how everything would have played out. Besides, there is no way to disprove or prove that the ACC couldn't have seen an ebb and flow in division strength like what the SEC has experienced. In the beginning the East was the stronger division. Then it shifted over to the West. In time it will swing back to the other side. The same could have happened to the ACC.

If VT had started out in the Atlantic Division, then current division line-up would probably look something like this:

Atlantic/Coastal
Syracuse-BC
Pitt-Louisville
VT-UVA
Wake-Duke
NC State-UNC
Clemson-GT
FSU-Miami or maybe Miami-FSU so the 2 SEC-like schools are in opposite divisions

It is foolish for a conference to even try to have a perfect balance between the divisions every year because it is unobtainable. There are too many unknowns for a conference to consider from year-to-year before it can even attempt to obtain it. You could say that the ACC failed in its attempt because it was banking on Miami to be "Da U" from Day 1 and maybe for VT to consistently win 9 or 10 games every year instead of regress during the tail end of the Beamer Era. The Big Ten tried to obtain it when it decided to go with the Leaders and Legends Divisions. They eventually realized they would never be able to obtain it, so they decided to switch to the East-West format. The Pac-12 knew they couldn't obtain it, so they didn't even attempt it. Instead it made sure both divisions had equal access to California and divided up the remaining schools form there.