Very true, but their pockets are heavier now….

Tickle_It - 18 June 2012 11:53 AM

SoPinesHeel - 18 June 2012 10:51 AM

I can handle it, the only thing I don’t like is irrational haters that cannot see both sides. I welcome all to the conversation. When I get a shot taken at me or my school though, or something is said as a statement of fact that is not true, I respond, that is all, and I don’t try to shut others down unless my response gets them to change their opinion.  That’s all…

There is no doubt that this expansion stuff has gone wild in the void of content. That is where I give The Dude and Chip Brown credit. They have driven traffic for their sites, and somehow managed to drive the news which is amazing. We live in a new era now and I just think message board fans should realize the difference in reporting vs posting. The lines get blurred.

I am not a Clemson or FSU hater as I like both of them and like them in the ACC. I would be sorry to see them leave but I wont cry about it. The reports of the demise of the ACC are GREATLY exaggerated by people who have agendas even if a school or two leave which I admit could happen. The thing is though, no one has ever left the ACC save South Carolina. [strong}They paid dearly for it for 20 years and have finally recovered and are prospering to historic heights in the SEC no doubt. It is my opinion that the SEC is the ONLY conference that could be a gain over the ACC for a southern school. As such, if the SEC offer came I would understand for a Clemson or FSU to take it. Big 12 not so much. 

Not hating on you, just correcting your wording.  South Carolina never recovered from leaving the ACC, rather stayed at the same level as when they were in it (non-competitive).  The fact that they had a coupld of good seasons recently is not a recovery because that would idicate they’ve been here before.  This is the pinnacle of their football program and the first peak of their success.

Not sure why you would bring up SCAR…their situation is completely different from Clemson/FSU & the B12 &/or SEC speculation.  As Tickle says, SCAR was never a successful program until their recent [marginal] success.  SCAR has always been a mediocre team at best (even w/their recent success they’re still only 13 games above .500), so leaving the ACC did not cause their problems.  The only thing they paid dearly for was being a mediocre program trying to make it as an independent (i.e., outside looking in) for 2 decades.  Very few programs have prospered as an independent.  & now they are reaping the rewards of being in a quality conference w/quality cash flow.

Well I guess we are all in agreement although I will argue the semantics. If you look at history, South Carolina had it going when they left the ACC. They thought they could handle the independency and become the Notre Dame of the South. The won the ACC football and basketball titles when they jumped ship and had name coaches in both sports. They left because the ACC had higher academic admissions standards which they felt limited their recruiting, and Frank McGuire thought they needed to get out from the percieved NC dominated ACC. It did not work.

Meanwhile, Clemson had the ACC to provide opponents every year and shared revenue and bowl access. Conference affiliation had alot to do with Clemson being able to stay ahead of South Carolina over the 70’s and 80’s. The ACC has been beneficial to Clemson whether you are willing to admit it or not, and I contend the worst decision the ACC ever made was not letting South Carolina back in 1990. That allowed the SEC to get in the ACC’s footprint for the first time whereas GT and FSU got the ACC in the SEC’s market.

We can all thank Maryland for that as I am pretty sure they were the veto over South Carolina. So lets collectively hate on Maryland for a little bit.

I remember as a kid, and being a big Tar Heel fan, how spirited the Gamecock-Tar Heel rivalry was back then. The Gamecocks won their only ACC football title in 1969 under Paul Dietzel, and their only ACC basketball title (tournament) in 1971 under the Tar Heels’ old coach, Frank McGuire.  In the same time period, the Carolina Tar Heels won the ACC basketball title in 1969 under Dean Smith, and the ACC football title in 1971 under Bill Dooley.  Both schools were fielding quality teams in both sports, and the competition was intense.

To this day, it has been said that the most that ever attended a Wake Forest game was against South Carolina.