Worth posting twice.
Swofford is a politician right.....BEFORE the GOR, ACC Network was not an 'if', it was a 'when'...it was regularly suggested it would be soon. Here we are after time has passed and AFTER the GOR....and it doesn't sound likely does it?
When will the ACC fan base learn? The ACC is the Big East part 2.....in danger of falling so far behind it won't be able to hold teams from hoping to other conferences. All because it would rather make pretend promises than enact REAL change.
"What are the prospects of an all-ACC network?
My answer to that really won't change for a while. We are taking a look at that with ESPN, who would be our partner in it. ESPN will be our partner through 2026-2027 regardless of how it's structured. We have the ability to do some things because of the quality of partner we have in ESPN. If we feel like that's the best route to go in the long term, we'll do that. And it's a join decision we'll make with ESPN."
ACC's Swofford talks TV network, stability
"On a visit Tuesday to the University of Louisville, ACC commissioner John Swofford broached hot NCAA topics such as freshman eligibility, basketball court storming and the possibility his league could one day have its own TV network just like the Southeastern Conference.
They're all subjects to which Swofford can now speak on confidently. His league made it through conference realignment and, midway through its first year with U of L in the fold, isn't looking to expand more.
"One of the things we wanted out of the last decade when there was so much movement within the conferences was to get to the end of it and strengthen ourselves for the long term," Swofford told local media members before his "Conversations with Champions" event at the Brown & Williamson Club inside Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
MORE ACC | UofL crowns first ACC swimming champion in program history
"I think the decisions we made … bode really well for the future of this league and the programs in this league."
Swofford's other talking points, edited for brevity:
What has U of L added to the ACC so far?
I think right off the bat is it's developing more and new rivalries. It really has hit me this year, and having Louisville in has impacted it dramatically, is the number of outstanding games every week. You just look at the schedule and the games that are coming up and you're like, "Wow. Wow. That's going to be a great game." And then even some of the games you don't expect to be so great maybe turn out to be a lot of times.
What are you expecting from the conference tournament?
There's some changes for us there this year because we're starting on Tuesday and going back to the future in a way with the Friday night semifinals and Saturday night championship game. That's the way the NCAA tournament used to be played back in the '60s and '70s and then it moved to Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. A lot of our fans seem to be very excited about the primetime.
What are the prospects of an all-ACC network?
My answer to that really won't change for a while. We are taking a look at that with ESPN, who would be our partner in it. ESPN will be our partner through 2026-2027 regardless of how it's structured. We have the ability to do some things because of the quality of partner we have in ESPN. If we feel like that's the best route to go in the long term, we'll do that. And it's a join decision we'll make with ESPN.
What would make that the best route?
I think the keys are where you put your inventory, what the distribution would be, which ties directly to what the revenue would entail. How does that compare to the potential increase in rights fees we currently have? Our television package right now has great exposure and outstanding dollars. The question for us is, where's the growth potential? Is it better with an ACC channel that's 24/7 or with the model we have? It's a very important decision going forward with our league, and the good thing is, I don't think there's a wrong decision to be made. It's a question of, what's the better route to go?
With what happened after the Kansas-Kansas State game Monday night, have there been talks about court storming within the ACC?
Not today, but we've had a number of conversations about that in recent years and our schools have consciously made a decision not to fine institutions. … What we have set up within our league is a particular protocol, if you will, to get the visiting team and visiting coach off the court in a very safe way. … You just don't want to see anybody get hurt, No. 1. Emotions can be very high at the end of a game, and things can be said. You want to minimize as much as you can the opportunity for a player who's lost a tough game that has something said to him and reacts in a way that he later wishes he hadn't reacted.
As the Big Ten seeks opinions on changes to freshman eligibility, what's the ACC's stance?
It's not a new topic. It's been talking about in our league, as well as others, periodically. I'm old enough to have played in that system, and it was a good one. I think it's very educationally sound, and I think we should think about and consider anything that's educationally sound…Whether we get back to that, I don't know. I don't know if it fits the times in today's world. We haven't taken any votes in our league in regard to it in recent years."
No comments:
Post a Comment