I actually don't like the idea of Notre Lame joining the ACC, but of course because they're already a member for Basketball it makes the most logical sense.
So if we they wanted to add another school to pair with them, I'd take Memphis or USF.
I'd take UCF too, but most of our fans have a big issue with UCF which is weird to me because they're not a threat to us at all & they wouldn't become a recruiting Dynamo if they joined a power 5. They would most likely immediately drop down to the bottom of the conference & at best would be a middle of the pack team.
I actually would be trying to figure out a way to get the **** out of the ACC if I was the AD, this conference has been nothing but bad luck for us. I'd go to Big XII with another school to finally give them 12 teams.
UCF may make sense from a competitive perspective, but there are several reasons why they wouldn't be selected.
First of all, the market. Let's face it. It's about the money. UCF is in a large market of 2.5 million people. How many fans would UCF bring in that are not already watching ACC football with Florida State and Miami? Not enough in my opinion.
Secondly, FSU and UM would never go for UCF or USF joining the ACC. The reason is competition for recruits. They may not be on the same playing field now, but give little brother an even playing field and in time they will get a bunch of the good players. They have good academics, a nice campus, and a metropolitan area to live in. The only thing they're missing is the weight of being in a P5 conference. If UCF or USF were put on the table to join the ACC, Miami and FSU may throw their weight around by threatening to leave.
Memphis, Cincinnati, and West Virginia are NOT the biggest markets. Memphis metro is 1.5 million, Cincinnati metro 2 million, and West Virginia 1.8 million.
Although they may be viewed as one of the weakest choices, Temple makes the most sense and here's why.
First of all,
they are in the largest market of all other potential schools combined!!! Philadelphia Metro is 6 million people. Yes. 6 million. You also have New Jersey and New York City which are 1 hour or less from Philadelphia. That adds another 17.5 million people for a total of 23.5 million viewers.
More than the entire state of Florida in a 1 hour driving radius!!! It's the biggest footprint of any ACC school. This is why Rutgers is in the Big 10.
Secondly, Temple has a national brand in basketball. Perhaps not as big as Memphis or Cincinnati, but the regional market is huge as I described above. They are very competitive and make the NCAA tourney just about every year so they add strength and market to ACC basketball.
Lastly, Temple gives the conference a firmer footing for recruiting the northeast where no one is poaching recruits from an existing conference member.
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