The real linchpin in this IMHO is the B1G. They have the $$ & Academics,
what are they going to do if the Pro College Football gets launched? The SEC/ESPN seems bent on making it happen, but will the B1G follow that path?
As far as my insight, I heard in 2003 when Virginia Tech was not included in the first ACC Expansion plans that I should not worry because eventually both Virginia Tech and Notre Dame would be fully included in the ACC. I heard that Notre Dame's administration very much wanted to join the ACC back then, but they needed to convince the big donors. Of course, with Bill and Alice Goodwin encouraging everyone, things changed dramatically for Tech's fortunes and the Notre Dame was slowly evolving, but Swofford made a monumental mistake. He gave ND a very easy path in 2020 to the ACC Championship and it backfired. The ND donors took in a big yawn with the regular season matchups except Clemson and said no way, never! Scheduling has been Swofford's biggest mistake as the Commissioner. He listened to FSU, Clemson and even Miami in the early days and he set up a walk in the park for one of them to make the BCS/playoff. In the meantime the SEC and B!G had way better matchups in the regular season. ESPN's talking heads made sure that both would get into the playoffs by saying they have losses because they are all so good. People bought it hook line and sinker. We screamed about it on this board, but no one cared, because we were drown out by the ESPN talking heads and we still are drowned out by them. Ultimately I think ESPN wants the ACC football first schools in the SEC and they hope that Fox grabs a few more from the ACC to set up the NFL model of two major broadcast networks televising Tier 1 college football.
All of that said, I think that ESPN underestimated Jim Phillips. The B1G should have grabbed him as the commissioner. Nothing against Kevin Warren, but he is an NFL guy. I could actually see him being the next NFL Commissioner. However, they didn't and Jim Phillips has already stopped the playoff expansion, stopped the ACC from falling apart and seems to have the no divisions coming to the P-5. Those are huge accomplishments in just a few months! So every time I think the Pro College Football is about to win, that guy pulls a rabbit out of his hat. If he wants the ACC to survive in the long run, he needs to do what Boeing and Amazon just did and move the headquarters to the DC area. The Carolina Crowd will hate him for it, but if he pulls that off, the ACC has a chance to survive as a Tier 1 program. Otherwise, I think the ACC schools will start seeing their successful coaches leave due to doubling or even tripling of their salary. I don't want this, but it is very possible that is where we are headed unfortunately. If that's the case, I want Virginia Tech and Virginia where they can thrive both academically and athletically, if that even exist in the future. What do you think?
Thread Replies (51)
If Swarbrick is right & we split to Pro College 🏈 & Academic College 🏈
-- Stech
May 15, 2022 at 08:17 PM ET
Stech
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05/15/22 08:17 PM ET
Honestly, I think both the Pro and Academic models will be a disaster for
-- wwhokie1
May 17, 2022 at 09:46 PM ET
wwhokie1
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05/17/22 09:46 PM ET
Academic/Academic.**
-- Femoyer Hokie
May 17, 2022 at 05:37 PM ET
Femoyer Hokie
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05/17/22 05:37 PM ET
I'd remind everyone that the current non-profit status that University and
-- anotherdamnyankeehokie
May 17, 2022 at 07:29 AM ET
anotherdamnyankeehokie
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05/17/22 07:29 AM ET
Lots of differences between the states.
-- EDGEMAN
May 17, 2022 at 12:26 PM ET
EDGEMAN
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05/17/22 12:26 PM ET
Thanks for the terrific and insightful post, please keep them coming!
-- Stech
May 16, 2022 at 08:22 PM ET
Stech
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05/16/22 08:22 PM ET
All depends on academic relationships
-- HokieAl
May 16, 2022 at 06:46 PM ET
HokieAl
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05/16/22 06:46 PM ET
Nothing athletic would have a thing to do with academic ties
-- Pylons
May 16, 2022 at 06:56 PM ET
Pylons
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05/16/22 06:56 PM ET
I assumed there were some academic benefits from being in the ACC
-- HokieAl
May 17, 2022 at 05:27 PM ET
HokieAl
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05/17/22 05:27 PM ET
Yeah, there really isn't any academic benefit to being in the ACC
-- Pylons
May 17, 2022 at 07:01 PM ET
Pylons
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05/17/22 07:01 PM ET
I think UVA would choose Academic.
-- HOO86
May 16, 2022 at 03:26 PM ET
HOO86
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05/16/22 03:26 PM ET
The real linchpin in this IMHO is the B1G. They have the $$ & Academics,
◄
-- Stech
May 16, 2022 at 08:56 PM ET
Stech
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05/16/22 08:56 PM ET
Agree. Not sure how much coaches’ salaries will go up in relation to
-- Femoyer Hokie
May 17, 2022 at 03:51 PM ET
Femoyer Hokie
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05/17/22 03:51 PM ET
Just did a quick search, funny you should mention Boeing, it is the ONLY
-- RTFC
May 17, 2022 at 12:19 PM ET
RTFC
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05/17/22 12:19 PM ET
the notion that you have to have HQ nearby to be influential is weird
-- Pylons
May 17, 2022 at 03:15 PM ET
Pylons
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05/17/22 03:15 PM ET
Influencers buying drinks and dinners for members of Congress and maybe
-- Femoyer Hokie
May 17, 2022 at 03:53 PM ET
Femoyer Hokie
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05/17/22 03:53 PM ET
Sure. But how often is some ACC exec doing that
-- Pylons
May 17, 2022 at 04:22 PM ET
Pylons
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05/17/22 04:22 PM ET
Just went I was beginning to think you could disagree without a put down,
-- Stech
May 17, 2022 at 01:47 PM ET
Stech
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05/17/22 01:47 PM ET
LOL you call me a name and you don't think it is personal, right see ya!**
-- Stech
May 17, 2022 at 08:19 PM ET
Stech
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05/17/22 08:19 PM ET
yeah, in a way, big time college athletics
-- Pylons
May 17, 2022 at 12:08 PM ET
Pylons
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05/17/22 12:08 PM ET
How we end up playing football is not going to amount to much
-- Pylons
May 17, 2022 at 09:52 AM ET
Pylons
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05/17/22 09:52 AM ET
Jim Phillips is an upgrade over Swofford.
-- Old Line Hokie
May 16, 2022 at 11:30 PM ET
Old Line Hokie
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05/16/22 11:30 PM ET
I think Tech and UVA make the same decision.
-- Old Line Hokie
May 16, 2022 at 04:00 PM ET
Old Line Hokie
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05/16/22 04:00 PM ET
There are some in the SEC that will want academic.
-- HOO86
May 16, 2022 at 07:37 PM ET
HOO86
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05/16/22 07:37 PM ET
Forgot to add what I want - I want "pro". My "connection" to VT is
-- 133193Hokie
May 16, 2022 at 01:32 PM ET
133193Hokie
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05/16/22 01:32 PM ET
I agree with this in total.
-- Maroon Baboon
May 17, 2022 at 02:36 AM ET
Maroon Baboon
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05/17/22 02:36 AM ET
You dont have a t-shirt with VT academic ranking on it ;-)**
-- 133193Hokie
May 17, 2022 at 10:04 AM ET
133193Hokie
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05/17/22 10:04 AM ET
I appreciate the honesty of both of you
-- Pylons
May 17, 2022 at 10:22 AM ET
Pylons
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05/17/22 10:22 AM ET
Agreed! I see WAY to many people that think it is an either/or question
-- 133193Hokie
May 17, 2022 at 01:45 PM ET
133193Hokie
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05/17/22 01:45 PM ET
I think people want to believe that there's a link there
-- Pylons
May 17, 2022 at 02:20 PM ET
Pylons
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05/17/22 02:20 PM ET
Depends on the "terms" of what "pro" and "academic" means and what
-- 133193Hokie
May 16, 2022 at 01:26 PM ET
133193Hokie
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05/16/22 01:26 PM ET
I think the Alliance will side with Athletic
-- Sunsetunderground
May 16, 2022 at 12:58 PM ET
Sunsetunderground
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05/16/22 12:58 PM ET
Meant to say Academic ha**
-- Sunsetunderground
May 16, 2022 at 04:32 PM ET
Sunsetunderground
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05/16/22 04:32 PM ET
academic and academic.
-- realityhokie
May 16, 2022 at 11:44 AM ET
realityhokie
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05/16/22 11:44 AM ET
The most sensical post. The haves will just have more.**
-- Old Line Hokie
May 16, 2022 at 07:21 PM ET
Old Line Hokie
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05/16/22 07:21 PM ET
Well, I'd need a definition for each, but knowing nothing else, I'd say
-- Pylons
May 16, 2022 at 10:12 AM ET
Pylons
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05/16/22 10:12 AM ET
I will also possibly die laughing if something called
-- Pylons
May 16, 2022 at 02:47 PM ET
Pylons
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05/16/22 02:47 PM ET
Will do? It depends on how big the semi-pro group becomes. I want academic
-- PaNDalum
May 16, 2022 at 07:56 AM ET
PaNDalum
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05/16/22 07:56 AM ET
What you posted is what most P-5 colleges will do...
-- Old Line Hokie
May 16, 2022 at 12:06 PM ET
Old Line Hokie
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05/16/22 12:06 PM ET
VT will go academic**
-- MrFantastic!
May 16, 2022 at 06:03 AM ET
MrFantastic!
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05/16/22 06:03 AM ET
Is that your answer for both questions? One is what the school will do, the
-- Stech
May 16, 2022 at 07:32 AM ET
Stech
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05/16/22 07:32 AM ET
What if SEC & B1G go no limits on scholarships & coaches, should VT follow?
-- Stech
May 16, 2022 at 08:18 AM ET
Stech
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05/16/22 08:18 AM ET