The Raj got himself into a little bit of a twitter squabble with the good folks at bcinterruption and BCdraft. It all started because of the Raj’s post on Boston College ticket sales. In his post, he explained that he feels that BC belongs more in the Big East than the ACC. His argument raised the eye brows of the proprietors of these blogs. The argument is based upon attendance and whether the move to the ACC has helped BC with their attendance. Here are the numbers that BCinterruption came up with:
| Program | Average Attendance | # of Games |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Notre Dame | 44,500 | 6 |
| 2. Miami | 43,682 | 6 |
| 3. Virginia Tech | 43,510 | 8 |
| 4. Navy | 42,845 | 4 |
| 5. Syracuse | 42,627 | 5 |
For the full post link here.
Interesting numbers in this post. FSU, which is a new ACC opponent ranked 7th on the list. So the debate was in full rage on Twitter. I had to pick it up for the Raj as he was being hammered for his post by BC experts. I wasn’t going to sink into the insults that were being thrown at us because that is not how I roll. Once included a tweet trying to discredit us, which is par for the course. No response needed.
The basis for the Raj’s argument is all about winning. Taking the Matt Ryan era out of the equation and BC, though competitive hasn’t sniffed a BCS game. You place Boston College back in the Big East as it stands today, and they have a shot. I think attendance would jump slightly moving back to the Big East, but I am only speculating. Both UCONN and Rutgers are vastly improved programs since BC jumped ship. UCONN has more of a chance to travel than Rutgers simply because of proximity. It also looks like Syracuse is on the upswing, and you see where they are on the list. A strong Syracuse program would drive people to the stands, plus their alumni base floods the east coast.
Like Miami, the move to the ACC for BC hasn’t proved to be the boom the school anticipated. Also with Miami facing potential NCAA disaster, the entire ACC would suffer. BC would be safer in the Big East because of their fragile existence in the ACC. At this point an imminent move back to their old digs is only based on internet speculation. I am sure BC fans are mixed. Some enjoy the competition of Clemson, FSU and Maryland in the ACC. While others want to fight for league titles in the Big East. It will all go down to what makes the most sense financially. With the potential for super conferences on the horizon, this whole discussion can be meaningless. The ACC and Big East may indeed converge, and all hell would break loose.
Ari Russell
I actually agree with you Chancellor despite disagreeing on other matters (see Navy and Army to the Big East). You make good points above. Bottom line… BC is going back to the Big East. There are going to be 4 super conferences eventually and they will be:
Big 10
SEC
Pac 12
and wait for it… Big East
That’s right. Big things are happening with the Big East and look for current Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti be the next commish for the Big East. He knows how to get the job done. Big East in 5 years will look like this:
- Rutgers (Sports programs will all be power houses in next 5 years… especially men’s basketball. Mike Rice will eventually win coach of the year)
- Cuse
- WVU
- Pitt (May leave for Big 10 but will be replaced if so)
- Cinci
- Louisville
- TCU
- Uconn
- USF
- Boston College
- Va Tech
- UVA
- UNC
- Duke
- UCF
- NC State
Maryland and GA Tech to the Big 10. Clemson and FSU to the SEC. Miami independent and football program will be nothing compared to what is used to be. Wake will be left out in the cold.
Bottom line… the Big East and the ACC CANNOT coincide once we get the super conferences. The question is who acts first and my sources, which are very strong, tell me Big East is on the hunt… and not for non-BCS teams.