Thursday April 17, 2008

Coastal; ACC-SEC Challenge

Coastal
I can’t remember exactly where I was when I found out Clemson had signed a two year agreement to play a home and home with Texas A&M but I can remember getting excited when I heard the news.

I do remember a fall night a few years ago I was in Chesnee, SC to watch a high school football game to scout an opposing high school prospect. I was in the parking lot of the Hardees across the street from the high school when I got a call from someone inside the athletic department. The phone call was to inform me that Clemson and Georgia had agreed to renew their rivalry in football.

Today it seems harder and harder to get an out of conference opponent and I usually temper my enthusiasm when I hear a new big name opponent because the games are usually so far off and I understand how easy the schools get out of the contracts.

Clemson has signed to play Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Auburn and others but I am not sure if those games will ever happen. I think I am right by saying the Oklahoma series has already been cancelled.

I guess it is kind of like opening a present on Christmas Day and there is a letter inside that says you will get a big present in six or seven years but there is a chance you might not get it at all. It also reminds me of the sign on the wall behind the bar at the Esso that says, “Free Beer Tomorrow.”

Don’t get me wrong, I had a terrific time in College Station, TX and loved the return trip the Aggies made the following year. But those trips are few and far between.

Therefore, I understand the Coastal Carolina game and I have no problems with it. Some will complain about any Division I-AA opponent but I don’t think there is much difference between playing Furman or Coastal instead of UNLV or Ball State. I was told Central Michigan was a bowl team the last two years but they were awful in their game here last fall.

Why not play The Citadel, Furman, Coastal Carolina, Wofford or South Carolina State once a year?

The ACC-SEC Challenge
On this morning’s radio show I came up with the solution to the entire out of conference scheduling problems for any team in the ACC and SEC. Please take a look at the ACC/SEC Football Challenge:

*We will not start until 2013. This gives each school enough time to straighten out their schedules and no player on scholarship will play so it gives each school enough time to prepare its personnel.

*Some of the ACC/SEC Football Challenge will look like the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in basketball.

*Each school will block out the last weekend in August to open the season with the challenge.

*The schools will be ranked 1-12 in each conference in a vote by the coaches after spring practice. I would say May 1 the vote would take place and we would know the schedule for the event on that day each year.

*The games will be played at four neutral sites: Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville and New Orleans. The NFL season would not start until the following week so these venues will be available.

*Each site will host a game on Friday, a game on Saturday and a game on Sunday.

*The top games will rotate each year. For example, New Orleans would get the top seeds in 2013, Jacksonville in 2014, Charlotte in 2015 and Atlanta in 2015.

Here is an example of what the 2013 event would look like:

ACC Seeds (Hypothetical for the 2013 season)
1. Miami
2. Florida State
3. Clemson
4. Virginia Tech
5. North Carolina
6. NC State
7. Georgia Tech
8. Boston College
9. Virginia
10. Wake Forest
11. Maryland
12. Duke

SEC Seeds
1. LSU
2. Florida
3. Georgia
4. Alabama
5. Tennessee
6. Auburn
7. Arkansas
8. South Carolina
9. Ole Miss
10. Mississippi State
11. Kentucky
12. Vanderbilt

Friday
Atlanta 12 seeds at 7 PM Duke-Vanderbilt
Charlotte 11 seeds at 7 PM Maryland-Kentucky
Jacksonville 10 seeds at 9 PM Wake Forest-Mississippi State
New Orleans 9 seeds at 9 PM Virginia-Ole Miss

Saturday
Atlanta 5 seeds at Noon North Carolina-Tennessee
Charlotte 6 seeds at 3 PM NC State-Auburn
Jacksonville 7 seeds at 6 PM Georgia Tech-Arkansas
New Orleans 8 seeds at 9 PM Boston College-South Carolina

Sunday
Atlanta 4 seeds at Noon Virginia Tech-Alabama
Charlotte 3 seeds at 3 PM Clemson-Georgia
Jacksonville 2 seeds at 6 PM FSU-Florida
New Orleans 1 seeds at 9 PM Miami-LSU

*Some problems may arrive like the FSU-FL game and Clemson-Georgia in 2013. In those cases you would switch the teams so FSU would play Georgia and Clemson would play Florida.

*Regular season rivals would not play each other in the challenge. For example, Clemson could not play South Carolina, Georgia would never play Georgia Tech and Florida would never play FSU.

*Friday night you would have to play four games and start two at the same times because of TV. One thing that could work is play two of the games on Labor Day.

*With games starting at Noon, 3 PM, 6 PM and 9 PM, the end of some games may run over but this is the only way it would work on Saturday and Sunday. So ESPN 2 would broadcast the noon and 6 PM games while ESPN gets the 3 PM and 9PM games.

*There would also be consideration for teams that play in the same venue or play the same teams repeatedly. So, I say you can’t play the same team twice in a row. Vanderbilt could not play Duke two straight years. Instead they would get Maryland or the next seeded teams. The same applies for the upper seeded teams.

*I think they teams need to travel and play at different venues each year also. I think they would want to give the fans and teams a different trip each year.

*Tickets would be in high demand so I would handle each session like a regional in basketball. When your team plays you will receive more tickets but the non-competing teams would also get a chance to buy tickets at the sites. I think a trip to New Orleans to see three football games in three days would be marketable. New Orleans would get Virginia-Ole Miss, Boston College-South Carolina and Miami-LSU. Try getting a ticket to those games!

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