This year's event in Brooklyn marks the third straight year the tourney has been outside North CarolinaGETTY IMAGES
ACC Commissioner John Swofford said that the next rotation of conference tournament sites "almost certainly will include" Brooklyn, DC, Charlotte and Greensboro, according to Ed Hardin of the Greensboro NEWS & RECORD. Swofford added that the "old experiment of a 10-year rotation is unlikely." Swofford: “The (five-year) rotation is what’s in the best interests of the league.” He called it a “semi-permanent” rotation, one that "apparently does not include Boston or Pittsburgh or Miami." Or maybe "not even Atlanta." He said that that "could change," but he suggested that the "change has already come." Swofford said that he "wants the schools to understand the history of the event while thinking ahead, 'respecting the past and embracing future' of a 15-team league that spans the East Coast." Swofford believes it is "time to embrace the ACC’s history along with that of the Big East schools that have joined in recent years." DC and N.Y. are "now equal to Greensboro and Charlotte in terms of future tournament sites" (Greensboro NEWS & RECORD, 3/7). Swofford said, “Wherever you are, whether it’s Charlotte or Greensboro or New York or Washington or Atlanta, they would like to have it every year. A lot of different cities and venues would love to have our tournament. Our footprint as a league is very different obviously today than it was. Schools feel like it’s very important that we periodically be in New York for the obvious reasons that it’s the media capital of the world and 8 million people live in that area and a fertile recruiting area.” The '16 tournament was held in DC, and until this current stretch, it had "never been held outside of North Carolina in consecutive years" (Burlington TIMES-NEWS, 3/7).
FUTURE IN N.Y.: In Raleigh, Luke DeCock notes since Swofford "flat-out refused to entertain the notion" of going to N.Y. a week early like the Big Ten to play at MSG, that "leaves the ACC two New York options in the immediate future: Brooklyn or a complicated sharing arrangement" of MSG with the Big East. The latter is "feasible," but "unlikely." That puts a return to Barclays Center "on the cards" for '22 or '23, with MSG still "somewhere in the hazy uncertain future." Swofford: “We'll cross that bridge down the road if the opportunity arises. The Big East has a long history with the Garden. But our experience here last year was very, very good" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/7). In New Jersey, Jerry Carino notes as the Big Ten and ACC have been "invading" N.Y. with their conference tournaments, Villanova men's basketball coach Jay Wright on Monday made it clear that the N.Y. "is the Big East’s turf in March." The Big East Tournament has taken place at MSG since '83. Wright said, “It’s our home. It’s what we’ve done and who we are. It’s basketball in New York. When you help basketball in New York, you’re helping the Big East” (APP.com, 3/7).
