Just because no conference expanded to 14 or 16 teams in 2004
doesn't necessarily mean they didn't have (or couldn't have) the votes. It may have been they weren't exploring the option at the time.
I don't believe I have hate for the ACC and love for the SEC because both conferences have their pros and cons. My 2 biggest concerns about the ACC is it tends to be more reactionary than the other conferences when making some decisions and having more private schools than the other conferences. Being reactionary can be a problem because you are waiting for someone else to make the first move. If a conference wants to improve its strength, then sometimes it needs to make a bold move to get out in front of the crowd. The reason private schools are an issue is because they tend to have smaller fanbases than state schools which could have an impact on media contract negotiations.
As far as the SEC goes, I believe the SEC has done really well in 2 things. The first thing is to be the first conference to exploit the NCAA bylaw that allows a conference to host a CCG. The second thing is to expand into Texas to make it more difficult for the other conferences to recruit players from the Gulf Coast Region. A few great players are still willing to play for teams in other conference. However, most are willing to sign with a SEC team (even if it means being buried in the depth chart) instead of leaving the region to go play for a team in another conference. At the very least the only states that another conference can get a foothold in the region are either FL, GA, or TX.
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In response to this post by Stech)
Posted: 06/06/2017 at 11:33AM