The seismic shift in college athletics is underway.
But the fault line isn't in Texas, or on the west coast, where I am at the moment after covering SU vs. USC.
It's right along Irving Avenue.
Syracuse and Pittsburgh's athletic departments can be called visionary for departing the Big East for the ACC. Anyone who says otherwise, or calls them hypocritical as I've seen really isn't fully apprised to the situation.
So let me try and get you there.
Is anyone calling UConn hypocritical for, according to sources, reaching out to the ACC?
No.
Why? Because it's every school for itself. By being proactive, SU and Pitt aren't in UConn's position; begging for a seat at the table.
No disrespect to Uconn, whatsoever, it's just the point that SU did what it had to do, ahead of everyone else, to assure itself a solid future.
Again, visionary.
We don't know what Daryl Gross knows. We don't know if West Virginia if flirting with the SEC Conference. We don't know if Rutgers was in cahoots with the Big 10 (both rumored). How would the mood be today if the ACC announced it was taking UConn and Pitt? Orange Nation would be worried as ever, staring down a conference that would probably adding Central Florida and Houston or another mid major program, or leftovers from the Big 12 if it dissolves like Iowa State or Baylor.
I'll take the ACC please.
It will be exciting to see the Orange football team suit up in the Dome against Miami and Virginia Tech and Maryland again, all were rivals at one point, including Boston College. The Orange, is assured it will BCS member, quite frankly for as long as the BCS exists now. In basketball, I know, I too will miss very much taking on UConn, Georgetown and Villanova among others. However, I can't wait for the first time SU plays North Carolina and Duke in the Carrier Dome. And I know SU fans will be pumped for that too. Lacrosse is also a huge upgrade.
The hope is that, Gross and company can try and line up out of conference hoops games with the aforementioned schools and in football West Virginia and Rutgers to maintain some rivalries.
Well, nevermind about Rutgers.
Bottom line, it's the dawning of a new era folks. And while bittersweet, it's a good day to be Orange. Syracuse has proven it's New York's College Team, and now will represent the Empire State against the rest of the East Coast. We should be proud that our college team was good enough to earn the ACC invite over some of our Big East brethren. And at the end of the day Syracuse University will earn much more money in the ACC (oh yeah, forgot about that part) and with that cash expect some nice upgrades to Orange athletics facilities in the future.
So whenever it happens, I can't wait til the SU Football season opener in 2012, 2013 or 2014 and I can't wait to see that Orange ACC logo on Ernie Davis Legends Field. Not much will be different physically in the Salt City when my flight from LAX touches down, but one thing is for sure, it will have a completely different feel to it.
