The ACC is "thoroughly investigating" playing its men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden, according to sources cited by Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com. A source said, "We'll be playing there. It's just a matter of getting all the legal ramifications worked out." The Big East Conference and MSG in March announced a 12-year deal through '26, but sources said that MSG can “get out of its deal" before '26 if the Big East "doesn't reach certain benchmarks” (ESPN.com, 5/15). ESPN.com’s Andy Katz notes MSG has “long wanted a regular tenant, based on the busy March schedule with outside events, as well as primary hosts the Rangers and Knicks.” The ACC is “reviewing MSG's deal with the new Big East.” MSG is “unlikely going to go with a conference that would only make a cameo in the building every so often.” The ACC is “not going to move the conference tournament out of North Carolina for more than one year every three or four years” (ESPN.com, 5/16).
ALSO ON THE MOVE? In Detroit, Mark Snyder noted the idea of moving the Big Ten football title game from Lucas Oil Field “intrigues some of the conference’s athletic directors.” Many are “pushing for indoor venues -- making Chicago’s Soldier Field a longshot." Ohio State AD Gene Smith said that he thinks Ford Field "deserves it.” Smith: “I love what Detroit has done with Ford Field and what they’re continuing to do with the area contiguous to that facility.” Snyder noted outdoor venues have “many logistical challenges, as many ADs have pointed out.” Smith: “I love Solider Field; I’m a traditionalist. There’s a place for that, maybe that’s more regular-season and neutral-site games” (FREEP.com, 5/15).
