ACC adds Louisville

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Per Pat Forde at Yahoo!, Mike & Mike on ESPN and WRAL, et al, the ACC has approved the addition of Louisville for 2014. Others lobbied, but the consensus seems to be that the ACC could always add UConn and Cincinnati later.

There are now more former Big East members (6) than charter members (5) in the ACC.

Louisville is arguably an upgrade over Maryland, and it was a smart preemptive move against Big XII expansion, where Louisville was rumored to have interest, and it at least seemed like the preferred option was Louisville-Florida State. So, this may mean the Big XII isn’t looking to expand right now.

But will it be enough to hold the league together?

Louisville lobbied hard, per Pat Forde (Yahoo!):

According to a Sports Business Journal story in 2011, Louisville’s total athletic budget of $68.8 million was bigger than every public school in the ACC but North Carolina’s ($72.2 million). UConn’s budget was reported as $64 million by Sports Business Journal. Cincinnati’s budget figures were not available.

Louisville football is bowl-bound for the third straight season under coach Charlie Strong and started this season 9-0. The sophomore-laden Cardinals will play Rutgers Thursday night with a BCS bowl berth on the line. Louisville also is the only current Big East school to have won a BCS bowl, beating Wake Forest in the 2007 Orange Bowl.

…

Beyond football, Louisville sold its well-rounded athletic program to the ACC. The Cardinals went to the men’s Final Four last year and are currently ranked fifth in the nation, while annually running the nation’s most profitable basketball program. The women’s basketball program advanced to the 2009 Final Four and currently is ranked seventh. And the baseball program made the 2007 College World Series and has been a regular NCAA tournament participant in recent years.

After being outflanked last year for a spot in the Big 12 by West Virginia, Louisville was prepared to pounce when this opening presented itself. The biggest stumbling block the school had to overcome with the academically prestigious ACC was its modest institutional standing – Louisville is 160th in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings of American universities, far below most of the league’s schools. (Five rank in the U.S. News top 30: Duke, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia and North Carolina.)

But multiple sources said and the conference is comfortable with Louisville because the ACC is too strong academically to have its reputation significantly altered by one new member. Louisville’s recent efforts to build its endowment and improve its overall academic profile were noted as well.

See that bolded portion and keep that in mind next time anyone suggests academics actually matter in all this.

More to come.

*****

We still have a coaching search not yet finalized, and you discuss that or the addition of Louisville or last night’s game over on the SFN Forums.

About LRM

Charter member of the Lunatic Fringe and a fan, loyal to a fault.

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23 Responses to ACC adds Louisville

  1. triadwolf 11/28/2012 at 8:29 AM #

    Maybe this is a preemptive move by Swofford to counteract NC State’s move to the SEC.
    ; )

    Seriously, this is not big surprise and was probably the best short-term move Swoffy could make at this point. The ACC is going to be a one hell of a basketball conference…

  2. mak4dpak 11/28/2012 at 8:36 AM #

    If the ACC folds we may join the SEC, until then I continue to be amused at such suggestions. SEC? Really???

  3. TeufelWolf 11/28/2012 at 8:55 AM #

    Good news. Louisville definitely makes us a better league. This is quite an upgrade from Maryland.

  4. slushy1975 11/28/2012 at 8:55 AM #

    Adding Louisville is a positive step for the ACC and makes a lot of sense. I won’t discount NC State to the SEC eventually, but I don’t harbor enough disdain for the ACC to relish the conference’s failure. I’m an ACC supporter and want NC State to remain a member.

  5. UpstateSCWolfpack 11/28/2012 at 9:00 AM #

    NBC should get ND and the ACC in a room together. Pitch an ACC network, talk ND into becoming a full member and have all ND home games televised on NBC, plus one or two more other ACC match ups on Saturday. Then show other games on the ACC Network channel run by NBC. I believe the only college football that NBC shows now is ND. Then the ACC has the backing of one major network, and you invite UConn and we are at 16. Then split the conference into North and South. Everyone from NC down in the south. And everyone above NC in the North.

  6. 61Packer 11/28/2012 at 9:05 AM #

    The ACC I knew is long gone. This massive Big East acquisition, led by the John Swofford oligarchy, continues, with a 7th former Big East team now headed to the ACC (VT, ND, Miami, BC, Pitt and Syracuse are the others).

    It’s only a matter of time before we end up with more BE members than ACC members in our conference. If this is good for our league, then I’m a monkey’s uncle.

    Just another brick in the dumbing-down wall.

  7. triadwolf 11/28/2012 at 9:12 AM #

    UL does not replace the TV seats lost with the move of Maryland; it just minimizes the damage. The ACC is still vulnerable unless Swofford has a rabbit in his hat. I don’t see who he can add to improve the ACC’s position for negotiating a better TV deal.

    ND is a wild card in this whole deal, but their success this year makes it that much more unlikely they will join conference full time.

    Someone will make a play for NCSU or UNC as the NC market is the 10th largest. The ACC may or may not successfully hold on, but the battle is imminent.

  8. STLPack01 11/28/2012 at 9:31 AM #

    [quote]NBC should get ND and the ACC in a room together. Pitch an ACC network, talk ND into becoming a full member and have all ND home games televised on NBC, plus one or two more other ACC match ups on Saturday. Then show other games on the ACC Network channel run by NBC. I believe the only college football that NBC shows now is ND. Then the ACC has the backing of one major network, and you invite UConn and we are at 16. Then split the conference into North and South. Everyone from NC down in the south. And everyone above NC in the North.[/quote]

    This is a great idea! Oh yeah, except for the fact that we just signed a long term deal with ESPN… But otherwise it would be a great idea.

  9. Wulfpack 11/28/2012 at 9:51 AM #

    UConn and Cincy, you are on deck after the next two leave. Just a matter of time.

  10. Nuke 11/28/2012 at 10:22 AM #

    What tv sets did we loose with MD? Baltimore? VA Tech keeps the hold on the DC area. Keeping most of the state of MD and adding the state of Kentucky seems like a net plus.

  11. Kevin Armstrong 11/28/2012 at 10:35 AM #

    Louisville is between Nashville and Cincinnati-do they bring either of those markets?

  12. 61Packer 11/28/2012 at 10:56 AM #

    Louisville brings us………er, um, they bring us………New Albany, Floyds Knobs, Bardstown, Shelbyville and Shepherdsville. AND Fort Knox (gold, baby). And, most importantly, LOOUAVILLE!!!!!!!!!

  13. rlgray 11/28/2012 at 11:14 AM #

    We have been in the ACC since the inception. Why don’t we stay and send Swofford to the SEC instead?

  14. TeufelWolf 11/28/2012 at 11:37 AM #

    Maryland for Louisville is a net gain. This seems like a no brainer.

  15. Kevin Armstrong 11/28/2012 at 12:34 PM #

    White Castle has several locations in the metro Louisville area, though I prefer Krystal.

  16. mak4dpak 11/28/2012 at 12:39 PM #

    rlgray, I like your thinking. Swofford to SEC. Good move.

  17. WolftownVA81 11/28/2012 at 12:40 PM #

    Can’t go wrong with Bardstown. Bring on the bourbon.

  18. tjfoose1 11/28/2012 at 12:42 PM #

    No shoutouts for PapaJohns Stadium?

  19. Kevin Armstrong 11/28/2012 at 12:46 PM #

    The Papa always gets a special shout…as does the KFC Yum Center

  20. packof81 11/28/2012 at 2:26 PM #

    ACC is fubar. It’s already more Big East than ACC. So I don’t understand why anyone wants us to stay in it. Sure UNC will stay because they run it. But why should we? Tradition? What tradition? I say we get out ASAP.

  21. 61Packer 11/28/2012 at 3:10 PM #

    PLUS ONE, packof81!

  22. TeufelWolf 11/28/2012 at 4:08 PM #

    I would personally like to be in the SEC but I don’t think getting out is as easy as, saying, “hey let’s be in the SEC today”. And with 16 teams, the new ACC was ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE less original members than not. You can’t get to 16 without it. I don’t see turning our noses up at the new guys just because as a worthy complaint, especially Louisville. They are a HUGE WIN for the ACC (and us) considering the myriad possibilities. Lets celebrate this one.

  23. ILpackfan 11/28/2012 at 4:48 PM #

    These moves are not a win for the ACC or any other conference. It’s another sign that TV money–specifically, college football TV money–is the tail wagging the dog in NCAA athletics. Just pay the players, slap some logos on their unis, and be done with it.

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