Callihan: The ACC is a Decade Late and a Few Million Dollars Short
The landscape of college athletics continues to change by the day it seems. Geography no longer matters in conference realignment, which began a decade ago when West Virginia landed in the Big 12 Conference.
But for years, WVU was the outlier. They were the only school that had to travel as far as they did for conference matchups. That will all change starting this year thanks to the Big 12's additions of Central Florida and Cincinnati. Next year, UCLA and USC will transition to the PAC 12 and will have their own long distance issues to deal with. The Big 12 is continuing its expansion search with other PAC 12 institutions and while all that is going on, other leagues feel the need to make a move themselves to ensure the stability of their respective conferences long-term.
Last week, a report from ESPN surfaced that the ACC ran a model for expansion that included West Virginia among SMU, Oregon and Washington.
For years, West Virginia fans have loved the idea of leaving the Big 12 for the ACC due to all the history they have with the schools in that league, not to mention the travel is more ideal. But there was really no interest. Not even a rumor. When the Big 12 initially found out they would be losing Oklahoma and Texas, some thought the league would collapse and that maybe WVU would end up in the ACC.
Nothing materialized. The ACC didn't pounce on the opportunity and the Big 12 quickly found four new members. Now, the ACC is in a tough spot. They're locked into their TV deal with ESPN through 2036 and are making less than the Big 12 and other leagues and its current members are unhappy about it. That's what happens when you jump the gun and lock yourself into a 20-year deal. As a matter of fact, the Big 12 will be renegotiating its next TV deal nearly five years before the ACC.
So even if the league wanted to pry West Virginia away from the Big 12, they don't have the resources or stability to execute such a move. There's no insider game to this. It's common sense. Why on earth would WVU move to a conference that already has tension from within and brings in less revenue than their current home?
Of course it would be nice to see West Virginia matchup with Pitt, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Louisville, etc. every year but it's not worth it financially.
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