With the only question regarding the ACC's expansion being who will join, rather than if the conference will expand, several Duke coaches spoke out yesterday with mixed opinions regarding the consequences of Tuesday's vote.
Despite the much-publicized ramifications that will be felt in basketball and football, the ripples that will be result for the "Olympic" sports could be much more considerable. It is in these sports that conference divisions are less likely--as would be the case for basketball and football.
The most prevalent concern among the coaches was that of extensive travel, which equates to less time in the classroom for student-athletes.
"The impact of travel and on class missed has been minimal [in the current conference set-up]," women's soccer head coach Robbie Church wrote in an e-mail. "As the conference expands, so does the required time to travel to events, impacting class time missed."
Another potential issue raised was fiscally based.
"I am concerned about the short-term financial implications of increased travel, about incoming revenue to each member school (the current ACC members are spending like crazy just to compete on a national level, so an ACC championship football game and any new TV deals best be lucrative)," head men's track coach Norm Ogilvie wrote in an email.
Some sports, such as track, baseball, football, swimming and wrestling, could also be placed at a further disadvantage competitively.
"Will Miami divide up the sprint points that are currently going to Clemson and UNC and FSU?" Ogilvie wrote. "Will Boston College make the distances even tougher in an already brutally tough distance conference? [However], expansion could also be very good for the ACC in the long term. We just don't know at this time."
It should be noted that each coach was clearly optimistic regarding the vote. The agreement or disagreement with the future of the ACC was not to advance personal vendettas or grudges; rather, each coach expressed personal opinions reflective of a greater care for their student-athletes, their programs, and Duke University as a whole, irregardless of their opinion on the expansion proposal.
"I am in favor of expansion for two main reasons," Kimel wrote in an e-mail. "First, adding Miami and any combination of Syracuse, Boston College or Virginia Tech then makes the ACC eligible for an automatic bid in women's lacrosse. We are by far the strongest women's lacrosse conference in the country, yet we haven't been eligible for an [automatic bid] because we have only had four teams. Second...I applaud leaders who have the foresight to think outside of the box. I think that the [ACC] commissioner [John Swofford] feels a huge sense of responsibility to put the ACC, and its member schools, in a position where they can and should be major players on the college athletic scene for years to come."
Rennie expressed similar support but for different reasons, calling expansion a "much needed shot in the arm."
The anticipated impact on recruiting was also mixed, but the coaches did believe that the ACC would open itself up to more media markets, therefore making it more readily accessible to being viewed as a leader in academics and athletics.
"The image and clout of the ACC would be greatly helped by adding the right teams such as is being discussed," Rennie wrote.
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