The great majority of us, myself included, were deeply concerned with us committing our long term football fortunes to the ACC when we signed the GOR. But we are starting to see a one time basketball first conference really coming together as a football conference.
Yes, it will be awhile before the media recognizes what we already know, that ACC football is every bit as competitive as SEC football - this year is not an anomaly - in fact it is the last 10 years that have been an anomaly as the SEC separated itself from the rest of the pack.
As a result of some very down and transition years at historically strong football programs like Miami and Va Tech, the ACC became a non-factor in football outside of Tallahassee.
Now we are in the middle of an undeniable rebirth of football in our conference. Look no further than the coaching staffs in our league compared to a few years back.
Miami -- Mark Richt will possibly never win "the big one" at Miami, but he will field a 9-10 win top 10 type team most years like he did at Georgia.
Va Tech -- Fuentes inherited a mess, but he is slowly turning it around and that program will return to relevance.
UNC - Fedora is doing a great job and UNC, assuming they do not get too hammered by the NCAA, will continue to field a ranked team every year.
Clemson - we can stop laughing at Dabo now - Clemson is a football power and they are here to stay.
Louisville - the sleeping giant has been awakened. A ton of money, great facilities - it was bound to happen. Lamar Jackson may be a once in a generation player for the Cards, but their team and program are here to stay.
When you factor in that Notre Dame will likely be forced to join at some point, the football makeup of our conference is very close, if not equal to the SEC overall. And if we are never more than the "second best" football conference in the eyes of the media, that is good enough when you consider all the other factors, such as basketball, academics etc.
We are finally getting our long awaited network, and the money will equal out in time. The network is coming online at the ideal time, when the ACC is front and center in the football world with 6 ranked teams. Contrary to the nay sayers, we are not falling behind, we are indeed catching up.
When you step back and take stock overall, I think you will see that we are in a great position in this conference. At some point the media will see what we already know - a football slate of Miami, Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina, Va Tech or Notre Dame is every bit as compelling as one of Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss or Texas A&M.
I do think our patience, which needed to be long, is now starting to pay off.
Yes, it will be awhile before the media recognizes what we already know, that ACC football is every bit as competitive as SEC football - this year is not an anomaly - in fact it is the last 10 years that have been an anomaly as the SEC separated itself from the rest of the pack.
As a result of some very down and transition years at historically strong football programs like Miami and Va Tech, the ACC became a non-factor in football outside of Tallahassee.
Now we are in the middle of an undeniable rebirth of football in our conference. Look no further than the coaching staffs in our league compared to a few years back.
Miami -- Mark Richt will possibly never win "the big one" at Miami, but he will field a 9-10 win top 10 type team most years like he did at Georgia.
Va Tech -- Fuentes inherited a mess, but he is slowly turning it around and that program will return to relevance.
UNC - Fedora is doing a great job and UNC, assuming they do not get too hammered by the NCAA, will continue to field a ranked team every year.
Clemson - we can stop laughing at Dabo now - Clemson is a football power and they are here to stay.
Louisville - the sleeping giant has been awakened. A ton of money, great facilities - it was bound to happen. Lamar Jackson may be a once in a generation player for the Cards, but their team and program are here to stay.
When you factor in that Notre Dame will likely be forced to join at some point, the football makeup of our conference is very close, if not equal to the SEC overall. And if we are never more than the "second best" football conference in the eyes of the media, that is good enough when you consider all the other factors, such as basketball, academics etc.
We are finally getting our long awaited network, and the money will equal out in time. The network is coming online at the ideal time, when the ACC is front and center in the football world with 6 ranked teams. Contrary to the nay sayers, we are not falling behind, we are indeed catching up.
When you step back and take stock overall, I think you will see that we are in a great position in this conference. At some point the media will see what we already know - a football slate of Miami, Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina, Va Tech or Notre Dame is every bit as compelling as one of Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss or Texas A&M.
I do think our patience, which needed to be long, is now starting to pay off.
