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Hokie Fiji

Joined: 09/02/1998 Posts: 7419
Likes: 1531


I've always been perplexed by the "political" argument


When we were finally offered membership in the ACC, my biggest shock was the consideration that we actually had the kind of political power that appeared to be necessary to force our way in. 18 years later, and after a lot more thought and consideration of several facts that have come to light, I am not convinced that we actually did. There is a lot of evidence out there which suggests that we had already earned enough support within the conference by the time the 2003 expansion took place.

AshburnFarmHokie provided a link to his personal site on the main football board which suggests that Tech and Miami were the principal targets for ACC expansion as far back as 2000. And when we joined the Big East as a full member that year, the announcement featured a curious caveat -- our decision to accept the invitation was subject to Miami remaining as a full member.

Mark Warner has gotten a lot of mileage related to his alleged involvement in the 2003 process, but several direct sources have told me that John Casteen didn't need to be convinced to support us for membership in the ACC. The strongest opposition to our membership always came from Duke (for reasons that have never been explained to me). Ultimately our seat at the table was guaranteed by Duke and UNC digging in against the idea of expansion in general coupled with the support of UVa. Beyond Miami, we were the only option that could garner the 7 votes necessary for an invitation. And apparently there were several people within the ACC circle who had figured that out back in the summer of 2000.

If anything, Miami's leadership thought they could strong arm the ACC into doing what they wanted. And as it turned out, they simply didn't possess enough political power to do that.

(In response to this post by Mercury)

Posted: 09/16/2021 at 2:50PM



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Current Thread:
 
  
Interesting tim sands perspective -- Mercury 09/16/2021 08:22AM
  No doubt but as a fan, are you getting the money? ** -- VaTechHokiesACC 09/17/2021 9:46PM
  ^^^^THIS^^^^ +1,000! ** -- 91HokieBob 09/17/2021 3:17PM
  Poppycock. ** -- dallasvt 09/17/2021 4:08PM
  VT will lose 2/3 to 3/4 of those games. -- PadrosWindup 09/16/2021 10:12PM
  Thank you -- Mercury 09/16/2021 2:24PM
  Well vt used every political capital -- Mercury 09/16/2021 2:26PM
  I've always been perplexed by the "political" argument -- Hokie Fiji 09/16/2021 2:50PM
  My sources tell it differently Re Casteen.... -- HOKIEGOBBLE 09/16/2021 11:17PM
  No doubt Mr. Goodwin was all in on our behalf. -- Atlee Hokie 09/17/2021 10:04PM
  Casteen was.... -- 2hhoop3 09/17/2021 10:18PM
  I think he already felt that way. -- Atlee Hokie 09/17/2021 10:24PM
  Terry Holland reported Casteen's position back in 1999 -- Hokie Fiji 09/17/2021 11:29AM
  My point was Casteen’s position -- HOKIEGOBBLE 09/17/2021 12:15PM
  And you know this how? ** -- Atlee Hokie 09/17/2021 10:07PM
  I always find it humorous -- HOKIEGOBBLE 09/18/2021 05:48AM
  OK, I'll leave it. -- Atlee Hokie 09/18/2021 06:28AM
  Ok, but let’s get some items clarified... -- HOKIEGOBBLE 09/18/2021 06:45AM
  This. ** -- Femoyer Hokie 09/16/2021 2:28PM
  Just a speech ** -- CrystalCoveHokie 09/16/2021 08:24AM
  College presidents = politicians. ** -- Old Line Hokie 09/16/2021 4:51PM
  Yep ** -- EDGEMAN 09/16/2021 09:30AM

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