ACC School Reportedly is Attempting to Join the SEC in the ‘Near Future’

[GVF]

There's little wrong with most SEC schools academically and, grudgingly, TX brings quite a bit to the table. I agree with TN Tech not getting the props it deserves and year after year turning out students who excel and are prepared for their career or grad work.

I've got a soft spot for GT because I got to hang out with my buddy there and hear some of the faculty chatter over box wine and cheese. They had a love-hate with athletics and pretty much anything that wasn't engineering at GT but that was a few years ago now. GT walks the line pretty well between not letting their athletic profile get "out of hand" and not being a complete doormat in the ACC. I need to get down there. There was this little joint just north of campus that wants to clog my arteries a little more. I think it's Silver Skillet. Good times but it may be gone now.

I've been a die hard Vol fan for a long long time. But, I've never been a Vol or die fan. I always enjoyed UGA on the side cause dad worked for them and we'd get an occasional game and it was Vince Dooley in my day. And you couldn't live in GA then and go against Lewis Grizzard. lol. Or GT cause they were home state too. I had teams I liked watching on Saturdays. UT was #1 though the day they sniffed out Gault in '79. (didn't hurt my grandparents lived in Knoxville and my gramps saved me every article in the News Sentinal to read about UT and Gault when we'd visit). For prob 20 year after Gault, they recruited my HS heavily. We prob had more players get signed by UT than UGA or anyone else. And considering we are 41st in the country for HS alumni in the NFL and only highly nationally ranked school in GA on that list, that's alot of football players going to college to get us on that NFL list.

Coolest thing is dad did on occasion get to meet some of those coaches if he attended some of those dinners, even though he was Ag. He had a UGA tie that was autographed on the back by Richt. He was proud of that tie and wore it often. One of the grandson's (a nephew obviously) inherited that tie when he died. It gets well cared for, but i wish I had asked for it. But, dad never forgot he got his Masters at UT as well. He was just as happy meeting Fulmer on one of his speaking tours that stopped in Cookeville at the 1st Baptist Church. He bought me and him tickets for that. It's pretty neat seeing and hearing these guys off the field when they hang up the coaching persona. Totally different person than the Coach Fulmer persona people on here dis on.

 

[05_never_again]

That Prop 140 would have caused him to take scholly's away from some players that were getting a GT education even though they never got a piece of dirt on the uniform ouside practice. And they probably wouldn't have been able to stay in school on their own. So, he did put schooling high on his list above many things. He was arrogant in his public views of GT verses the others, but he did value giving his guys a free ride to get their degree. The sound bite is that many in the university and many alumni knew that'd kill GT athletics too, and it did, so there was a sizeable GT base that was also quite proud of how good they were then. Reality is, had they stayed or got back in, without a change of vision, GT would have been just under Vandy in the classroom, and just above Vandy on the field. They were just entering the era when they would have dove to hte bottom had they stayed. Dodd had alot of pull and was the sole driver of that bus. Conversely, MsSt is well under Vandy in the classroom and only marginally better on the field historically IMO. (Outide of Baseball). So, it's no promise of being a champion in the SEC if you try the juggernaut route.

That's where I'm at. Even if GT didn't want to emphasize sports as much as the rest of the SEC, they would have been just as good academically and better off athletically if they had gritted their teeth and just stayed.

The two goals don't conflict with each other anywhere near as much as the pointy heads in their ivory towers think; in fact, improvement in one can improve the other. The quintessential example of that is how much stronger academically Alabama got while Saban was there. Having incredible "front porch" advertising really opened up the variety and type of students they could attract, therefore the faculty they can attract, therefore research they can do, etc. The same thing is happening at Clemson. Of their non-state students, the second most common state they come from is New Jersey. Now, I don't think kids are turning down Ivy League or Ivy League-adjacent opportunities to go down there, but I'm sure lots of them are turning down opportunities to go to good public and private schools in the northeast to go there. Both of those places have become a lot harder to get into over the last 7-10 years.

 

[GVF]

That's where I'm at. Even if GT didn't want to emphasize sports as much as the rest of the SEC, they would have been just as good academically and better off athletically if they had gritted their teeth and just stayed.

The two goals don't conflict with each other anywhere near as much as the pointy heads in their ivory towers think; in fact, improvement in one can improve the other. The quintessential example of that is how much stronger academically Alabama got while Saban was there. Having incredible "front porch" advertising really opened up the variety and type of students they could attract, therefore the faculty they can attract, therefore research they can do, etc. The same thing is happening at Clemson. Of their non-state students, the second most common state they come from is New Jersey. Now, I don't think kids are turning down Ivy League or Ivy League-adjacent opportunities to go down there, but I'm sure lots of them are turning down opportunities to go to good public and private schools in the northeast to go there. Both of those places have become a lot harder to get into over the last 7-10 years.

Agreed. GT could have pressured Dodd to chill and didn't. Especially since they all knew what was going to happen when they pulled out.

And that's where I personally think Saban was so much better than Bear. Saban knew these kids would have a short sports life overall, and cared what happened to them and he pushed them to excel beyond hte field. That was important to him. Bear only had interest as far as he could use them. Bama as a univeristy is way better off since 2007 than prior. And he helped improve that for them and put trophies in the case, and not just one, because of the expectations he set for his players. He's not hte only one. But, likely the best example of winning and getting your guys to excel in class at the same time. Even Milroe had a great academic record.

The greatest wasted player in Bear's time no one knew about IMO was Lenny Patrick from Jasper. Had Saban coached that kid, he would have stood a good chance of influencing his life to change. I'd argue he was faster than Gault and like Gault if he got close to the corner the entire stadium would be on their feet roaring cause you knew what would happen. We're talking a kid that drew 25K plus to a HS playoff game in NW Alabama just for the chance to see him hit open field. We had close family firends in Jasper then, and their son was QB at Walker County at the time and got to see it first hand up close. He still talks about Lenny Patrick and what he would have been without the dope. We got there in time that friday to be a part of that playoff game when they were seniors to see him play QB before he finished up. Lenny was also a senior. It was incredible Never saw anything like that in HS in person for one guy. Not outside Texas. Most we ever drew in Griffin was about 6000-8000 and we had to put in temp bleachers during the playoffs to get the occupancy so the state would approve us hosting.

 

[GVF]

That's where I'm at. Even if GT didn't want to emphasize sports as much as the rest of the SEC, they would have been just as good academically and better off athletically if they had gritted their teeth and just stayed.

The two goals don't conflict with each other anywhere near as much as the pointy heads in their ivory towers think; in fact, improvement in one can improve the other. The quintessential example of that is how much stronger academically Alabama got while Saban was there. Having incredible "front porch" advertising really opened up the variety and type of students they could attract, therefore the faculty they can attract, therefore research they can do, etc. The same thing is happening at Clemson. Of their non-state students, the second most common state they come from is New Jersey. Now, I don't think kids are turning down Ivy League or Ivy League-adjacent opportunities to go down there, but I'm sure lots of them are turning down opportunities to go to good public and private schools in the northeast to go there. Both of those places have become a lot harder to get into over the last 7-10 years.

Living well over half my life in middle or NE GA, I was never over 3 hours away from Clemson. Clemson has always been a fantastic classroom school. Even better now like you say. Very research oriented. Ag probably leads the pack. Beautiful campus, much like some NE schools in some ways. Alot of people bypassed UGA and GT and went to AU or Clemson. And not just athletes. Academic students. I knew so many in my day that went to AU and Clemson over staying for UGA or GT. Dabo has prob done for Clemson what Saban did for Bama. Of course he learned the model from the master and stuck with it. One of the funnest college games I ever attended was Clemson/NCST in Death Valley when Philip Rivers was playing. That place was lit up on a grand scale. Being we were treated to the tialgating and game by a vendor, it was all free to me and made it even better. Being neutral to either team made it fun just to be in the atmosphere. Death Valley is explosive with the right opponent.

 

[dobre_shunka]

That's where I'm at. Even if GT didn't want to emphasize sports as much as the rest of the SEC, they would have been just as good academically and better off athletically if they had gritted their teeth and just stayed.

The two goals don't conflict with each other anywhere near as much as the pointy heads in their ivory towers think; in fact, improvement in one can improve the other. The quintessential example of that is how much stronger academically Alabama got while Saban was there. Having incredible "front porch" advertising really opened up the variety and type of students they could attract, therefore the faculty they can attract, therefore research they can do, etc. The same thing is happening at Clemson. Of their non-state students, the second most common state they come from is New Jersey. Now, I don't think kids are turning down Ivy League or Ivy League-adjacent opportunities to go down there, but I'm sure lots of them are turning down opportunities to go to good public and private schools in the northeast to go there. Both of those places have become a lot harder to get into over the last 7-10 years.

If Bama improved academically during Saban's tenure, it wasn't by much. US News has them as the 12th ranked school in the SEC and 171st in the country.

Their out of state enrollment went through the roof while he was there and is now approaching 70%. But that's because when the Alabama legislature started cutting funding 20 years ago, the university made the deliberate decision to recruit more out of state students to get more money through out of state tuition.

 

[adam.vol]

UNC and UVA make the most sense. They're the top schools in their state and they bring new states to the conference. NCSt and VT are probably better fits culturally but they don't bring near the prestige of the other two. Clemson and FSU/Miami bring nothing unique to the conference.

Regardless of how successful a school has been in the past, I don’t see any benefit to the SEC in accepting a program that cannot sell out their stadium. FSU, Clemson, and Tech may be the only qualified candidates from the ACC. The rest of those schools would be a drain on the SEC’s tv ratings.

 

[adam.vol]

If Bama improved academically during Saban's tenure, it wasn't by much. US News has them as the 12th ranked school in the SEC and 171st in the country.

Their out of state enrollment went through the roof while he was there and is now approaching 70%. But that's because when the Alabama legislature started cutting funding 20 years ago, the university made the deliberate decision to recruit more out of state students to get more money through out of state tuition.

Those rankings are fun to brag about or taunt over, but they’re about as useful as the AP football poll.

Every one of those rankings articles is far inferior to online product rankings, such as PC Mag, which is usually sponsored. Nowhere close to Consumer Reports rankings, which are barely based on what any real consumer is looking for.

I’m not saying a university is the same as a dishwasher or a stick vacuum, but more thought goes into those rankings.

 

[Rickyvol77]

One of the teams that pops up constantly in expansion discussions in North Carolina. According to InsideCarolina, the Tar Heels are eyeing a spot inside the SEC ‘in the near future.’

Yahoo Sports noted the exit fee to leave the ACC drops to $75 million in the 2030-31 school year, which may be easier for North Carolina to stomach if it did make the move. However, it remains to be seen if the SEC would accept the Tar Heels in the first place.

BIG NO!

The SEC will do the following:

if UNC and Virginia become available they will take them first period.

if the Big Ten goes to 20, or the SEC wants to go to 20...

then NC State/Virginia Tech will be taken if that's the only way to get UNC/UVA, if not

the SEC will look at Clemson, Florida State or Kansas.

if both conferences go to the 24 team superconference, then the SEC will also consider the remainder teams:
Miami (likely Big Ten or Big XII if ACC breaks up)
WVU (doubtful, doesnt bring anything except new state)
Duke (strong possibility with Kansas and UNC on board)
Georgia Tech (possible if Big Ten doesn't grab them)

The Big Ten is likely leaning towards Notre Dame and FSU, but also will consider a Western move (Stanford, Cal, Colorado or Utah) if Clemson, UNC, Virginia are gone. (Miami and GT also will be in play)