All of sudden John Swofford, the Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner, actually dares to chat publicly again about prospects for expansion, stating glibly:
“Very comfortable not only with 12, but the 12 we have.”
That doesn’t mean, however, the league won’t grow. Swofford admits the ACC has looked at expansion, according to a report from Doug Roberson, Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Swofford said his conference has looked at 14- and 16-team scenarios.
“We know what it would look like and what the advantages and disadvantages would be,†he said. “It gets a lot more complicated. There’s a reason it hasn’t happened. But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.â€
Swofford hopes the 12-year, $1.86-billion TV deal the conference recently signed with ESPN will help the ACC weather the financial storms that have forced some conferences and schools to consider changes.
He said people should remember that the ACC started when seven schools left the Southern Conference in 1953. It could happen again.
In other words, the ACC isn’t going to be pro-active. Sounds familiar, like the wait-and-see approach the Big East is taking. Not going to do anything until forced to do so by the more powerful conferences.