Univ. of North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham said that his school fields more sports teams than any ACC schoolGetty Images
Univ. of North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham said UNC has "total respect for everybody’s opinion" on the ACC's recent expansion and "hopefully they have respect for ours," as UNC voted against it, according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. Cunningham yesterday in a presentation to the Raleigh Sports Club said, “You never really know how people are going to vote." Alexander noted Cunningham did "not mention N.C. State," which reportedly "switched from a 'no' vote late last week to approve expansion." The addition of Cal, Stanford and SMU "required 12 'yes' votes," and Florida State and Clemson joined UNC in voting against it. Cunningham said that he had "been in favor of having a 'western division' with seven of the Pac-12 schools -- before the conference began to disintegrate." Cunningham: “I’ve been thinking about it for years. If you really want to have a national conference, having multiple time zones is good. But you don’t want to have travel all over the country. You want to make it more regional." Cunningham said that UNC "fields more sports teams than any ACC school." He added charter flights "will handle the football and basketball teams," but with the baseball team it "would be tough 'getting 50 seats on a commercial flight' to San Francisco" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 9/6).
MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTION: In Atlanta, Chad Bishop noted Georgia Tech AD J Batt and President Angel Cabrera "both lauded the future expansion of the ACC" during yesterday's GT Athletic Association BOT meeting inside the Wardlaw Center at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Batt said, “This took a lot of nerve, a lot of partnership with the presidents and a lot of savvy to get us to a point to where we’re adding these three incredible brands in a really positive way for the existing membership financially, athletically. For the long-term stability of the ACC, this is a really good step forward.” Cabrera said the additions of Cal and Stanford, both more than 2,400 miles from GT’s campus, and SMU, “add terrific value to the conference, and I want to highlight that they really are very well-aligned with our values." He added, "These are top brands that value academic accomplishments and research as much as they also want to be competitive on the field" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 9/6).
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN: In S.F., Scott Ostler wrote in football, Cal and Stanford are "about to become the Oakland Athletics of the ACC: bereft of leadership, underfunded, under-supported and overmatched." The ACC adopted the "orphaned Bay Area schools (plus SMU) not out of the kindness of ACC’s heart, but out of desperation." The ACC was "faltering, at risk of losing its football relevance, needing the new schools and their TV markets to jack up the conference’s TV contract." The conference also "needs that to stay relevant in the College Football Playoff picture." The "craziest part of the cozy new arrangement" with the ACC is "how stacked the deck is against" Cal and Stanford. For their first few years in the ACC, the schools will "each get 30% of what the existing ACC teams will get in TV revenue." Ostler: "With that huge financial disparity between Cal/Stanford and the rest of the ACC, guess which schools will hire the best coaches and spend the most money on recruiting? Hint: Not Cal and Stanford" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/6).
