and therefore prone to regional shortsighted thinking.

Already a couple years gone from the ACC in 2023. Swofford with much brains at all knew his long tenure as ACC Commissioner was about on it's last legs in 2016 when he hatched that 2036 GOR with ESPN. Why would a man pushing 70 years old much care if the ACC survived another 20 years? Any person with a business background or acumen could have assumed in the quickly changing world of business those lengths with high dollar contracts is very unwise. That would on the surface make Swofford an obvious bad business man. A Failure. However in this world of throwing mother under the bus for the money. ESPN probably bought Swofford. He is a crook.

I think he dropped the ball with ND in COVID season. I don't think he has the killer mentality a leader needed. I don't think Greg Sankey would have allowed ND to play a conference schedule and for the conference championship if they weren't in the league 100%. He should have played that situation and forced ND hand to join full-time or simply turned them down on their request. That would have resulted in ESPN deal being renegotiated to a much bigger amount.

ND would not have agreed to abandon independence forever in exchange for a one year safe harbor.