Y'all thought the start of "football season" would end realignment rumors? HA!
Though actually, I suspect this one is one or both of Cal-ford trying to put pressure on the ACC, a la Yormark courting UConn to nudge the four corners. I can very nearly hear the sarcastic drone accompanying the ACC's wanking gesture.
Agreed completely. All of the schools the Big 12 has brought in feel like Big 12 schools. Stanford and Cal definitely don’t. Also, I’d be really worried about the Big 12 taking on too much too quick.
Yeah, and you've already got Utah implying they're too good for the B12, and ASU having to be dragged kicking and screaming into the conference at all. I would be concerned to bring in two schools who really don't want to be in the Truck Stop Conference when they're not really needed (Zona and ASU are already on California time for the first 2/3 of the season or whatever) and may not do much for a conference beyond academic bragging rights and bringing their opponents' audiences to the after dark slot. That said, geography is a huge issue with the ACC, but it is kind of the only issue, so I get the appeal. They'll fit in nicely with Duke and Wake when FSU and Clemson finally bail. :-)
Stanford and UC Berkeley feel better with the ACC because the ACC has strong academic institutions. The Big 12’s strongest school is Baylor at 77th. The ACC has Duke, UVA, UNC, Wake, and Notre Dame. All are top 30 schools in the country.
They also don’t have the same level of hate that Big 12 schools have.
Generally speaking, you're not wrong, but undergrad in general, and USNWR in particular is a not something the decisionmakers will care much about, except to the extent it correlates with stuff they do care about. It's all about them research dollars and Nobel laureates and Carnegie ratings. Cal and Stanford still fit better in the ACC than the B12, but Baylor being at 77 has very little to do with it. ISU, Kansas, and their old PAC friends would be more of a draw to the academic side of the house than the B12's top 3 of Baylor, BYU, and TCU, even apart from the religious issues with the first two and the guilt-by-nomenclature for TCU.
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