on the erosion you refer to. The erosion began in 1970 and 1971 with South Carolina exiting the ACC and has progressed with stops and starts since then. It centers on the Tobacco Road centric thinking of the conference and the failure of ACC basketball to be recognized as AN asset as opposed to THE asset. The ACC was wise in getting FSU and GT as members but, they screwed the pooch not pursuing Penn State in the early 1980s, particularly after the Big East did not respond to PSU overtures. The CFA lawsuit ensured football was going to eventually drive the bus and the ACC did not really do anything to help football until the early 2000s when football became obviously necessary to their ultimate survival. The ACC was behind the eight ball with small private schools anyway and they essentially doubled down pandering to the ACC basketball interests even in that expansion. The ACC I think made the right decision in hiring Jim Phillips to get a "real world" view but, the question to be answered is whether it was too late. The boys from Sedgefield Country Club can take credit for forming the league, however, they may also be branded as ultimately killing the league by refusing to either adapt at all or not adapting fast enough.