AJ: Time To End ACC Divisions
*************************************************************************************
And Remember, for just $8.33 a month, YOU CAN BE AN INSIDER, TOO!!!
*************************************************************************************
ACC football must change.
It needs enhancing in a whole host of areas, notably performance on the field.
There was short snippet in time about a decade ago when one could have argued it was the best conference for a couple of seasons. It certainly had a really nice flare-up, but things have settled down and then some since.
Clemson kept the league propped up until its slide last fall, but at least the Tigers’ excellence was something the league could boast about. But their dominance has somewhat become boring, and the lack of mystery in the conference and noteworthy games has sapped interest, which has been reflected at the gates and with decreasing television viewership.
So, with the biggest news out of the league’s meetings this week in Amelia Island, FL, focused on scrapping division play for a 3-3-5 scheduling format, the conference appears on track in rectifying the most fixable issue, which is at least a start.
Aside from the COVID year in 2020, which forced league matchups that don’t often occur, scheduling has become blasé, and it needs to change.
It’s not like Louisville visiting Georgia Tech is going to fill Bobby Dodd Stadium or get a 3,0 TV rating, but the league needs more diversity in its conference scheduling. It will add a little bit of energy to ACC football, if nothing else because it will be less stale.
Think about it: UNC has played Clemson once since 2015 and just six times since 2003. Before that, the schools met for 47 consecutive years. They should play more, and everyone should have the Tigers on their slates on a fairly regular basis, not just Atlantic Division teams.
Carolina has played Wake Forest six times since 2007, but two of those games were non-ACC affairs scheduled by the schools since they rarely play, and one was forced because of rescheduling due to the COVID year.
Louisville joined the ACC in 2014, and has faced UNC once since, and not at all in Kentucky. Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013 and has taken on the Tar Heels just once aside from the COVID year.
Boston College started playing ACC football in 2005 and has competed versus Carolina just twice since 2009. Florida State made its first visit to Chapel Hill last fall since 2009.
In some cases, these schools won’t move the needle a ton, but could some, and simply add a bit more variety to each fall. That’s a good thing.
Furthermore, getting rid of the divisions means the top two teams in the conference are likely to meet for the league championship game each December, which will drive up interest in the game, reflected by increased ticket sales and TV numbers. ALL of that is good for a conference that has a ton of work to do.
Now, if each club is guaranteed three annual opponents, the natural assumption is that UNC would face Duke, NC State, and Virginia each season. But that likely would generate some pushback around the conference because none have consistently been supremely relevant in conference play.
Since State last won the ACC title in 1979, UVA has shared two ACC championships, with Duke in 1989 and FSU in 1995, and the Duke co-crown in ’89 was its only time at the top. Otherwise, that trio has done very little aside from occasional upticks and a solid run by UVA from the mid-1980s through the 90s under George Welsh, but it still didn’t outright win a conference title, and has done very little this century.
Scrapping the divisions and changing the schedule assuring each ACC team of hosting the other 13 football-playing members at least once every four years won’t solve the league’s issues, but it would be a step in the right direction.