the Miami/VT omission was not smart from a ratings perspective. However, if it was that hot and desired do you not believe ESPN would have insisted upon it? Maybe it had something to do with declines in the programs, it almost certainly turned on trying to give schools some of what they wanted and balancing everything while recognizing few, if any, would be able to get everything they wanted. As far as Phillips goes, you raise valid concerns and questions. However, your anger and dislike of Phillips may be more emotional than rooted in a full understanding of the factors driving decisions. You may be eventually proven correct that he made the bad hand worse, however, when a final post mortem of his tenure is done it could very well be that he just played the hand he was dealt, all factors considered, in the proper manner. In the end, the same might be said of the ACC, a mixed collection of publics and small privates, that has competed, quite ably, against larger, more well resourced conferences.