re: suing our way out of the ACC.

1. Does the SEC even want us? (We need more than Finebaum as a reference on this).
2. Even if the SEC wants us. do they want us, do they want us in this manner and on this time table? We aren't Texas unfortunately.
3. And even if the SEC would want us in such a manner, what pressures from ESPN will come on both parties to NOT do this?
4. Even if all the above allow us to move forward, what about in-state politics? And what about a #16 to come with? NC State? And what about their in-state politics? (side note: I think it's ok to have an odd number of teams in a conference, but others say no)

Maybe the best bet is to
1. See if UVa wants to push this same course at the same time. But again, that's assuming both would have invites to the B1G and/or SEC.
2. Work with schools in the ACC that would have a good chance to go somewhere else and want to dissolve the conference. This is also a long shot, because a) will there be enough schools willing to do this to legally break up the conference; and b) would these schools have homes in other top conferences? I doubt it. But at least it's worth a shot.
3. Ask the SEC via back-channels if a VT application would be accepted. And if so, who would they be willing to accept as #16? If NC State, then work with them on it.

Better yet:
I think I let this play out at least for a short while. I think in many ways we are stuck since ESPN owns both the ACC and the SEC. Let's see what happens with the SEC and Texas deal. It might not be the boon everyone fears that it will be. And if it is, I think there will be more than just VT who recognize it in the ACC--even among basketball schools. I think I'd also wait out to see what happens with USC and the Pac12, and how the B1G and Pac12 view the BigXII leftovers. Maybe there is a chance for some smart ACC expansion here.

In the interim, we need to get better at football. VT needs to get better. And the conference needs to get better. VT should be vocal about going to 10 ACC games. Or we should also start scheduling a tougher schedule OOC even if it means less home games. If we want to set the tone for becoming a big time football-first school, we should be viewed as the pioneer. If the rest of the conference wants to act like a bunch of lightweights about it, this will just give ourselves more justification to blow it all up sometime down the road, but long before 2036.

Also, you talk about Tier 1, Tier 2 and all that. But what even is it? It depends on how you define it. We fancy ourselves Tier 1, but I'm sure Ohio State, Alabama, Texas and may others would disagree. Or, is just being a member of an apparent "safe " conference make one Tier 1. If so, is Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Mississippi State, Purdue, Kentucky all Tier 1? If so, how long until they are contracted? I think these tiers are nebulous categories. Yes, there is plenty of data to support VT being among the top 30 football powers moving forward. But to me, it is not enough to think we are a slam dunk to be able to call any shots here.



[Post edited by Maroon Baboon at 08/08/2021 4:34PM]