ACC expansion by the numbers...

These Big East teams have all been suggested as fits for ACC expansion.  They are ranked in order of best Academics/Athletics ratio according to their National University rankings and the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Rankings.  AAU denotes membership to the prestigious Association of American Universities.  *Asterisk shows that University Rankings can tie based on the formula used.

UConn makes a very strong case to be a part of the ACC with two very strong rankings, as does Syracuse.  One thing you may notice is the average of Pitt and WVU aren’t too far apart.  So why is WVU not getting any love?  No one’s doubting the athletic strength of West Virginia, but their academic ranking is more than double that of Pitt’s.  And they're not an AAU member like Pitt.  Even with a pretty awful sports ranking, the addition of Pitt into the ACC may show just how much the presidents do weigh academics to potential sports money.

Now lets look at how the ACC stands and where our new members would rank…

First Thoughts- Duke, UVA, and UNC are incredibly impressive.

Next Thought- Look at Maryland!... Very proud to be an alum.

Things I take away from this-  We have added to academic institutions that fit very well with our conference.  While they look to be at the bottom according to the average, remember this stuff does not include market or power sports money such as football and basketball.  ‘Cuse and Pitt each bring a new market and BIGTIME basketball. 

Biggest Disappointment- NC State… seriously?  With those scores and knowing that they haven’t been relevant in Football or Basketball in some time, and that we have plenty of other schools in North Carolina makes me ask what the hell are they doing for this conference?  I think State fans should start showing a little more gratitude for being allowed to be in such great company in this conference.

Now where does the ACC go from here when it comes to a possible expansion to 16 teams?  Here are the teams that are probably being looked at the closest… (Sorry WVU, but unless you are able to convince NC State to honorably resign from the ACC, it wont be happening)

Notre Dame would be an obvious choice.  Not an AAU member but still one of the elite academic and athletic institutions in the country.  But to those around the country who feel they don't belong in the ACC, the numbers show that they wouldn't crack the top 3.  Yes, in football money they would wipe the floor with the the schools of the ACC, but as far as a general academic and athletic standards, the Irish could benefit from joining the ACC.

Here's where it gets interesting.  Penn St, believed by many to be a great geographical and cultural fit for the ACC, has rankings that would make them only the 8th strongest school academically (4th in the BigTen) and the 5th strongest school athletically (2nd in the BigTen) in the ACC.  Here is the Big Ten rankings to prove it...

One thing to notice is the AAU Membership; 11 of 12 schools in the Big Ten compared to 6 of 14 in the ACC.  But the academics and athletics are actually very close between the two conferences.  The academic average of the ACC is 50 and the Big Ten is 43... If you take away the far outliers of both conferences (FSU/NCST in ACC and Neb in Big Ten), the average is ACC-41 and Big Ten- 40.

Final thoughts and Point to all this..

Football is the money maker but looking at these numbers you should be able to see how academics and other sports success could heavily influence institutions when it comes to conference realignment.  I think the ACC could pull off getting Penn St. because these numbers show there is minimal academic/athletic loss but they immediately become a top dog in football, which they would love to be since they probably think they wish they have had more success in the Big Ten.

Lastly... After writing all this out, I can see how the B1G has some serious options if they wished to expand.  I think Maryland and Virginia, especially Maryland, could be serious options for them if they felt the conference needed to expand.  Yes, neither of those schools is a football power, but that's not what this post was about....