Hokies were 'strongest candidate' for SEC expansion in 2012

[jostar1]

How serious a candidate was Virginia Tech to join the SEC? According to one expert, they were the conference’s top choice.

In 2012, the ACC's new television deal prompted discussion as to whether ACC schools would leave for other conferences. Maryland bolted for the greener pastures of the Big Ten and Florida State openly considered a move to the Big 12. Among all the talk surrounding conference realignment, one rumor steadily gained traction: that Virginia Tech was a target for the SEC.

While Virginia Tech did not switch conferences, the possibility that they could have was a lot more serious than you may have thought.

In an interview with Greg Burton on his radio show Hardly Workin’ on ESPN950, Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network discussed how serious a candidate the Hokies were to join the football-crazy conference.

“Virginia Tech I think was probably the strongest candidate,” said Finebaum.

http://www.csnwashington.com/blog/v...s-were-strongest-candidate-sec-expansion-2012

 

[whaler11]

You left 'I think' and 'probably' out
of the title. And.... Texas A&M Pawllllll?

 

[pj]

Their TV partner probably compelled them to raid the B12 for #14 to pair with A&M rather than poach their prized league. SEC won't raid the ACC until it falls apart or ESPN doesn't care any more.

 

[Kolumbo]

Their TV partner probably compelled them to raid the B12 for #14 to pair with A&M rather than poach their prized league. SEC won't raid the ACC until it falls apart or ESPN doesn't care any more.

How about a scenario where ECU continues to improve consistently being in the top 2 in NC. ECU gets a look from the SEC and NC State starts thinking, hold on a minute there chief.

 

[ramses 2.0]

How about a scenario where ECU continues to improve consistently being in the top 2 in NC. ECU gets a look from the SEC and NC State starts thinking, hold on a minute there chief.

The SEC has no interest in ECU. ECU has always had a decent program but they just don't have strong enough following to improve the SEC finances.

 

[Adios]

The SEC has no interest in ECU. ECU has always had a decent program but they just don't have strong enough following to improve the SEC finances.

So the ACC will eventually become Syracuse, BC, Temple, ECU, Temple, Wake Forest, etc? Cool.

 

[billybud]

Oh gawd...splutter. There goes my coffee.

Finebaum! LOL....only someone not familiar with this guy would call him an expert. He is widely ridiculed throughout the south where his radio shows for years have been sort of a side show act with a little of the Dude of WVU thrown in.

 

[Kolumbo]

Their TV partner probably compelled them to raid the B12 for #14 to pair with A&M rather than poach their prized league. SEC won't raid the ACC until it falls apart or ESPN doesn't care any more.

How about a scenario where ECU continues to improve consistently being in the top 2 in NC. ECU gets a look from the SEC and NC State starts thinking, hold on a minute there chief.

The SEC has no interest in ECU. ECU has always had a decent program but they just don't have strong enough following to improve the SEC finances.

I understand that, but I have faith in change. With good reason, being a UCONN fan.

 

[ramses 2.0]

Based TE="Butch, post: 1061498, member: 590"]So the ACC will eventually become Syracuse, BC, Temple, ECU, Temple, Wake Forest, etc? Cool.[/QUOTE]
If ECU provided any value the Big East would have snatched them up long before they started to fall apart

 

[Fishy]

Given that the SEC giggled at Florida State's bowing and scraping, you imagine they have no use for schools inside the footprint - Georgia Tech, Clemson, etc. And then throw out the flotsam and jetsam like Duke, Wake, NC State, etc.

So really, you're left with VT, UVa and UNC.

My guess is that the SEC would dearly love UNC, but if you're thinking football, Virginia Tech is not a stretch.

And nobody, but nobody cares about ECU. I think every fan they have shows up for every game, but past their parking lot, no one cares.

 

[Dooley]

VT would have done some good things for the SEC: provide football strength (as if that was needed) while also bringing markets to the SECN. That said, this is just one ESPiN fool stating his opinion no differently than Scott Gray offers about UCONN and the B1G.

 

[Kolumbo]

My post about ECU was really to entice NC State to consider leaving. But I am also considering that fact that NC is a valuable piece of property and if ECU is consistently better than Wake, Duke, and UNC or NC State, then the ACC deserves to implode around NC.

 

[Kolumbo]

Based TE="Butch, post: 1061498, member: 590"]So the ACC will eventually become Syracuse, BC, Temple, ECU, Temple, Wake Forest, etc? Cool.

[QUOTE="If ECU provided any value the Big East would have snatched them up long before they started to fall apart[/QUOTE]
Why would you say that? The Big East snatched up Depaul, so the BE clearly was not calling all the right shots.

 

[ramses 2.0]

Why would you say that? The Big East snatched up Depaul, so the BE clearly was not calling all the right shots.[/QUOTE]
ECU has a limited regional following similar to Louisville but on a much smaller scale

 

[specialisthusky]

This is like the 10th thread ramses 2.0 has ruined due to his inability to figure out how to quote properly. I let the first 9 go while silently, but enough.


Reply Function 101:

Click Reply. Wait to type. Click under ALL the text when text you intend on quoting appears. Type your ACC angled responses and click Post Reply.

 

[ramses 2.0]

This is like the 10th thread ramses 2.0 has ruined due to his inability to figure out how to quote properly. I let the first 9 go while silently, but enough.


Reply Function 101:

Click Reply. Wait to type. Click under ALL the text when text you intend on quoting appears. Type your ACC angled responses and click Post Reply.

Thank you, but it's my crazy phone that's the culprit

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Given that the SEC giggled at Florida State's bowing and scraping, you imagine they have no use for schools inside the footprint - Georgia Tech, Clemson, etc. And then throw out the flotsam and jetsam like Duke, Wake, NC State, etc.

So really, you're left with VT, UVa and UNC.

My guess is that the SEC would dearly love UNC, but if you're thinking football, Virginia Tech is not a stretch.

And nobody, but nobody cares about ECU. I think every fan they have shows up for every game, but past their parking lot, no one cares.

If the SEC had to take Duke along with UNC, they would. It adds one of the top brands in Basketball and gives the SEC a boost on the academic side for image purposes and a team that could be competitive (not successful) in football with the right staff and facilities. NC State is a large state school in a very good TV market for the SEC that actually might prosper out from under Chapel Hill's shadow if allowed. if UNC went to the B1G, the SEC would be smart to grab NC State, after all, who else is there to gab in NC - Wake (not a chance), ECU (sorry), UNC Charlotte (will not be ready in the next 20 years plus S Carolina and Clemson have pull there)?

 

[UConn9604]

I've always seen Va. Tech and N.C. State as the SEC's next and best move. For TV purposes, it would seem that Virginia is equal to Virginia Tech, and that N.C. State is equal to UNC, as each school would allow the SEC to tap into a new market (Virginia and North Carolina). Of those four teams, Tech is obviously the most qualified to play in the SEC in football, too.

Plus, I can't tell if that would have any impact on the ACC's TV deal, either. They may lose some total dollars (maybe) but they're still in all of the same markets, particularly in North Carolina -- also, the respective schools' shares of TV money would go up (as the league shrunk from 14 to 12) and they could still have a championship game. This move would not be fatal to the ACC, not at all.

This move would also coincide with the "everything in conference realignment must screw UConn" theme, too. The SEC would grow to 16, the ACC would shrink to 12, and neither league would need or want to expand any further.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Without properties in Virginia and North Carolina, the SEC is only the partial SEC. When Slive pulls the trigger on some combination of UNC, NC State, UVA, VaTech is anybody's guess but the conference is surely evaluating those 4 as potential members right now. The SEC and B1G wolves are beginning to salivate. The ACC's days as a "player" are numbered. Where's my pal billybud? I'm wondering how he thinks FSU will fare in the B12.

 

[Kolumbo]

One thing is certain. When there is further realignment, whether by calling up G5 or poaching of P5, UCONN will be in the mix. Eventually. Greed is good. Thanks to the greedy geckos running the show, there will be further moves.

 

[pj]

Without properties in Virginia and North Carolina, the SEC is only the partial SEC. When Slive pulls the trigger on some combination of UNC, NC State, UVA, VaTech is anybody's guess but the conference is surely evaluating those 4 as potential members right now. The SEC and B1G wolves are beginning to salivate. The ACC's days as a "player" are numbered. Where's my pal billybud? I'm wondering how he thinks FSU will fare in the B12.

It's possible that at some point ESPN will broker this. If they're serious about making an ACC network, the ACC doesn't need 4 schools in North Carolina, and it's not clear they need 2 schools in Virginia. The SEC doesn't need two schools in Tennessee. If the SEC took NC State, Duke, and Va Tech while passing Vandy to the ACC, all on ESPN's dime, both leagues might be better off. (Possibly Auburn and Mississippi State could go ACC too, again relieving duplication, and expanding an SEC-ACC rivalry to most of the southeast.) SEC would be at 16 and cover the southeast entirely, while the ACC would have an enlarged footprint, helpful for an ACCN. Reduced to 12, the ACC could more easily expand with UConn, Cincy, or Big 12 schools, taking properties away from Fox.

I don't think the SEC can expand to Virginia or NC without ESPN's approval. That requires either a threat from the B1G or the expiration of the ACC TV contract.

Functionally equivalent to this rearrangement would be to merge the SEC and ACC into a super-conference, re-arranging teams into 4 divisions. This would help take care of the financial issues.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

And nobody, but nobody cares about ECU. I think every fan they have shows up for every game, but past their parking lot, no one cares.

Bingo. The biggest "major" city to Greenville is Raleigh, and if you drive around there, you wouldn't know ECU existed. No one with bumper stickers, no merch in the airports/malls/markets, no billboards, nothing. At best, they're number four in the Raleigh market, which already isn't that big. Greenville is in a very population-sparse section of the state with no TV markets, and basically nothing. There's a reason they were passed over by the Big East so many times.

 

[Calamitous]

How serious a candidate was Virginia Tech to join the SEC? According to one expert, they were the conference’s top choice.

In 2012, the ACC's new television deal prompted discussion as to whether ACC schools would leave for other conferences. Maryland bolted for the greener pastures of the Big Ten and Florida State openly considered a move to the Big 12. Among all the talk surrounding conference realignment, one rumor steadily gained traction: that Virginia Tech was a target for the SEC.

While Virginia Tech did not switch conferences, the possibility that they could have was a lot more serious than you may have thought.

In an interview with Greg Burton on his radio show Hardly Workin’ on ESPN950, Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network discussed how serious a candidate the Hokies were to join the football-crazy conference.

“Virginia Tech I think was probably the strongest candidate,” said Finebaum.

http://www.csnwashington.com/blog/v...s-were-strongest-candidate-sec-expansion-2012

Had UMCP left in 2011, things could have been much different for the ACC and elsewhere. Many moves could have been made before an ACC GORs came into action. The SEC and B1G are only looking for large state flagship or land grant universities not already located within their respective conference's footprints; so they can capture a new territory's fanbase and media coverage. The SEC may really have wanted Tech, but I'm sure UNC, NCSU and UVa were desired just as much. The Commonwealth of Virginia and the Tarheel states are very intriguing in the CR discussions. Can the ACC keep it together or will there be a battle between the B1G and SEC for those 2 states after 2026 or sooner?

 

[UConn990411]

Why in the world is NC State coming up in this thread?

They're never leaving the ACC ... partly because they don't want to, but mostly because no other conference has a use for them.

 

[Calamitous]

And nobody, but nobody cares about ECU. I think every fan they have shows up for every game, but past their parking lot, no one cares.

They may not be UNC or NCSU, but ECU does have a significant following in North Carolina. ECU even has a significant fanbase in Virginia. It sounds like a bad analogy, but they are like JMU in Virginia. If JMU went FBS several years ago, they'd be significant in Virginia much the way ECU is in North Carolina. JMU threatened to go the FBS route not long ago and it would have been bad for UVa and VT recruiting.

ECU may not have the large media draw, but do have a large and significant state fanbase along with 27,000 students. ECU just doesn't have the coffers to compete with UNC or NCSU, but have a solid following and probably as passionate of a fanbase as WVU. Like the state of West Virginia, eastern North Carolina is very poor making ECU's setting similar to WVU.