The ACC spring meeting might be more drama-filled than Jimbo Fisher vs. Nick Saban in Destin.
Things have been better in the ACC, as illustrated by the incredibly tense spring meeting down in Amelia Island, Florida.
The last time we saw something get this intense in a Floridian spring meeting, it occurred on the other coastline in another conference. Whether it be Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban or Sliced Bread, oh, it got heated in Destin last May, alright. As far as what is going on in the immaculate Ritz-Carlton, let's just say it will be so awkward when Boo Corrigan represents the Selection Committee again.
The North Carolina State athletic director got into with rival program Wake Forest's athletic director John Currie, so much so that Dan Radakovich had to step into separate his two colleagues.
Radakovich is an ACC man through and through, having served as the athletic director previously at Georgia Tech, Clemson and now at his alma mater of Miami. He is the Johnny Cash of ACC administrators; he's been everywhere, man.
This kerfuffle has everything with the ACC's Magnificent Seven drawing a line in the Atlantic Ocean sand, saying we're good and you're not. The Magnificent Seven are believed to be Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Naturally, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said that the 14 athletic directors were not going to speak with the media after a what appears to be a grueling and most taxing four-hour meeting.
ACC spring meeting is going off with a hitch, so buckle up for a bumpy ride, y'all!
Inside baseball, this Ritz-Carlton location is awesome. I've been there, and I may or may not have had the worst panic attack of my life there many moons ago. But you know what? I survived. I'm just not so sure about the state of the ACC, to be totally honest… The Magnificent Seven could potentially be poached by other leagues, namely the SEC and the Big Ten, so that is something.
This has everything to do with the conference's increasingly horrific grant of rights. They cannot get out of it media rights deal until 2036. This means the four other Power Five leagues will get to set at the negotiating table twice, maybe even three times in some instances, before the ACC gets to again. If you don't understand why this is a massive problem, you should not a run a business…
The fact the Magnificent Seven are largely state schools, plus Miami, gives them sizable leverage to hopefully flip this thing on its head. I don't know how to tell you this, but contracts that are at or more than a decade in length are the epitome of stupidity. You are banking on a false sense of stability, while inflation eats away at your money and with next to no ability to reset the market.
Overall, I want the ACC to figure this out before it is too late. The football can be hit or miss, but Clemson remains strong, Florida State is nearly back to being what it should be and Miami cannot possibly be down forever. Factor in how strong this league is on the hardwood and on the diamond, and there is no reason to just let it die because the ESPN deal is the worst thing to exist.
The only regrettable thing in this is ESPN was able to live stream that four-hour meeting for us all.