ACC Eliminating Divisions?

Submitted by MrWoodson on May 10th, 2022 at 1:33 PM

"According to Thamel’s timeline on Twitter, the ACC could eliminate divisions as early as 2023. He reported the league discussed this issue last week on calls to set up this week’s meetings.

One model being discussed is still playing eight conference games, with three of those games being permanent opponents and the other five opponents rotating off the schedule every other year.

Also, there are talks of having two permanent opponents with six teams rotating on and off the schedule. The idea behind these two models will allow ACC schools to host every conference foe every four years, which in turn will bring more variety to every school’s conference schedule."

https://www.si.com/college/clemson/football/acc-in-serious-talks-about-eliminating-divisions

St Joe Blues

May 10th, 2022 at 1:44 PM ^

If the B1G follows 3 permanent / 5 rotating model, who would Michigan's 3 permanent opponents be? OSU, Minnesota (Brown Jug) and ???? Indiana? Rutger?

It couldn't be Staee because they already have their 3 chief rivals: Nebraska, Rutger and OSU. (VaBlue answered but I made this edit before I saw his answer)

1VaBlue1

May 10th, 2022 at 1:48 PM ^

Though Illinois and Rutger are long time rivals, I would think MSU is a lock as protecto #2.  So...  #1 - OSU; #2 - MSU; #3 - UMinn/UIll/Rut (it's a toss-up, so toss it up...).

Although I could see the B1G wanting PSU as UM's #3.  It just seems like something the B1G would do to Michigan.  Because PSU would also get Maryland and Iowa.

mfan_in_ohio

May 10th, 2022 at 8:57 PM ^

It would be a pseudo-pod situation: UM-MSU-OSU is one three-team pod, so they all play each other for two of the three protected rivalries, with the other from elsewhere in the conference. Same with PSU-RU-MD.  The Wisconsin-Minn-Iowa-Nebraska pod skips the Wisconsin-Iowa (sorry, Floyd of Rosedale) and Minnesota-Nebraska (sorry, $5 bits of broken chair trophy). Likewise the IL-NW-IU-PU pod skips IU-NW and IL-PU, but plays the others. That leaves everyone in the conference with one more protected rivalry:

Mich-Minny; PSU-Nebraska; OSU-IL; MSU-IU; NW-MD, Wisconsin-Iowa (Floyd’s back!), and Purdue gets stuck with Rutgers. OSU gets what has historically been an easier opponent than UM, PSU, or MSU get, but it’s a trophy game, so whatevs.

 

I hope it would be this way, because the other, easier way is to have the same four pods, but the 4 team pods just play each other, while the 3 team pods have one crossover game with each other, which would likely be MSU-Rutgers, OSU-MD, Mich-PSU. Because of course it would.

NittanyFan

May 10th, 2022 at 1:54 PM ^

The ACC divisions have never seemed to have a rhyme or reason anyway.

They are hard to remember - I remember them via this bizarre fact.  The 7 ACC schools WITH an S in their school name as they are commonly referred to are in the Atlantic Division (which does not have an S).  The 7 ACC schools WITHOUT one are in the Coastal Division.

(Atlantic: Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, NC State, Louisville, Syracuse, Wake Forest)

(Coastal: Duke, Georgia Tech, Pitt, North Carolina, Miami FLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech)

drjaws

May 10th, 2022 at 4:52 PM ^

You're just a walking billboard for all the latest brands
You've got no taste in music and you really love our band
You're haircut is atrocious, it's been the same since '83
Your glory days are over and so's your stonewashed jeans

You crass fat-ass, you stupid steroid fuck
I'll bet you even named your grand prize monster truck
You want me, you can't pay, you want me, you can't pay
You want me, you 

You high-fiving motherfucker, you high-fiving motherfucker
You high-fiving motherfucker, you high-fiving motherfucker

NittanyFan

May 10th, 2022 at 2:59 PM ^

That is true --- also why they decided to initially have the ACC title game in Jacksonville, of all God forsaken places. 

(then they'd get 10K at the stadium when it was BC vs Virginia Tech, like 2007)

Anyway, that didn't work.  Miami has only been to 1 of the 17 ACC title games!  Kind of a crazy stat.  FSU has been to 5, no game featured both.

DoubleB

May 10th, 2022 at 5:21 PM ^

FSU won a boatload of ACC titles in the 90s when they first joined and after FSU's national title in 1999 and Miami's in 2001, everyone thought those two would just rematch their regular season game in the ACC title game. I'm not sure it's ever been close to happening. I'm not sure Miami has the wherewithal to ever get back to their "The U" glory days and FSU is far behind in the football resources race.

 

 

club2230

May 10th, 2022 at 1:57 PM ^

3 protected rivalries seems overkill.  2 would be better.  OSU and MSU.  MSU would be us and PSU.  OSU would be us and PSU.  

fritZ

May 10th, 2022 at 2:09 PM ^

I agree that 3 is too many, but w/ your layout, we're just getting a smaller version of the current divisions. Wiscy, Minny, and Iowa would be the same thing on the other side. If we're doing 2 protected games, I think each team should have 1 team from the former Western Conference and 1 team from the former Easter Conference. Ex: M's protected would be OSU and Minny.

MGolem

May 10th, 2022 at 2:49 PM ^

Fuck playing MSU every year. There is no such emphasis for us to play OSU twice in basketball every year. OSU is our football rival and MSU is our basketball rival. I'll take OSU and Minnesota. Just more interesting. MSU can take that chip and save it up for every few years when we meet up via the round robin. Their obsession with all things Michigan does not deserve our time or energy.

Richard75

May 10th, 2022 at 3:11 PM ^

Two is too few.

Two only works for that eastern quartet and for Iowa/Minnesota/Wisconsin. Nebraska, for instance, would get stuck with two protected matchups that make no sense, since they’d be shut out of Iowa/Minn/Wis. You could turn that group into a quartet too, but then you’re deciding whether Minnesota should skip playing Iowa or Wisconsin, which doesn’t work either.

To be remotely fair to the entire conference, you need three protected matchups. (And even then I’m still not sure you can do both PSU-MSU and PSU-OSU, since that hangs either Maryland or Rutgers out to dry.)

Stringer Bell

May 10th, 2022 at 2:04 PM ^

I hope the Big Ten doesn't do away with the divisions.  Would pretty much ensure we'd have to beat OSU twice to win the conference.  As it is, the East has a cakewalk to the conference championship.

BuddhaBlue

May 10th, 2022 at 2:14 PM ^

The NCAA Football Oversight Committee is suggesting changes "to remove the requirements for FBS conference championship games and allow a two-year waiver for unlimited recruiting classes"

 

Removing championship game guardrails is considered noncontroversial and will likely be rubber stamped, giving conferences additional flexibility in approving new ways to crown a champion. Most notably, the change would allow conferences to eliminate divisions, an idea that has grown in popularity in recent years. 

The unlimited recruiting classes in response to Covid/portal disruption to rosters. Both to be voted on later this month by "the Division I Council"

trueblueintexas

May 10th, 2022 at 7:33 PM ^

What really needs to be understood is how this rule can be manipulated by the SEC. 

Now the SEC can make sure Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and LSU never play each other in an effort to have 4 undefeated teams closing out the regular season. Unfortunately, teams like Missouri, Ole Miss, Miss St, Vanderbilt, etc will no longer win a conference game again. 

If the Big Ten was smart, they would never have Michigan, OSU or Wisconsin play each other in the regular season to increase the likelihood of having more undefeated teams.

Blue Vet

May 10th, 2022 at 2:25 PM ^

I'm not a fan of divisions but the scheduling problems across however many times the Big Ten has—I forget. 12? 14? 24?—are a problem as well.

Hey, I've got an idea! How about a conference of 10 schools?

COLBlue

May 10th, 2022 at 3:38 PM ^

I may be misunderstanding here, but since the thread article mentions eight conference games and five other opponents, is the goal just to get to 13 games for everyone?  If so, couldn't a conference simply do what the B1G tried to do in 2020, and schedule games for the rest of the conference the same weekend as the championship game? 

If you make it cross-division, you could even do it completely randomly (i.e. via a draw), to add some fun, with all of the non-championship games at the school in the division that has the two away games (vs the one home game) in a season.  Just can't draw a non-division team you've already played that season.

DoubleB

May 10th, 2022 at 5:28 PM ^

Some D3 conferences have done that. Divided into divisions. The division champions would play each other. The 2nd place teams would play each other, etc. The games would all be held at Division "A" schools one year and then Division "B" schools the next year and would alternate. 

I'm not sure how easy the planning for something like that would be at the D1 level. The division champs could still play at a set neutral site, but could say Wisconsin's travelling party get organized to get to Penn State in a week's time? I'm guessing PSU could block rooms at a given hotel ahead of time (they know they will host, just don't know who). Regardless, there are logistical issues that while probably insurmountable aren't easy.

Michfan777

May 10th, 2022 at 8:35 PM ^

Ive been proposing something similar for some time but I’d love to see the divisions blown up and the conference move to 3-4 protected games and then just 2 sets of alternating home/away games with the rest of the conference, which would give every team the chance to play 2 times against every conference member in a 4 year career.