BOZICH & CRAWFORD | Ranking realignment appeal of the 14 ACC programs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- This has been a wonderful week for fussing, because what else is there to do? It's one of the deadest spots on the calendar.

Football season is weeks away. We have to take a break from basketball recruiting one day a week. And this college conference realignment stuff simply won’t go away.

Everybody that Eric Crawford and I talk to wants to know what’s next in the conference realignment game. How many leagues will be left standing? Who is going to make the next move? What did we think of the Tweet by a swimming magazine writer that four schools are eager to jump to the Southeastern Conference from the Atlantic Coast Conference?

More on the rumors here, including why Miami and Louisville aren’t in this group (even with big revenue). https://t.co/9adzjXaL1P

— Braden Keith (@Braden_Keith) July 7, 2022

On Friday morning, former University of Louisville basketball player Jerry Eaves called me from Las Vegas, where he is doing his radio show and following the NBA Summer League.

His first question: What was the most desirable ACC school?

He said Clemson. I said North Carolina. A five-minute debate ensued.

If the future of the Atlantic Coast Conference is all the talk, what better way to carry the conversation into the weekend that putting together a list of how Eric Crawford and I rank the 14 ACC schools (Notre Dame doesn’t count) in terms of their desirability in the realignment sweepstakes.

Eric made his list. I made my list. We averaged the results — encourage you to make your lists and make your case for where Louisville belongs in the debate. We poke holes in other lists. Poke some in ours.

Let’s go.

1. North Carolina

CRAWFORD (1st): It is the best known-national brand, No. 2 overall media market but most engaged of the big media markets in the ACC.

BOZICH (1st): I’ve considered the Tar Heels a colossal underachiever in college football. But UNC is The Primary State School. Solid recruiting base. Spectacular campus. Excellent academics (for the UNC athletes who actually attend class).

Yes, UNC’s bowl history is littered with lots of Duke Mayo Bowls, Military Bowls and Quick Lane Bowls. The Tar Heels have not delivered the national punch of the next three schools on the list.

But they do deliver a pair of top-25 television markets — No. 22 Charlotte as well as No. 24 Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill. And, like Eric said, they do have a national brand and that powerful Jumpman logo.

2. Miami/Clemson (tie)

Miami

BOZICH (2nd): Some have soured on the Hurricanes since they are now on their fifth coach (Mario Cristobal) since Larry Coker won the school’s fifth national title.

Miami ranked No. 50 in the nation — and eighth in the ACC (behind Louisville) — in average attendance last season at less than 44,000 fans per game. The competition for the sports dollar is ferocious in South Florida.

But Miami also has a national brand. It has swag. And the Hurricanes are pouring money into their football program. They’ve got former U of L head coach Charlie Strong coaching their linebackers. They want to be a player. Sitting in the nation’s 16th-largest TV market helps.

CRAWFORD (3rd): Outstanding football history, basketball potential, encompasses two top-40 media markets.

Clemson

CRAWFORD (2nd): The best ACC football program in the past decade, and football is 90% of your grade. Cannot be left out because of that.

BOZICH (3rd): I know about the national titles. I know about the jumbo-sized crowds. I know about all the players the Tigers have sent to the NFL. I know Clemson has football-obsession at SEC levels.

I also know that before Dabo Swinney arrived, Clemson did not move the needle outside South Carolina. The Tigers’ primary media market ranks higher (No. 37) than I expected, but it’s not high enough to be a difference maker. Buyer beware, especially if Dabo leaves.

4. Virginia

CRAWFORD (4th): Top academic reputation, large state university, large media reach, championship basketball but pedestrian football.

BOZICH (6th): It’s THE state school. The Cavaliers have solid programs in multiple sports. The academics are first-rate. Many won’t rate Virginia this high because the Cavaliers don’t win enough in football, but George Welsh showed what was possible there.

5. Florida State

BOZICH (4th): Ten years ago, the Seminoles would have been first on this list. Then FSU proved how easily a program can lose its football mojo.

But FSU does have a bit of national brand. Deion Sanders, Charlie Ward, Jameis Winston and a cast of thousands played there. It does sit in prime football country. And rivalry games with Florida, Miami and Auburn would be compelling TV inventory.

CRAWFORD (7th): A sterling reputation in football and baseball, with an improving basketball reputation but has struggled in football in the wake of Jimbo Fisher’s departure. And if Florida State isn’t going to be Florida State, what else does it bring?

6. Louisville

CRAWFORD (6th): Small media market but has been good at nearly everything at some point or other over the past decade: Sugar Bowl, Heisman winner, top-level men’s and women’s basketball, multiple College World Series, volleyball, swimming, field hockey. Needs to emerge from NCAA shadows and sort out its football struggles. Does any of that compensate for market size? 

BOZICH (7th): The last four years haven’t been great for the Cardinals, but this is a program that played in 17 bowls from 1998-2017, winning an Orange and Sugar bowl while also producing a Heisman Trophy winner. The Cards will have to overcome the program’s NCAA issues in basketball and its lack of statewide appeal, but there’s plenty to work with.

7. Pittsburgh

BOZICH (5th): Geography makes the Panthers a better fit with the Big Ten than the SEC, but the Big Ten already has the Pittsburgh market covered with Penn State. Pitt cares about football. In fact, the Panthers claim nine national titles but only one since 1937, and that last one came in 1976. But western Pennsylvania is legit football country, and isn't football the only thing that counts?

CRAWFORD (9th): Good-sized media market but athletically non-descript.

8. Duke

CRAWFORD (5th): Championship basketball but just lost its Hall of Fame coach. Football not special but has a national brand and following.

BOZICH (10th): The football program has been going backward since David Cutcliffe’s best seasons, and Coach K doesn’t live there any more. Jon Scheyer has recruited well but if he turns out to be the next Gene Bartow, there’s nothing to see here.

9. North Carolina State

BOZICH (8th): The basketball team has NCAA issues and is tucked in the shadow of North Carolina and Duke. The football program has never played in anything bigger than a Gator, Peach or Liberty bowl. Even Russell Wilson got out of there.

CRAWFORD (10th): Brings the same media market as Duke and North Carolina but without the national prestige or significant sports distinctions of others on this list. 

10. Syracuse

CRAWFORD (8th): A brand-name in basketball, but Hall of Fame coach is nearing the end of his tenure. Needs to step up in football.

BOZICH (10th): It’s tough to keep selling Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Larry Csonka and Donovan McNabb. And the truth is Jim Boeheim would prefer to the Big East.

11. Georgia Tech

CRAWFORD (11th): Valuable media market, but that market already is dominated by Georgia. Strong academic institution with solid athletic potential.

BOZICH (11th): The Yellow Jackets’ days of glory have faded. They’re tucked in the shadow of Kirby Smart and Georgia — as well as the rest of the SEC and Atlanta’s professional teams. Blah.

12. Virginia Tech

BOZICH (9th): The Hokies have delivered one 10-win season since 2011. They have also lost their last four bowl games. They were a big deal when Frank Beamer was in his prime. They’re two coaches beyond Beamer, and I had to research that Brent Pry was now in charge.

CRAWFORD (14th): Once a national football name, those days are long gone and it hasn’t offered enough otherwise to move many needles, to be from a media market as small as it is.

13. Wake Forest/Boston College, tie

Wake Forest

CRAWFORD (13th): Small media market has not distinguished itself often enough in enough sports to rise above its number.

BOZICH (13th): Dave Clawson is vastly underrated for the work he’s delivered in Winston-Salem. But the Demon Deacons are the fourth-best realignment candidate in their state. Smaller school with a smaller brand and alumni base.

Boston College

CRAWFORD (12th): See Georgia Tech description, minus the UGA part.

BOZICH (14th): Serious applications only, please.

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