Why is this not number one? Well, two reasons. The more money the SEC can make now, the better off each of their teams will be in the future. And if the SEC can add two extra states worth of TV subscribers (Tech and NC State, perhaps?) they should expand as quickly as they can figure out the legal ramifications of stealing two teams from the seemingly inescapable clutches of the ACC's own cable deal. To put it simply, the time to make ungodly amounts of cash is right now. And when things expire in the mid-2030s, schools and conferences likely won't see the explosion of money they've benefitted from over the last two decades. While we all talk about the value of different programs in a future where the sport is less reliant on cable packages, Skipper implied that this base of realignment is (at least partially) still motivated by cable network dollars. Having a staff who can recruit the Commonwealth with the money, swagger and dick swinging that comes with SEC prestige would be essential to the growth of the program.Īnd after listening to former ESPN boss John Skipper give his thoughts on realignment on the Dan Le Batard Show, a quick-ish addition of Virginia Tech and one more school could be incredibly beneficial to the SEC. Culturally, geographically, recruiting-footprint wise. This is all reckless speculation, but it wouldn't seem crazy to think he sees a fit with the conference he knows best. From an outsider's perspective it seems like he's growing the university similarly to some of the larger schools in the midwest. Sands is a Big Ten guy who was at Purdue for 10 years prior to taking the job in Blacksburg. One thing to keep an eye on here, though, is Tim Sands. It may not matter, but if Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech were going head-to-head on a recruit, would it be harder to sell the Lane Stadium environment against the likes of Minnesota and Rutgers? And though many Big Ten schools recruit Florida, you see fewer dip into places like the Carolinas and Georgia (where Tech currently has six commits for the '22 class). But as the Cornhuskers have shown, changing your base can be a dangerous game to play. Would recruiting New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania be all that bad? Maybe not. Look at Nebraska, they left the Big 12 and suddenly found themselves unable to recruit Texas like they did when they played in the state two-to-three times a year. Leaving the ACC for a conference other than the SEC would also impact recruiting. If joining the Big Ten meant the only way for Tech to stay alive in a power conference, then let's walk through this hypothetical.Ĭulturally, Tech has much more in common with schools like Tennessee, South Carolina and Auburn than Indiana, Penn State and Michigan. There aren't a ton of reasons the Hokies should plant their flag in the heartland other than money, but dollars seem to be the only thing that matters at the cost of literally anything else. It would more likely just make the ACC a slightly-less-distant-third behind the revenues of the SEC and the Big Ten. And it makes a ton of sense - in a world where owning your own rights is increasingly important, why would the Irish join a conference? And even if they were to sign up for one, why would it be the ACC?Īnd while this would theoretically give every team in the conference more money, I doubt that it would make the seismic change the programs are hoping for. I'm not going to belabor the point, but the general sentiment is that Jim Phillips would have to pry independence from Notre Dame's cold, dead fingers. This is last because it's both least exciting and realistic. The ACC adds Notre Dame and West Virginia The 4 best conference realignment scenarios for the HokiesĤ. If you don't, please submit all complaints to our newsletter Key Plays at on Twitter. Call it a proof of concept or maybe even a little nudge to get you to subscribe to The Key Players Club for the upcoming season's-worth of articles, breakdowns and insights. This is a sample of the content you'll be able to read when we get going. Basically I pitched it to Joe as a long list of lists with everything from goofy jokes about which Virginia Tech football player you'd most want to babysit your kids to actual analysis about best case and worst case scenarios for the 2021 season. To preview the season, I'm going to write a set of columns called "the ultimate list".
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