Suffice it to say they are not on Duke's level. Let's say you bring UNC and VT to the SEC. I don't think anyone is really that mesmerized by what UNC brings academically. They're more similar to UF and UGA than they are Duke.
It does, period. It's one of the best schools in the country and exceptionally hard to get into out of state.
Maybe. Two points: 1. UNC and Duke aren't coming. They are going to write their own terms in whatever ACC/Big East/American Superconference that filters through those conferences. Oklahoma is probably almost as unlikely, but I listed them anyway for the hell of it. 2. VaTech and WVU are much stronger football draws, regionally and nationally. Consolidation and expansion isn't being done for basketball or academics. It's all about football and football TV revenue, and nobody outside of the triangle knows that Duke or NC play football, and nobody inside the triangle really cares. I think NC St is much more likely, as they are in the same position, you still get the Carolina coast, and you don't have to give away anything to get the bastard child.
It unquestionably is. On the other hand, the "geographical footprint" model worked out really well for the Big East. Oh wait.
It's been a terrible failure for the Big 10, Pac 12 and SEC. Oh wait. Now trot out Conference USA or the Sunbelt and pretend like it's a legitimate argument.
The footprint was fine. What killed the league was that the football was terrible. However, if Pat White doesn't choke/get injured and lose the 10-9 game to Pitt, West Virginia wins a national title and the trajectory of that league is very, very different.
Which means the list is actually OU and West Virginia. The legislature in North Carolina will never bust the triangle and the politicos in Virginia expended way too much to get Tech in the same league as UVA to move from that.
The ACC has passed through their period of vulnerability. It will be awhile before one could realistically steal a school worth taking
