Look, I wish things could go back to the way they used to be. My ACC was a nice, fit nine-team alliance when Florida State was added in the early 1990s. The league felt together and everyone played each other twice. I loved those days.
But that's all over and I've accepted that for quite some time. The ACC pulled Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech from the Big East in the early 2000s; yanked Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame and Louisville in the mid-2010s; and became a landing spot for California, Stanford and SMU this year (oh, and they lost Maryland along the way). This will never be that ACC we grew up with ever again. The quicker we understand that it isn't coming back, the quicker we can accept reality and move on.
None of this makes sense anymore, so let's think outside the box. I did so three years ago when I begged the ACC to make a strong move and go after the Pac-12's schools. At the time, I felt the ACC should go grab Oregon, Cal, Stanford, USC and UCLA from the Pac-12 and make a 20 team conference. All of those schools are outstanding academically, which fits what the ACC is about, and it powers up the league with some really solid programs and gets the ACC onto the west coast (namely, LA). It also might .... might ... compel Notre Dame to become a full-time member. I mean, they were already playing five ACC games a season, and adding Stanford and USC (two schools they play each year) to the conference means that the Irish would be playing seven ACC opponents every year. Why not just let them play seven league games to the rest of the members' eight and enjoy all that comes with have Notre Dame as a football member?
At the time, people laughed that the ACC should have no business having members on the Pacific Ocean. "That's silly!" And why would they feel compelled to leave a conference they've been a part of for over 100 years??? Ridiculous!
Fast forward to now and Oregon, USC, UCLA (and Washington) all left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. Oh, and the ACC now has Stanford and Cal as members. See? I was right, yet the ACC sat back and let everyone cut in front of them first. This could be a fatal move for the league.
My 2024 proposal is kind of the same. We know now that geography doesn't matter. We know the ACC is being held together by its Grant of Rights. We know that tradition "ACC schools" aren't really a thing anymore. So let's swing for the fences. Let's add two more schools.
UConn and Gonzaga.
Both schools have already been looking around, and both notably looked to get into the Big 12. Whatever the reason that hasn't happened yet isn't as important as the fact that both UConn and Gonzaga are willing to jump to a new opportunity.
Let's start with UConn. Since the Big East reconfigured in the mid-2010s (due, in large part, to the ACC raiding the league), UConn has struggled to find a home. The basketball program helped form the AAC before finally getting back to the Big East a few years ago. The football program has been kicked around as an independent. So why not send them an invite to join the ACC? UConn joining North Carolina, Louisville and Duke in a basketball league? Um, yes, please! So what if they suck in football -- so does Cal and Stanford and we let them in! While it seems like sacrilege for UConn to want to leave the Big East, remember a couple points:
1. They have literally been talking to the Big 12 about possibly joining.
2. The Big East that they are in now is not the Big East they were a part of during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. UConn was never rivals with Xavier, Butler or Creighton. I mean, being rivals with Syracuse, Pitt and Boston College again must sound alright.
3. The football program has nowhere to really go
Point is that if the ACC offered an invite to UConn, they'd strongly consider it. They'd have rivals near them in both football and basketball and would be able to get on the field with some big names. If UConn was considering the Big 12 (their nearest opponents would be West Virginia and Cincinnati) then why not consider the ACC?
Which brings me to Gonzaga. I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous ... but so did what I said three years ago and now that's way more plausible. Gonzaga doesn't have football -- so what? Notre Dame isn't a football member either and we're making it work. Imagine having North Carolina, Duke, Louisville, UConn and Gonzaga in the same hoops league? It is even more intriguing since the ACC now has a western wing to the conference which makes Gonzaga not living on an island out there. With Cal and Stanford now members, Gonzaga has some partners to play alongside. Playing ACC competition heading into the NCAA tournament will definitely have them more ready to perform in March and April. Plus since the Zags have no football program, their share of the pie (similar to Notre Dame) isn't as big.
Look, this may be a bit more far-fetched than even my pitch three years ago but the ACC is in survival mode right now. While the ACC doesn't have to do anything at all, making proactive moves seems to be wise right now. That's why they added Cal and Stanford to begin with. With Clemson and Florida State trying their hardest to break free from the conference, there is a lot that's up in the air.
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