Interesting thread on ACC.
Keep in mind, many FSU fans love and defend the ACC, many don't. There is no consensus.
Just keeping this for reference. I think the ACC can be saved, problem is, they don't think they need to be saved....they think all is well. THAT is issue #1.
http://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/im-sick-of-defending-this-conference-lets-be-real-here.53306/page-2
"There are many reasons why the ACC is a bad fit for FSU, especially today, and why the ACC is a crappy football conference.
Problem 1
Back in the early 1990s when FSU joined the ACC, conference SOS was irrelevant. Thus, Bobby could play Florida, Miami and another strong OOC opponent and that would be enough to keep you in the national hunt talk.
Problem 2
Today, conference SOS matters. Playing one or two OOC games with a weak conference schedule is not equal to playing one or 2 weak OOC games and a tough conference schedule. Something the pro-ACC types just don't get. So while the ACC teams have played 14 OOC big boy football teams so far this year with a record of 4-10, the ACC teams play about 100+ powder puff conference games. Hence, FSU going forward will need to go "undefeated" and to be seated at the top, FSU must dominate. See last year at seat no. 3 because FSU did not dominate the ACC teams notwithstanding going undefeated. I believe FSU has gone undefeated only three times. Most schools do not.
Problem 3
ACC is a hybrid conference with no college football footprint. If you look at the SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 14 most schools in each of those conferences are big public state universities located in small college towns with big on-campus football stadiums that do not compete with pro sport. And, for the most part, they are geographic contiguous (exception WVU and Colorado). In other words, there is an athletic and geographic commonality between the schools in each of those conferences. That is surely not the ACC. In fact, the ACC is just the opposite - a fragmented, hybrid conference better suited for a basketball rather than a football focus.
The ACC comprises three "isolated" geographic islands - (1) Kentucky and Indiana, (2) Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts, and (3) Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida - with a mixture of small private schools and city based schools that do compete with pro-sport. Of the 14 schools, only six schools meet the footprint of the SEC, Big 10 and Big 12 - FSU, Clemson, UNC, NCSate, Virginia and Virginia Tech, which is really where the problem lies.
Two of the 14 ACC schools have no on-campus stadium - Miami and Pitt,
four ACC schools are in major cities of their state - Miami, Atlanta, Pitt, Louisville and Boston - 3 of which compete against pro-sport,
five ACC schools are private - Duke, WFU, Miami, BC, Syracuse,
seven ACC schools have football stadiums that hold less than 60,000 - Duke, WFU, Syracuse, BC, Louisville, NCState, GTech,
three ACC schools have stadiums that seat between 61,000 and 65,000 - UNC, Virginia and VaTech,
only two schools have on-campus stadiums that seat 80,000+ - FSU and Clemson.
Problem 4
Within a 500 mile radius around Tallahassee, only three ACC schools lie in that radius - Miami, GTech and Clemson. In contrast, 10 SEC schools lie in that same radius. In essence, FSU lies in the heart of the SEC but chooses to fly over the SEC, the schools with which FSU has most commonality, to play sport.
Problem 5
There are no real football rivalries in the ACC. Other than FSU-Miami, there are none. FSU has been in the ACC since 1991 without a real ACC rivalry. Clemson, maybe at best. This to me is one of the key reason why the ACC as a football conference is a major fail. There is no geographic commonality, there is no football platform commonality, there is no big-state university commonality, no big on-campus commonality and there is no college town commonality that dominates the conference.
No rivalries, fans do not show up to watch bad football teams. Forget looking at the ACC home attendances, just look at FSU's home attendance during the lost decade. Look at Miami's attendance today for most games, except FSU and Florida games.
In other words, ACC football generates no fan interest at most ACC schools.
With that said, I ask - what will FSU football attendance look like when FSU goes through another down-cycle?
Problem 6
Wrong football market. The ACC has strategically targeted the north-northeast. The college football market lies in the south, midwest, southwest and far west, not the north east. FSU is a southern state university that plays southern football. Talk about trying to insert a round peg into a square hole.
While 1/5th the nation's population lies between Washington, DC and Boston, that is not a college football market. If it was, the ACC would surely be commanding top dollar for such a huge market. Instead, to make-up for TV short-fall revenues, the ACC had to comprise ND membership to gain another $1-2 million/year/team in TV revenue for adding ND to ACC for olympic sport only in an effort to keep up with the other P5 conferences. Again, another example of why the ACC falls short.
Problem 7
The ACC prioritizes basketball and caters to tobacco road, at the expense of the other conference members. Given the hybrid nature and "roots" of the conference, and the problems listed above, it is easy to understand why basketball, not football, is the ACC priority and why football will never be a priority in the ACC until membership and financial compensation changes.
Problem 8
The Commissioner was apparently obsessed with destroying Big East basketball and conquering the NE market for ACC basketball at the expense of ACC football. And, did a poor job at that. By losing Maryland and not taking WVU and Rutgers, Swofford allowed the Big 10 to disembowel the ACC geographically like a knife going through warm butter. The consequence - the ACC lost the Washington DC and NYC markets, the two markets ND held dear to its heart and blew any chance that the ACC could pick up Penn State. With those two markets now in Big 10 country, it surely makes more sense for ND to join the Big 10 than the ACC when it so chooses to become a football member.
The ACC needed WVU to stabilize Maryland and Rutgers to capture NYC to really secure ND into the ACC as a full member and to have any shot at Penn State. Instead, the ACC has escort-gate Louisville.
Problem 9
There is no competing ACC network thanks to the Commissioner There is no doubt that Swofford's priority was to sign a TV deal that included Raycom. ESPN said no problem. Thus, the ACC got ESPN and Raycom, but will never have an ACCN and the ACC TV deal, notwithstanding the fact that the ACC covers the most population, is financially inferior to other P5 conference deals. One can only ask - why?
Problem 10
While the ACC consider itself to be an elite conference - academically and all around with respect to Olympic sport - the actions are certain schools are violations beyond ethic and moral comprehension:
Miami - Ponzi-Abortion-gate
UNC - Academic Fraud-gate
Louisville - Escort-gate
I think selling your soul to the devil is more honorable.
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