Well it's July 1st and that means a new ACC. So welcome to the new guys, Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame, or, if you prefer, Jim Boeheim, Jamie Dixon, and a special welcome to former Duke assistant Mike Brey. If we're not mistaken, he becomes the first former Duke assistant to ever coach at another ACC school, at least as a head coach. Duke of course has had two former State assistants or players as head coach: Vic Bubas and Bucky Waters.
Wait, scratch that: we forgot the Lefthander. Of course Lefty went to Duke. He was never an assistant at Duke, or anywhere in college, but he did coach Maryland back in the days when it was an ACC school.
Interesting to note, by the way, that Davidson hired both Driesell and Bob McKillop from high school jobs.
Anyway, it's a new day in the ACC. And while football still drives the train, basketball may be the better long-term bet for a few reasons.
First, football is about to have some serious legal issues centering around liability, and as they respond to that, they're going to continue to cut back the violent nature of the game, and that's what sells.
Second, the Ed O' Bannon suit may completely change intercollegiate athletics and having an 80-man roster for anything may prove to be insanely expensive.
And third, as John Swofford and others look to international expansion, basketball is firmly established overseas. American college football is a distinct second to the NFL, which is somewhat popular but remains primarily a North American thang.
As we have advocated several times recently, using the Web will allow a conference/entity to reach a global audience. Combine that with the passion for basketball worldwide, the much cheaper costs in terms of material and smaller rosters, and in the long run, hoops may be the big winner.
If so, the ACC is brilliantly positioned.
- ACC comes to NYC to welcome new members
- ACC's new look begins now with Notre Dame , Pitt , Syracuse
- Officially ACC: a Pitt and Syracuse football primer
- Hamilton : ACC keeping up the best it can
- SpectACCular! Pitt joins its new conference
- Dawn of a New Era: Orange Joins ACC
- Get to know Duke through the eyes of Greg Paulus (ACC Countdown)
- ACC Grows to 15 Members on July 1
- ACC chief ready to welcome incomers
- Notre Dame men's basketball : ACC challenge special for Adkins
- Realignment lesson: Don't get comfortable
- Mike Brey Headed To The Big Apple For ACC Welcoming Festivities
- Georgia Tech Celebrating ACC Expansion With One-Day TIcket Offer
- Notre Dame's move to ACC takes effect Monday
- Notre Dame men's basketball: The big shift: Hoops king in ACC
- Pitt becomes official ACC member with unprecedented stability
- Syracuse, perched on the precipice of ACC change, enjoys its best overall athletic season
- Get to know the ACC schools through the eyes of Central New York figures (ACC Countdown)
Syracuse Athletics ACC Profiles: