Terps and the little guy
The Carolina-Duke Motor Inn.
MY FIRST REACTION WAS THAT I HATED THE MOVE. I thought about shagging fly balls during BP on the manicured field at Clemson, the March sun in South Carolina feeling so much better than it did in College Park. I thought about giving up home runs in front of 5,000 fans at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee.
Shoot, I even thought about those sketchy “ladies of the night” looking for work at the Carolina-Duke Motor Inn in Durham. (We ended up sending them a few doors down to the coach’s room. Said he might be interested.)
The Maryland baseball team I played for had a lot of ACC losses, but more importantly to me, we made a lot of ACC memories.
So I was surprised to see many of my old teammates in favor of Maryland’s move to the Big Ten. And it went beyond the opportunity to compete against fellow cold-weather schools. It was about program viability.
When you hear people lament that the Terps’ move was all about money, you’ve got to remember just how volatile their financial situation was. Seven sports already had been cut. You can bet baseball was on the short list of teams that would go next if things didn’t improve.
In a lot of ways, I think the ACC left Maryland before Maryland left the ACC. Neither was wrong to do what it did. I was in favor of the ACC adding Pitt and Syracuse to strengthen its long-term security, but the reality is the old league faded away. Maryland was going to play Virginia and Pitt twice a year in basketball. Duke? UNC? They might as well have been in the SEC, as often as they would visit College Park.
So Maryland, awash in red ink of its own making, did what it had to do, too. It bolted for cash. And if that means the 2025 Terps baseball team will still be around to send some sketchy Bloomington ladies of the night a few doors down to their coach’s room, well, I suppose some good came out of it.
LOCAL LINKS
-Frank Beamer says the ACC will be fine without Maryland.
-Mike London says Maryland’s departure could help UVa in recruiting.
-The Hokies improve to 4-0 by beating UNC Greensboro 96-87.
-UVa thumps Lamar in front of an announced crowd of 1,444 at JPJ Arena.
NAME THAT TUNE
My sister got lucky
Married a yuppy
Took him for all he was worth
Now she’s a swinger
Dating a singer
I can’t decide which is worse.
Oh, but not me, baby
I got you to save me…
November 20, 2012 - 8:50 AM
Somebody on Twitter yesterday remarked that Debbie Yow ran the athletics department into the ground by playing with “funny money.” Any truth to that, Aaron?
What really strikes me is how dismissive some folks are toward Maryland. It’s almost like they are relieved Maryland’s leaving. I guess when a school is drowning in debt, it drags down the conference (or not), and having a “dead weight” cast aside makes it easy to forget. Beamer said he thinks the conference will be fine. London sees opportunities to raid the Maryland’s pipeline for recruits.
I’m sure folks will be singing a different tune if Clemson or Florida State threatened to pull a Maryland.
It’s a Tom Petty tune, but I can’t recall the name.
How much of Maryland’s extra Big10 cash is going to get eaten up by increased travel cost? Sure it might keep some sports alive, but football and basketball will likely have a more difficult time rising to the top.
Yer So Bad–Tom Petty
The question is – when Maryland continues their disastrously managed athletic department into the B1G, and are still operating millions into the red five years from now, where will they run?
I understand the Tobacco Road complaints about the ACC always being state of North carolina-centric, it still remains that way, even though they’re four of 12-14-15-14. Then again, the ACC was formed in 1954, Mrylanders must be pretty patient folks, having gone through over half a century of this. Ah, well. All will change when they’re in the B1G and are on completely equal footing with Ohio State, Michigan, & the like. HAHAHAHAHA!!!
Sorry, couldn’t help myself.
As far as missing those ‘rivalry’ games with the Big Two in ACC basketball? Maryland is no different than every other ACC basketball team that hungers for two pairs of games against UNC & Duke. Heck, we Hokies are already at that stage, and we’re still neophytes.
Once Maryland gets into the ‘new’ fourteen member B1G, how will the schedule be any different? Same number of teams, you’ll just be traveling 2-3 times as many miles to reach them. Zero chance of bussing now, it’s all going to be air flights. Even for women’s lacrosse. Good luck making that budget work when you can’t make it work in the ACC.
Yes, the inherited revenue will be better. Yes, the academic reputation is solid. But also – yes, travel expenses will increase dramatically. Yes, you’ll be starting new manufactured ‘rivalries’ from scratch at the direction of the B1G headquarters. Yes, your lost traditions will result in lowered fan interest & attendance.
So, bottom line – Hey, Maryland! Enjoy your selling out because of your perpetual poor management. You’ve hurt the ACC, possibly yourself long term, and helped to speed the death of fan interest.
Oh yeah, I listened to SVP, too. He made points, but had his tortoise shell glasses on.
A note about the UVa-Lamar game? For all those folks who think it is essential to replace Cassell Coliseum? Think about it for a minute. We probably tripled that attendance in our first home games, but keep in mind the expense of a $50-75 million arena, all for the 2-3 times a year when we host UVa, UNC, & Duke and sell out.
Sometimes it is better to spruce up than to replace.
With the knowledge that UM is having financial problems the question becomes more interesting, where is the $50 mill buyout coming from? If UM can put the financing together anyone can. Fifteen years ago the ACC was all about basketball, now it is mostly about football and ACC football is weak, except for the two schools most likely to get SEC invitations. The $50 mill buyout was supposed to prevent schools from leaving the conference. It didn’t work. I’m waiting for the next shoe to fall and expecting the ACC to once again become a basketball conference.
Trev, I’m not at all happy or relieved to see Maryland leave the conference. It could be the wedge that splits us into irrelevance. As for the possibility of Clemson & F$U going into the SEC or Big 12, I’d imagine their antennae are raised completely right now. Who knows, we might end up back in a modern version of a Metro Conference about three years from now.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Yer So Bad” (I think that’s the right spelling).
cr, I agree about fixing up Cassell…I’d rather go that route than build a cavernous arena that hardly ever gets filled and loses the intimidation factor when there is a full crowd. I continue to use NC State as my reference point on that.
I’m likewise not liking the Maryland defection. There is a chance the ACC holds strong and doesn’t suffer long-term, but it could also be the first domino to tumble, particularly if they challenge the $50 million exit fee and have a successful bout to get it reduced in court. That could open the floodgates. I’ve heard a lot of rumblings about the Big XII wanting to expand back to 12, with FSU as one of the prime targets. I really don’t like the prospect, because if that whole process starts, the ACC could wind up essentially the former Big East plus the leftover programs from the ACC, assuming additional poaching didn’t happen.
The money plays in college sports are starting to be a turn-off for me though. It’s not even as if they’re trying to hide it any more, now it’s all out in the open…and it stinks.
c.r., I agree with your fears. The new NCAA football world is increasingly looking like a 4-conference model, and the ACC has firmly established itself as the 5th conference.
Yer So Bad it is. Nicely done.
I think your post was a good one. It is sad to see Maryland get itself in such dire financial straits that it had to move for the money, but the move undeniably makes financial sense because of the extra TV revenues and the prospect of a fuller football stadium. I went to Duke and had a good friend there whose parents were big MD athletic boosters, so I went to a few classic basketball games at the old fieldhouse.
It is very said from a basketball tradition point of view, and even from a lacrosse point of view, but you are right the ACC Maryland is leaving is not the ACC of 1970 – 2010.
This reminds me of colleges selling their art collections for the money. Undeniably the right call at the time, but they shouldn’t get themselves in the position where they don’t have the freedom to follow non-monetary values.
I just don’t want the ACC adding UConn or some other crap school just due to money and TV markets. I love the ACC and want it to stand for something special. I love the addition of VT and even like Syracuse. BC is a good school with good traditions and excellent Olympic sports. I don’t like Miami in the ACC at all, for non-sports reasons, and I feel like Pitt would have been a better fit in the Big 13 (not too late!).
It’s all kinda sad.
What other have said about the traveling cost is one major factor that are being widely ignored by many. The rising cost of gasoline don’t look to come down any time soon, not since oil companies know they can creep up the price slowly without sparking furors, and it doesn’t make sense to travel criss-cross across the country to play games. How is Maryland going to benefit playing in half-empty stadium at Indiana, Illinois, and Purdue?
It’s like the new divisions in the Big East. Temple got jobbed big time by being in the western division, which mean they are going to have travel two or three time zones to play. However, theres’s rumor that Boise State, San Diego State, and SMU, I think, are talking with the Mountain West. So, I could forsee a possible unholy merging of the Big East and the ACC to make a big east coast juggernaut in basketball and football second.
The ACC are never going to shake their reputation as being a basketball conference. The last time they were regarded as a football powerhouse was when Bobby Bowden and FSU were running and calling the shots.
It’s a maddening football world we live in now.
I just don’t see how a poorly run athletic department is going to become well run just by changing conferences. If there really is more money in the deal, well, they’ll just waste more money.
Ahhh!!………The “dog-eat-dog” world of modern college football!!……Where MONEY is everything and allegiance, honor and tradition mean absolutely nothing!!
The ACC won’t be the same without Maryland – one of the original members.
I hope the football gods know what they are doing
Another thought – since the AQ status are going away when the playoff era starts, it has basically rendered the conference realignments completely moot, except for the pursuit of the almighty dollars. Money don’t grow on trees, and eventually the tap will hit the ceiling.
If it’s true that Bosie State, for example, are talking to the Mountain West, then their move to the Big East was completely unneccessary because the only motive behind their enlistment to the BE was for the AQ-status. It is almost like the BCS are doing their damnedest to keep out the Boise States of the world out of the big dollars bowl games.
Division 1 football is becoming more and more like the NFL. Soon, there may be four super conference with regional playoff and national super bowl championship games. What’s to stop those conferences from breaking away from the NCAA? Not much. They pretty much have more power than the NCAA at this point.
RP,
So you and CR are seeing 4 16 team mega conferences setup consisting of
SEC (adding Clemson and FSU)
Pac 16 (adding who knows which 2 teams)
Big 10 (adding who knows which 2 teams)
and who is the 4th conference? The Big 12 that Texas A&M and Missouri just left? Who would they add to get to 16? Who would the B10 or Pac 16 add to get to 16 teams?
What I see is the ACC adding Navy which recaptures the vaunted “DC” TV market and perhaps Notre Dame for all sports if they see they are left on the table and have to join a megaconference.
Unless the B10 completely bribes the Lamers to join (which is probably on the table) then that would change the deal completely. Remember, Navy has dragged its heels joining the BE and now has to be totally reconsidering that move.
The ACC getting Syracuse and Pitt was a pre-emptive strike against the B10 who was going to try and get them. Rutgers, the ACC could have had for a ham sandwich. The B10 is getting ACC sloppy seconds on that one.
Unless Notre Dame totally prostitutes itself out of the ACC deal or had an escape clause if the membership changed, I am not sure that the Big 12 necessarily is that 4th megaconference.
Who does the Pac 16, B12, and B10 go for to complete their 16 teams?
I’m sorry I am late to the meeting, folks. Those late night Maui games get after you, and you have to sleep in a bit.
I love this particular week, because you get great basketball games, and you get them pretty much all day/night if you want to watch them, and you then get the season ending, mostly rivalry games, in football. The only drawback to this week is Black Friday, and having to pull the spark plug wires on all of the vehicles to keep the Mrs. from going out and doing something stupid. And now, you have to turn off the wireless router to keep her from getting online.
Anybody see that Marquette-Butler game? Incredible finish.
The mighty Chaminade Silverswords rose up on the 30th anniversary of beating UVA (with Ralph Sampson there, no less, he must’ve gotten a free trip out of it) and they slapped Bevo and the Longhorns around.
UNC looks pretty impressive, too. Mississippi State should press charges for assault and battery the way UNC abused them.
It sounds weird to say it, but the Hokies got a big road win at UNC-G. This team is going to be fun to watch. I really like the style of play, or more so the pace of it. The James Johnson pace is “just play, don’t think,” and the Seth Greenberg pace was too deliberate, they had to think too much.
There was all of this concern about depth, but barring any injuries, the numbers are about right, given the quality minutes that Will Johnston should be able to give. He’s not somebody you want out there for 40 minutes, but if he can give 10, and hit a couple of 3′s, he’s going to fill a valuable role.
Nothing to add on the Maryland move. Don’t get it, don’t care. Not to diss A-Mac’s alma mater, but I will, but the ACC just lost the equivalent of WVU, in terms of the Terp fan base. Going to College Park is about like going to Morgantown.
It will be interesting to see how the ACC responds. It has to balance the divisions. I can’t see any model where 7 and 6 work. Will they wait for a defection? Will they add UConn? Will they bribe ND into playing football with Kevin Plank’s $50 million check? Will they use this as a way to realign the divisions more North/South?
A little perspective on Maryland’s move provided by Chad Scott in ATL…
http://dev.chuckoliver.net/2012/11/what-maryland-leaving-the-acc-does-and-doesnt-mean/
And by Kristi Dosh of ESPN…
http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/dollars/post/_/id/2389/maryland-rutgers-will-need-big-tv-money
One more basketball item, caught my first glimpse of the new ESPN studio analyst, some bald dude named Seth Greenberg.
I kind of figured he’d do a good job at it. I assume he’ll do some games along the way, too, but he and Bruce Pearl are a good combo. They both like to talk, and are pretty much naturals at doing that analysis of games.
$83,113 in football donation?! No wonder Maryland was going googly eyed for the B1G. I guess they ought to rename themselves the B14G, or possibly B16G (funny, that would almost look like BIGG, a gangsta name).
For the Big 14, I am reading that adding MD and Rutgers is all about adding cable TV subscribers.
Someone sent me President Yoh’s email to alumni on this matter. He said he’d talked to “some key stakeholders” about the move.
Yet, McMillan, a dissenting regent, said this decision was made in 72 hours with no consultation with coaches and athletes or even the ACC. Student-athletes are banned from talking to press. “Key stakeholders” indeed. I think Yoh just talked to the Underarmour guy.
Still, all that said, how can the ACC really complain when it robbed Md of any meaningful home-and-home b-ball games. What foolishness.
Trevor, I think you have to look at total contributions to the athletic program, not just to football. Schools do things different ways. I dare say VT has a similar dollar amount, because Tech doesn’t penalize a contributor for NOT specifying football – when it comes to your priority level for picking seats and parking. Some schools do.
For example, if you give $10,000 to VT’s athletic fund, the Hokie Club, and earmark it for baseball, for example, you still have $10,000 in total giving that is counted for where you fall in the pecking order for picking football tickets/parking, and basketball tickets.
It sounds like some of the B1G 10 schools mandate you have to direct it toward football to get football credit toward ticket locations.
Maryland is likely following the VT model, and there donations are mostly ‘undesignated’ and simply get funneled where they need, because they can count toward priority level for any sport.
It would be interesting to see how VaTech’s donations stacked up against those numbers, as well as the rest of the ACC. If we only could find a reporter willing to take the time to do so – hint, hint, hint…
The comment I like best in Chad Scott’s article is this one,
“The Terrapins are nestling up to the Big Ten’s massive teat, admitting they’re unable to responsibly and successfully manage their athletic department’s finances without massive subsidization.”
He managed to work teat into a sports article. That’s quality work!
Rick H, the figure I posted was directly from one of the articles crooked road posted. It was the second one, I believe.
Regardless, it does show that there may not be a total confidence in the football program by the boosters. Anybody remember Aaron’s mom epic rant email? I would imagine there are others like her.
I am not a donator by any means except buying t-shirts, tickets (on rare occassion), and watching them play via TV or online streaming. My eyeballs actually help pay money to VT, I think.
Maryland and the Big 10 marriage,means some long rode trips. Are we sure they thunk this through? Would of made more sense to add Notre Dame and Pittsburgh into the mix. When all of this came about back in the dark ages it was about geography, now its about TV markets. The almighty buck has done us in.
I equate all this expansion(Maryland& Rutgers)to when Macy’s went from 70 stores to 800 plus. You end up losing the mystique of shopping in once a grand old store. It isn’t the same old fuzzy warm store anymore. Trips to Herald Square are not the same. Big isn’t always better. Bring back the Mom and Pops.
Trevor, I saw the same figure in the same article, but as I said, I think schools have different “strings” attached to how they receive money. Some will require it to be designated to a specific sport to get benefits for that sport, some don’t, and I imagine Maryland is like Tech, it doesn’t make that requirement, and if you give a chunk to a sport other than football, you still get football benefits.
To crooked’s inquiry, off the top of my head, I want to say the annual giving to Tech athletics is in the $10-$12 million range. One thing I do know, over the last 15 years, or so, the number of donors has not increased significantly. It is kind following the logic that people will only give if they can get something (preferred seatiing, parking), so the actual number of donors is pretty static.
The amount given this past year may have spiked a little bit, because of the re-seating extortion . . . . re-seating schedule, but for the most part, it is pretty level.
How that compares to other ACC schools is anybody’s guess.
OG,
Not to get political here but I have to wonder if some of the DC mentality and the deficits the feds have run and how mismanaged, inefficient, and expensive government is, has made its way over to the UM athletics.
Now they look to someone else to bail their tails out rather than fixing their own mismanagement in the first place.
Sounds like the feds but without the power of confiscatory taxation.
BTW, Bob H, you’re assigning me a mindset I never expressed – about mega conferences and all that jazz. I did mention the possibility that F$U & Clemson, the two teams that spent this year talking about moving to other conferences, suddenly reconsidering the possibility of going to other conferences. The only two other conferences mentioned with them were the two I mentioned – SEC & Big 12.
At this point, I don’t know what to expect, excepting some of the most tin foil scenarios put out there, that have been continually put out there for the last couple of years, seemingly. I do know the ACC is damaged, and it’s going to take a lot of Bondo to patch the hole.
I never believed any of the Hokies to SEC junk, and I still don’t. I also don’t believe any Hokies to B1G discussion, either. Of course, as of last Friday I never believed Maryland was all that hot & bothered about not being ‘respected’ in the ACC. The more conference realignment that occurs, the less I care about college sports.
CR
I hear you but I don’t see how the damage of Maryland defecting is all that great. Let’s not kid ourselves, WVU would jump at the chance to get into the ACC, UConn is knocking on the door, East Carolina is everyone’s perennial wallflower, and Navy could add alot to the mix (just maybe not for women’s sports).
Maryland is a lower rung team. If they can’t cut it in a weak ACC, the B10 will be a disaster for them athletically. Lacrosse, which has been a saving grace, is not a hot B10 sport. I hope all of the ACC teams refuse to schedule Maryland in lacrosse, and the quality of their program goes down. B10 has hockey and where does that leave Maryland?
Adding Maryland and Rustger adds nothing to the B10. DC is a PRO sports town. Capitals, Bullets, Redskins, Nationals, Ravens. Maryland no more gets you into the DC market than Rustger gets you into the NJ/NY market.
I say add Navy and wait ND out. It hurts to have had a defection, but how many has the B12 had? Colorado, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Missouri. (ONE THIRD OF ITS ORIGINAL MEMBERSHIP) I still think the ACC survives ok and the B12 is the one on the outside of the bubble. Texas and Oklahoma will bolt to the Pac 14 eventually to save their own hides. 2 BCS conferences has have major defections- the BE and the B12. The ACC has had one.
Keep in mind that Clemson voted FOR the $50M buyout adopted by the ACC. That says to me-we are staying.
A decision made by a mismanaged university and an equally mismanaged athletics program is not a death knell to the ACC.
Aaron -
(Long time lurker, seldom poster here)
I am a UMd alumni who went to Maryland from 80-86 (for multiple degrees). I probably saw a large portion of the best of UMd football and some of the good basketball too – plus I’m likely the same age as many of their big donors. And I *really* hate this move.
If anyone should be in the so-called “Atlantic Coast” conference, it’s Maryland. I guess, from what I read, that it will pay off in the short run, but in the long run, it seems as if they are really sacrificing regional identity for money. I was already not happy with UMd for firing Ralph Fridgeon – this will likely make me stop watching their games altogether. I don’t feel good about that, but I feel even worse about UMd being a Big 10 member.
Katie — You sound a lot like my parents, who are football season ticket holders. They hated the Ralph thing and hate this even more. Not sure if it’s enough to get them to stop going, but it could be.
Just imagine the outcry if the Terps were still playing home and home hoops games with Duke and UNC.
Honestly, A-Mac (God, I miss BDST), if Maryland were still getting home-and-home series against UNC and Duke, I don’t think they would even consider making this move.
Aaron – if your mom (or dad) cares to share thoughts on this with us, I’d love to hear them.
Let’s just be clear here – adding WVU to the ACC is like informing your parents you’re engaged to a stripper, and want her to keep her night job. Or even worse, her day job.
East Carolina will never pass the approval of the Big Four NC schools. Ever. Navy has little to offer the ACC, except in non-revenue sports, which is the LAST thing the ACC needs, more invisible sport power.
To reiterate, what the B1G adds by accepting UMd & Rutgers is potentially $150-200 million in annual revenue for the BTN, meaning an additional $10-15 million per team above the already estimated $25 million in revenue they receive.
One more comment about the ‘loss’ of two guaranteed home & away games against both UNC & Duke every season? Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s been gone for about 8 years now, right? When will the weeping end over that? The Hokies haven’t had that guarantee since joining the ACC.
As for the pretend ‘rivalry’ between Maryland & UNC/Duke, yeah, back in the 70′s it was something, but since then, Maryland has been like every other ACC school – pretending they have a rivalry with those two, when the only rivalry is between the two. Maryland has managed to win ACC basketball titles in 1958, 1984, & 2004. They’ve managed to win the football crown exactly once in the last 25 years. So, let’s be honest and admit they’ve been pretty irrelevant for decades. It hurts to lose them, greatly so. But the truth is, the whining by Terps about not being respected or being treated as equals of UNC & Duke in hoops are pretty clearly looking out of terp glasses.
What will the bottom line be? Like I said before – five years from now the Terps will be flat broke & busted, despite being in the most profitable conference in the nation. They’ll be equally irrelevant, like they’ve been for decades. Only now, they’ll have zero water cooler talk, they’ll have no real rivals, they’ll have pitiful attendance, even worse than now.
Have fun with that, Terps. The blame lies in the mirror.
Here’s how quickly Maryland becomes irrelevant in the B1G, as soon as they’re an official member and the BTN contracts are finalized. Here’s why – check out the alum numbers from existing B1G members in the marketplace they just secured.
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/65858/big-ten-biggest-expansion-gamble-is-itself
The next countdown will be on how quickly Maryland manages to waste their newfound financial booty & be right back in the financial hole they’ve been for years & years & years & years. I’m sticking with the over/under at five years…
A few thoughts about the $50 million exit fee. The assumption that Maryland won’t have to pay it because they didn’t vote for it is similar to assuming – key that word – assuming that if you vote against a politician, he doesn’t govern you politically. Also, keep this in mind – regardless of the final fee, all of that money that folks assume Kevin Plank is going to foot could have been applied to athletic department infrastructure like renovation to Byrd Stadium, funding of all those non-revenue sports that Maryland supposedly had zero funding for, but now they have $20-50 million to fund even higher expense now for those non-revenue sports. How many non-revenue sports would be fully funded for a decade by $20-50 million?
Think about that, Terps, while you try to justify your inability to financially manage your sports for the last several years and predictably the next several years…
Here’s some food for thought that’s been ignored by the local media…
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/colleges/virginia-tech/dp-spt-feature-tech-game-week-presser-1121-20121120,0,4093320.story
Especially when you consider the source, it will be one of the components of what will continue happening in January.
Crooked road……better get some coffee, stay up and start writing. I think you are going to be very busy in the near future digging up nasty things to say about other teams as they leave the ACC.
Not a Maryland fan here, but gee, give it a rest, let the Terps move on.
Here is some food: taco.
I hope the Big Whatever (10,12,14) forces the Terps to lose those awful uniforms and helmets.