national games.

Here's something I've been thinking about this morning in light of this rivalry and the future of the expanded ACC that includes Syracuse and Pitt:

Last week, during a annual fall meetings for the conference, the ADs of the two Virginia schools noted that they would prefer to keep the current divisions when it comes time for the Orange and Panthers to join the league. Personally, this is a winning scenario overall for BC - if the ACC realigned to a North-South split, it would all but definitely take away yearly games on the schedule with Clemson and Florida State.

Where do Syracuse and Pitt, go, though? How do you split them up? For the longest time, I thought that it would be obvious: it is in the ACC's best interest to setup a yearly match between BC and Syracuse and reestablish an I-90 rivalry that the two had actually put together as an out-of-conference match for the next decade. Put Syracuse in the Atlantic, make things nice and clean and establish Pitt and Syracuse as football rivals for scheduling.

The more I think about it: the best solution is to put Pitt in the Atlantic and realign the Coastal-Crossover rivalry game to set up BC and Syracuse. While the Panthers have no more history with the Hokies than BC does (they also had never played Tech before Big East play in 1993), it is at least better suited in terms of geography and school profiles, while maintaining the same argument of Big East Reunion that justified BC and Virginia Tech as rivals in the first place.

Should BC push for this alignment? I know it's a positive for our football program to try and push the argument that would help our identity, schedule and place in the conference, and we're all a little pessimistic about that these days.

SO SUE US: NO TO UCONN IN ACC ABOUT MORE THAN LAWSUITS

Our good friends over at BC Interruption have a really important reminder for anyone who wants to argue that BC is blocking UConn's move to the ACC over some lawsuit from 2003:

As for the spin, even if there is a BC block on any move by UConn, again, it has little to do with hurt feelings and past litigation. It does, however, have everything to do with BC wanting exclusive conference rights over New England. And again, this is consistent with:
-- South Florida's desire to keep Central Florida out of the Big East-- The Texas Longhorns reportedly needing to be convinced to let TCU join the Big 12-- The supposed "gentlemen's agreement" between Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to keep Florida State, Georgia Tech and Clemson, respectively, out of the SEC.
-- The University of Kentucky being "not cool" with Louisville joining the SEC.
Again, this situation is no different. If there is a block, it doesn't have much to do with the lawsuit, so let's all stop spinning it as such. 

 I love mocking the lawsuit, but there are many many more reasons for BC to try and keep UConn out. Dig deeper, folks.

DOWNFALL: BIG EAST AS THIRD REICH

You need to understand, I love watching the Big East choke on its own arrogance and Downfall/Hitler parodies. So, you know, this is perfect:



Winning line: "Our championship game could be Baylor vs. Central Florida. Carried on the WB or PBS."

HOW TO: SCHEDULE A SUPERCONFERENCE

At Least the Logo is Easy to Fix This Time

Ah, conference expansion actually happening. This is fun - more fun than watching our football team, anyway. With the news that Pitt and Syracuse are officially on their way to the ACC (one of those schools ending an eight year dance, the other a new addition to strengthen the basketball even more), we can actually start talking practicalities.

I know the obvious conclusion here is to start shuffling the now 14-team league into two even divisions and start figuring out how you build an eight (or nine) game conference schedule into a 12 game season, while jockeying for a conference championship. Have fun with this one - I think it's just useless exercise; the inevitability of the "Superconference" of 16-teams is pretty clear at this point. It's also a heckuva lot more fun to consider.

2014 is the magic date. In addition to aligning quite nicely with the 27-month waiting period that Syracuse and Pitt will follow before bolting, it's also incredibly important to note that the 2014 regular season will be the first in which the BCS re-applies metrics to determine which conferences get the automatic bids. By that point, teams 15 and 16 will likely be identified, and the ACC will have to figure out how to handle the 12+ACCCG schedule.

The ACC has a chance to do something impressive with 16 teams, leaning on the NFL as a guide...but making a conference playoff, allowing non-conference flexibility and maintaining the value of the regular season while it is at it. The key is in a divisional model of four teams and capsuled schedules. Here's how it'd work:

North: BC, Pitt, Cuse, Maryland

Central: Virginia, Virginia Tech, UNC, Duke

Mideast: Wake, NC State, Team 15, Team 16

South: Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami

Now, how to build out the capsule:

• You play everyone in your division and every school from a second division. That's seven games, and in a three year capsule, that gives you every team in the conference. 
• Each team then adds an eighth conference game with either a primary or secondary rival - in the result you play your primary rivals division in the capsule, you pick up the secondary to fill in that slot. 
• Each team is allotted three OOC slots and one bye week to work into the schedule - the weekend after Thanksgiving (week 13) would be a non-conference game weekend specifically for things like Florida State-Florida; Clemson-USCe; Pitt-WVU; BC-UMass (<---that's going to happen, just deal with it).

Which leaves us with one game left to schedule...and the big idea...Week 12 (the second to last game of the season) would be reserved for a "Flex" opponent. Ultimately, this Showdown week is the first week of a two-leg ACC playoffs. The winners of each division would be ranked, and then matched up at home stadiums in a final four. In that ninth conference game, not only would the division winners be matched - so would every one else in their division with the respective-placed team, filling out every one's schedule. While the winners of the final four games would face each other in a neutral site location two weeks later, this would find a way to not add a week to the schedule to make it happen.

Let's map that out with a real life scenario:

In 2014, BC has USC at home, Army at Yankee Stadium, UNH at home and what had been a non-conference game with Syracuse. Labor Day weekend that year is exceptionally early, so the season wouldn't get going until the weekend after the holiday. With dates already determined for some of those games, we can start drawing stuff in, and I'll take the liberty of giving BC the bye date the week before Yankee Stadium. The pain of UNH over Thanksgiving is not intentional, just the fault of not having UMass in existence yet.

Week 1: 

Week 2: vs. USC

Week 3: 

Week 4: 

Week 5:

Week 6:

Week 7:

Week 8:

Week 9: BYE

Week 10: @ Army (Yankee Stadium)

Week 11:  

Week 12: SHOWDOWN WEEK

Week 13: vs. UNH

Week 14: ACCCG

We need to fill in games against division opponents, so let's try that:

Week 1: @ Syracuse

Week 2: vs. USC

Week 3: 

Week 4: 

Week 5:

Week 6:

Week 7:

Week 8: @ Pitt

Week 9: BYE

Week 10: @ Army (Yankee Stadium)

Week 11: vs. Maryland 

Week 12: SHOWDOWN WEEK

Week 13: vs. UNH

Week 14: ACCCG

Next, an alternating division, so let's try that - intentionally with a conflict on BC's primary rival, Virginia Tech.

Week 1: @ Syracuse

Week 2: vs. USC

Week 3: @ UVA

Week 4: vs. Duke

Week 5: 

Week 6: vs. UNC

Week 7: @ Virginia Tech

Week 8: @ Pitt

Week 9: BYE

Week 10: @ Army (Yankee Stadium)

Week 11: vs. Maryland 

Week 12: SHOWDOWN WEEK

Week 13: vs. UNH

Week 14: ACCCG

Finally, we need to slot the secondary rival into the situation. Let's go with Clemson, and a home game for the Eagles since they went two away-one home with the division.

Week 1: @ Syracuse

Week 2: vs. USC

Week 3: @ UVA

Week 4: vs. Duke

Week 5: vs. Clemson

Week 6: vs. UNC

Week 7: @ Virginia Tech

Week 8: @ Pitt

Week 9: BYE

Week 10: @ Army (Yankee Stadium)

Week 11: vs. Maryland 

Week 12: SHOWDOWN WEEK

Week 13: vs. UNH

Week 14: ACCCG

Let's say BC still sucks in 2014, and after ten games is looking at a 5-5 record, 4-4 in conference to finish third in the division ahead of Syracuse. Maryland, winning the division at 8-2, 7-1, gets the two seed and matches up with number three Florida State. The entire South Division would match up - so BC gets a field trip to Georgia Tech for its week 12 match. Rematches would be allowed in the Showdown week, so BC could have seen Clemson a second time that season. 

The ACCCG would pit the winner of the 2-3 (Maryland/Florida State) against the winner of the 1-4 (Virginia Tech/Wake Forest) in a neutral site in Week 14. 

This is all feasible, it really is - teams would either have six or seven home games (depending on Showdown Week), and smart ADs could easily plan out how to face that potential of hosting a game. I thought about putting a flex bye week/non-conference opponent in Week 11, giving operations an extra week to plan home games as needed. Could be a good solution for certain schools that have neighbors that hate them.

I'll make jokes about who teams 15 and 16 are, but until then, this model still works. Sure, you may have to invent some rivalries (although ensuring that team 15 always plays Florida State isn't a bad idea), but I think this is a pretty airtight solution.

HOOK 'EM: IN WHICH WE BEG AND PLEAD FOR TEXAS TO JOIN THE ACC

With the rumors and logic actually starting to fall into order, this whole Texas to the ACC thing isn't that crazy. It's really not. We wan't it to happen and we're not above groveling, so let's look at the why this makes sense:

Here's the short version of Chip Brown's Rivals piece:

Let's face it, the Big XII is screwed. It really is. Texas really has no need to hang around that car fire any longer, otherwise it'll be them and directional Texas schools (aka, Baylor). Texas won't make the first move - the Sooners, though, sure as hell will. Oklahoma goes west, along with Oklahoma State and the Pac-[number of teams] will find a way to complete itself.

This leaves Texas in the following situation: a giant among Kansas, Texas Tech, Mizzou, Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State. Mizzou isn't likely to hang around, and it still would be logical to see them go SEC. Texas has a short list of what it wants:

-Comparable campuses, academics, markets and history

-Some sort of modified revenue sharing so they make as much (or more) than they currently make

The SEC probably won't work due to the fact that Texas' counterparts in the division everywhere but football would be Vanderbilt and that's it - not to mention the addition of aTm is a small overkill of Texas Forever. So the options are B1G, Pac-12 and ACC. 

The BigTen has invested a ton into the BigTen Network, and similarly, the Pac-12 is headed that way for results. Neither would let Texas keep the Longhorn Network, so they would lose money in a deal because they would force them to share revenue evenly without the added local network.

But The ACC would let them keep Longhorn Network, so, even though there is the same revnue sharing, they can make up the difference and still pull in as much cash.

If this happens, the ACC immediately gets a jolt of excitement and football - along with creating an additional level of basketball. Texas is likely to bring Kansas to keep teams even until the ACC figures out 15 and 16 (Syracuse finally gets its ticket and probably Rutgers or Pitt). BC gets a chance to revenge that 47-inning game with Texas a few years back in the College World Series, and field trips to Austin become semi-regular.

Please make this happen.