Conference Realignment Board

Joined: 08/25/2005 Posts: 18722
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What's this?

Instead of grasping at maybe's and might haves, you might just pull out

Occam's Razor.

Athletics conferences choose members based on athletics. (which isn't strictly related to on-field/court performance...obviously things like tv markets, geography, facilities, budgets, etc. can be part of the equation.)

Is it 100% iron-clad fully restricted to the above? No. I'm not going to say there's never been an instance where academics, politics, or some other non-athletic factor played a role. But fundamentally, you choose your sports partners based on sports. You'd be a fool to do otherwise. I chose my accountant based on his ability to do my taxes and advise me on financial decisions. It'd be cool if he liked cars or playing volleyball, because those are things I love and value, but I didn't pick him based on shared interests, I picked him based on what I needed from him.

And from the member institution perspective, conferences are certainly about sports and have approximately zero to do with academics. VT didn't want to get in the Big East or the ACC to up it's academic game...we were looking for better athletics homes. If WVU was expressing interested in the ACC, it was to make their athletic department, not their college of arts and sciences, healthier. I've seen VT go from Metro to A-10 to Big East to ACC. While we've seen great evolution and improvements in academics over those decades, it didn't have anything to do conference membership.

(In response to this post by VTHokie2000)

Posted: 03/08/2018 at 5:15PM

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Current Thread:

Hypothetical -- SoCloseHokie 03/06/2018 07:58AM

Everyone below makes legitimate points, from a fan's perspective it is more -- anotherdamnyankeehokie 03/07/2018 09:20AM

VT needs to feel more comfortable in their own skin as 1 of the -- BAMRising 03/06/2018 9:57PM

What "culturally" is important and how are you seeing -- Pylons 03/07/2018 07:16AM

We'd be up there, but UF, UGa, aTm and Vandy are also very good schools... -- Calamitous 03/06/2018 11:29PM

Academically, the Big 10 (14) but.... -- Old Line Hokie 03/06/2018 3:58PM

The B1G is a great conference athletically & academically, but lacks rival- -- Stech 03/07/2018 07:33AM

PSU and MD would instantly become rivals. PSU likely more for VT than them -- reestuart 03/07/2018 08:25AM

I would be very happy with that conference ** -- Calamitous 03/06/2018 9:31PM

If schools start deciding that academic conferences -- VTHokie2000 03/06/2018 12:23PM

Academic conferences? -- Pylons 03/06/2018 5:06PM

"Academic conferences" already exist though -- VTHokie2000 03/06/2018 5:28PM

Of course there are alliances, as I indicated in my post -- Pylons 03/06/2018 5:46PM

My point was that athletic conferences don't need to have -- VTHokie2000 03/07/2018 12:45PM

Agreed. It's already that way without anyone deciding anything -- Pylons 03/07/2018 1:06PM

But is academics really independent though? -- VTHokie2000 03/07/2018 1:24PM

Academics is absolutely independent -- Pylons 03/07/2018 4:36PM

If academics has no bearing on who joins an athletic conference -- VTHokie2000 03/07/2018 5:08PM

I wouldn't put much stock into what the ACC did sixty years ago -- Pylons 03/07/2018 5:31PM

Back in 2011 Brett McMurphy sent out the following tweet -- VTHokie2000 03/08/2018 12:04AM

So you have a sportswriter guessing about the "likely" reason -- Pylons 03/08/2018 10:30AM

Yes, a sportswriter is speculating based on the Brett McMurphy tweet -- VTHokie2000 03/08/2018 10:48AM

Instead of grasping at maybe's and might haves, you might just pull out -- Pylons 03/08/2018 5:15PM

I agree the reason WVU expressed interest in the ACC and SEC -- VTHokie2000 03/08/2018 5:52PM

B1G and it’s not even close..... -- CrystalCoveHokie 03/06/2018 09:15AM

You are correct ** -- Hamburger 03/07/2018 05:40AM

I think you are spot on... -- 2hhoop3 03/06/2018 11:25AM

Athletics wouldn't be a driver -- Pylons 03/06/2018 11:20AM

Its not like they don't have a lot of good academic schools in the SEC -- EDGEMAN 03/06/2018 11:24AM

Yeah, if the ACC relationship went sour, Big Ten would be a great fit. ** -- reestuart 03/06/2018 09:45AM

ACC is and should be home! ** -- Lakeridgehokie 03/06/2018 09:12AM

I agree but it was hypothetical ** -- SoCloseHokie 03/06/2018 09:48AM

Either would suck for the fans -- EDGEMAN 03/06/2018 08:55AM

If VT ended up in the Big Ten East, it wouldn't be that bad. ** -- reestuart 03/06/2018 09:44AM

Rutgers vs BC - Not sure they is any win in that! ** -- Lakeridgehokie 03/06/2018 10:37AM

Rutgers, more specifically their leadership, is a boil.... -- 2hhoop3 03/06/2018 11:32AM

True! I didn't even think of them, but since we are required to -- reestuart 03/06/2018 10:42AM

Most likely Indiana would move to the West and be in the same -- VTHokie2000 03/06/2018 12:18PM

That would be a whole lot of fun. ** -- reestuart 03/06/2018 1:12PM

It would be fun, but would it be more fun than this option? -- VTHokie2000 03/06/2018 1:23PM

Much prefer ACC. Want nothing to do with SEC. ** -- reestuart 03/06/2018 08:03AM

After UNC's cheating came to light, I no longer view the ACC... -- MP4VT2004 03/06/2018 7:51PM

I wake up every morning worried this is the day UNC embarrasses us again. ** -- Byting Gobbler 03/23/2018 10:09PM

I guess I still don't equate "us" with the ACC. -- MP4VT2004 03/23/2018 10:24PM

I should have included the TIC in that post. ** -- Byting Gobbler 03/27/2018 10:28PM

Instead of grasping at maybe's and might haves, you might just pull out

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