Conference Realignment Board

Joined: 10/07/1999 Posts: 22779
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Good discussion......

No doubt Swofford made some mistakes or, at least with the benefit of hindsight, wishes he would have done a few things differently. I think the things that really moved the deal were Loh's desire to be the President of a Big Ten school, (2) Delaney smartly recognizing Maryland's weakness and crafting a plan to get the deal done before anybody really knew what was going on and (3)the State of Maryland and alumni basically being unable to offer a financial alternative.

Loh's dream was to be the President of a Big Ten university and he realized after being passed up on a few opportunities that he needed experience at a large AAU university to round out his resume. He went to Maryland to polish his resume not realizing that the mess he was inheriting was his backdoor ticket to a Big Ten presidency.

Delaney realized the financial shambles of Maryland athletics and they were a perfect fit to fill a subscriber hole in his Big Ten network. The numbers gave Delaney an in and Loh was more than happy to keep the secret since he was getting what he wanted all along. The ACC leadership never even considered an original member would bolt with out at least giving the conference a chance to counter but, that is exactly what happened. The politicians in Maryland were muted because to fight against it would more than likely mean they had to open their checkbooks, at least as a short term bridge. Same goes for the Maryland boosters who wished to remain in the ACC. At the end of the day the money carried the day.

The final story is still not yet known, however, the to date results are mixed. The money has increased and Maryland's financial constraints have loosened, however, the original rosy projections have not been fully met. Maryland has replaced yet another athletic director in an attempt to get a handle on the situation. Contributions and ticket sales have been stagnant to declining for the most part. On the field performance across all sports has declined with Maryland dropping through the all sports rankings from being more of a Top 20/10 type program to their current 30's neighborhood. Loh's tenure has been marked by a lot of division within the system due to a variety of factors. The Terp fans I speak to generally sum it up as follows. The money has been nice but, they cannot say the school is markedly better positioned at present. Most believe it will be another 3 to 5 years before a more complete picture will really tell the story.

(In response to this post by Old Line Hokie)

Posted: 07/23/2018 at 10:21AM

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Current Thread:

Swofford isn't going to say ABC games on ACC/ESPN Channel unless it's done. -- Stech 07/20/2018 7:51PM

As long as they offer it streaming (Roku, Hulu, PSVue, etc) I have no -- hokiesrule98 08/12/2018 7:52PM

I’m not sure how it is good for VT or any ACC school to have its -- Femoyer Hokie 07/21/2018 08:59AM

Yep. Here are the tv ratings from last year -- Colonel Jessup 07/21/2018 2:48PM

Money from subscribers is repeat money...it's an annuity of sorts. ** -- Stech 07/21/2018 10:33AM

I understand what you are saying, but it is still a bit of a gamble -- VTHokie2000 07/21/2018 4:46PM

It's necessary, at first, anyway -- 33laszlo99 07/21/2018 7:38PM

I am not sure it is "necessary" given how the other conferences -- VTHokie2000 07/23/2018 12:08PM

Maybe not -- 33laszlo99 07/23/2018 12:48PM

I don't disagree that the ACC needs to make money off the ACCN -- VTHokie2000 07/23/2018 1:24PM

If the ACC Channel becomes a failure, that means the SEC channel... -- EDGEMAN 07/23/2018 3:06PM

The difference with the SECN is you won't see ESPN broadcast -- VTHokie2000 07/23/2018 5:08PM

Bundling the channels isn't enough -- 33laszlo99 07/23/2018 4:45PM

Other than possibly Virginia, guarentee the majority of subscribers... -- EDGEMAN 07/23/2018 5:21PM

WRT to SEC interest in the Northeast, it seems the SEC alumni -- VTHokie2000 07/24/2018 11:39AM

It will be interesting to see what the ACC's numbers are for those states -- VTHokie2000 07/23/2018 5:13PM

Probability of signing up for ND Lou vs Duke Wake for football much higher. -- Stech 07/21/2018 5:55PM

Or it is nothing more than an act of desperation.....only time will tell ** -- VTHokie2000 07/23/2018 12:09PM

18 years is a long time. -- Old Line Hokie 07/20/2018 10:26PM

I will not be around in 18 years, so I don't care. -- Atlee Hokie 08/05/2018 6:24PM

He's about to retire and few could have taken a basketball conference and -- Stech 07/21/2018 10:56AM

There's a lot of truth in what you posted... -- Old Line Hokie 07/21/2018 11:38AM

Swofford's biggest mistake was not punishing UNC for cheating scandal. -- Stech 07/21/2018 6:36PM

I agree with virtually everything you say in this post -- Alicks 07/21/2018 3:24PM

Not taking WVU was a mistake. -- HOO86 07/21/2018 1:38PM

At this point I’d trade wv for Loserville. -- YardBird 08/12/2018 8:24PM

Before Maryland bolted... -- Old Line Hokie 07/21/2018 2:57PM

This unrepentant Yankee -- TerryD 07/22/2018 10:25AM

I'm a unrepentant American... -- Calamitous 07/29/2018 11:49PM

You'll be close to UVA, VT, WF, UNC, NCState, and Duke. -- HOO86 07/22/2018 5:03PM

That's very cool TerryD...I knew you were smart from our discussions. -- Stech 07/22/2018 12:51PM

Thanks, Stech...I appreciate that. ** -- TerryD 07/22/2018 5:16PM

I grew up in southern VA but I'm .. -- Old Line Hokie 07/22/2018 2:38PM

I grew up in Fayette County near Uniontown, Pa. -- TerryD 07/22/2018 5:31PM

Agreed, the odd thing about Penn State is VT is left out of the Big East -- Stech 07/21/2018 6:44PM

My Penn State friend who was an All-American OL under Jim Weaver.... -- Old Line Hokie 07/21/2018 6:51PM

I really can't wait to play them in Lane in 2020...no audibles for Penn St. -- Stech 07/21/2018 7:14PM

Md was leaving because of money mismanagement -- GreencastleHokie 07/21/2018 5:43PM

That's all true but how much of this did Swofford know? ** -- Old Line Hokie 07/21/2018 6:47PM

Why does it matter? Md overspentand took the lifeline ... -- GreencastleHokie 07/22/2018 1:54PM

Maybe so..... -- Old Line Hokie 07/22/2018 3:04PM

If your description is correct, then there was no way -- GreencastleHokie 07/22/2018 3:38PM

Swofford should've had a heart-to-heart talk with... -- Old Line Hokie 07/22/2018 4:42PM

Good discussion...... -- 2hhoop3 07/23/2018 10:21AM

He was caught flat footed and should not have been. ** -- Stech 07/21/2018 6:49PM

I think he learned a lot from that event. -- Old Line Hokie 07/21/2018 6:55PM

Swofford was going after Penn State & Penn State likes recruiting MD & NJ. -- Stech 07/21/2018 7:11PM

For some odd reason, really didn't think FSU was ready to leave for the B12 -- EDGEMAN 07/21/2018 3:09PM

Yes many think that Big 12 talk was about leverage in the ACC for football. -- Stech 07/21/2018 6:48PM

ND's talks with the Big 12 were to leverage the ACC too -- TerryD 07/22/2018 10:30AM

I think ND was more than willing to put all conference shifts on hold... -- EDGEMAN 07/23/2018 11:24AM

ND wanted only three ACC football games per year, not five -- TerryD 07/23/2018 11:30AM

Good discussion......

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