Really? I'd just slide Wisconsin over. It may not be technically correct, but it's almost North/South. If you want to be accurate call them NW and SE. I'm with you on 9 though.

10 games, wow. If you ever wanted to ensure ND never comes on board that's the way to go.

EDIT: Just checked it out on wiki, Nebraska is at 40º49' and Penn State is 40º47'. Newark Airport which is right next to the school is 40º41'. I have no idea why I looked that up and shared it but now I am perfectly content with Wisconsin sliding over and using the N-S names.



It makes so much sense I suggested it a long time ago. I see it as the only way that you could get ND in a division. I said the BE should have made a division of ND, Pitt, Army, Navy, Air Force, Syracuse, or something like that. You're only required to play your divisional opponents and you can schedule the entire other division, or none of them.

And it would have many other benefits for conferences adding members without history.

People suspect such a game when the B1G does anything, but even if this movement to 9 or 10 conference games is a work, the reason of "we want to play each other" holds a lot of water. We know that the B1G is sore over the B1G-PAC blunder, the ACC's giving into ND, and maybe some of their other expansionary endeavors, and while so many can be sore over UMD losing those games against the Dookies and Virginia, Penn State and Pitt, and Nebraska and essentially the entire Big 8, it's not like the B1G also didn't suffer. These guys used to play each other EVERY year...and now they don't.

This brings that back a bit. At least, if staying at 14, it goes back to post-PSU B11G.

Regardless, the more the B1G does this sort of thing, the harder it becomes to get Notre Dame, if that is even just a sliver of the endgame, expansion can only go two ways from here on out: east and Texas.

The ACC should pursue this. ACC could go to 16, provided they don't lose more schools. Notre Dame would only have to "up" their ACC fb scheduling by two schools.

Agree also with tute79, the ACC should cut/modify the zipper format.

ND's contract with NBC could be adjusted per the ACC. If 5 can be dealt with, so could 7.

The ACC could feel more secure and enhance the marketing of their product. But getting ND to give on anything and cooperate, would be unchartered waters. If ND really seeks to help keep the ACC's olympic sports strong and they plan to be there a long time, then commiting to two more conference fb games and be willing to face a CCG opponent should not be so much to ask. The ACC in failing to achieve this, shall make the conference more vulnerable. But ND sees it as too much to ask, given that all these big conference chiefs have given ND unique criteria to reach the pinnacle and not share a dime of it. This past season championship game, the PAC 12 champion could have gotten there instead, and the conference would have gotten another nice check to share among its members.

It's the same folks who ran the BCS that shall run the playoffs. And ND will still be held special like no one else.

Yeah you're right, they could even do it better. Something like:

ND, BC, Pitt, GT, Miami, UNC, Duke, Syracuse
WF, NCST, UVA, VT, Clemson, FlSt, Louisville, UConn

UNC/Duke is probably the NC pair they'd prefer. And it works out so the NC schools can still play each other in non division games that don't count towards the ACC championship. I don't know how the UVA/VT pair would feel about being separated from UNC and Duke though. Maybe you have to swap them for Louisville and UConn? Or FlSt and Clemson?

You could make it:

Former Big East - BC, UConn*, Syracuse, Pitt, VaTech, Louisville, Notre Dame, Miami

ACC - Virginia, UNC, NC State, Wake, Duke, Clemson, GT, FSU

If you prefer geography, switching Miami and Virginia would get you to a strict North-South.

Throw in Navy and Cincy....(it won't happen but still)

North - BC, UConn, Syracuse, Pitt, Navy, Cincy, Louisville, Notre Dame, Miami

South - Virginia, VPI, UNC, NC State, Wake, Duke, Clemson, GT, FSU

The only schools that HAVE to play every year would be FSU/Miami and the only school that ND has history with but not in the North is GT.

_________________
Fan of the Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference and...

The fact that 10 conference games is on the table really makes me think that Jim Delany is plotting for a massive future conference expansion. My theory is that 4 schools ( or perhaps even 20) will be added to the existing 14---Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke, and Virginia (with BC and Syracuse being the 2 potential additions). 10 conference games would allow for a zipper model of two 9 team divisions with each team playing 8 division games and 2 permanent crossovers:

Legends--(and their crossover rivals)
Iowa--(Neb, Minn)
Wisconsin--(Neb, Minn)
Indiana--(Purdue, NW)
Illinois--(Purdue, NW)
Michigan--(MSU, ND)
Ohio St--(MSU, ND)
Rutgers--(Penn St, Duke)
Virginia--(Maryland, Penn St)
North Carolina--(Duke, Maryland)

Leaders--(and their crossover rivals)
Nebraska--(Iowa, Wisconsin)
Minnesota--(Iowa, Wisconsin)
Northwestern--(Indiana, Illinois)
Purdue--(Indiana, Illinois)
Michigan St--(Michigan, Ohio St)
Notre Dame--(Michigan, Ohio St)
Penn St--(Rutgers, UVA)
Maryland--(UVA, UNC)
Duke--(UNC, Rutgers)

UMD's NDA with the B1G. Loh stretched the truth to his BoT.

Water under the bridge! With Big Ten money, Maryland will be able to balance the books and Maryland’s BOT will or should be happy.

It is unfortunate in today’s college sport world tradition does not pay the bills.

Yes, like many execs, Loh decided to strike quickly before too many cooks screwed up the pot. If leaked to the Sun and/or Post, there would have been public uproar, and the B1G would have likely backed away.

It may still cost him his job. Because he isn't an exec; because a publicly-funded institution of higher education who dabbles in amateur athletics isn't a business. Just sayin'.

Personally, I love the move...and for a situation like UMD and the ACC, it wasn't UMD who backed out on "tradition."

Moving to the B1G was best thing Maryland could have done. If B1G adds UNC and Virginia, it becomes a dream scenario for the Terps.

I think the UMD-UVA-UNC relationship is fractured and shelved for some time to come. I don't think UMD is really pulling for these guys, and the B1G wouldn't do this to UMD when it values them as much as they do.

The idea of a monetary grabbag soothing all involved is pleasant to the ear, but it's the principle of the suit, and what it seeks, that's so vindictive. 3-years ACC operating costs plus other expenses? The schools that really wanted to make UMD pay are likely some of the very same schools that come up as expansion candidates. It just doesn't make sense.

A "you pick two" of 'Cuse-BC-Pitt if it's ACC. Rice-Kansas-Missouri if it's midwest. Or maybe they finally pull it off: Navy and Notre Dame.

Agree, takes a heck of a lot of money to overcome bitter feelings, and vindictiveness shall last as long as all the key players are still around, maybe longer.

Mizzou isn't leaving the SEC. The Big Ten, once having a perfect opportunity, burned that bridge for a long time; and as long as Delany & many of those B1G Presidents are around, it will not be considered.

I think Missouri would come to the table if the B1G called. It's the academic rub that will do it. Plus, I think they are more of a midwest school than a southern one by a long country mile. Of course, Illinois has to stop blocking them. THAT will probably remain in play for some time.

With the speculation coming from everywhere, I'm surprised more people aren't pulling the sort of tricks like what happened some months back about Georgia Tech, saying they were "done deal" and forcing GT administration to say they weren't talking to the B1G. Since the B1G pulls these "secret meetings" garbage, finding out who's being talked to and who isn't is quite simple: start a rumor, and force the president to make a statement saying otherwise. Having a president go on the record is the kind of thing that will get them tossed from their positions if they are exposed. So...who's going to start asking the right questions?

GT and UVA are out. I'd work on flushing out FSU, UConn, BC, Kansas, and Pitt.