Good morning! By the time you’re reading this, the ACC’s presidents might have already been meeting to talk conference realignment for quite a while. Things start incredibly early in the ACC -- like 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday early. And according to ACC Sports Journal’s David Glenn, the docket will essentially be a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on adding Louisville:
ACC expansion judgment day: Louisville ‘expected’ to beat UConn for invite
Louisville once looked like it would be passed by UConn in the ACC expansion race, but we might find out Wednesday that the Cardinals have escaped the Big East after all. UPDATE: Louisville’s in.
Jamie Rhodes-US PRESSWIRE
“Given the way the conversations have gone to this point, either Louisville will be approved for an invitation (Wednesday) or nobody will be approved for an invitation,” one ACC source said. “Any other result would be a major surprise.”
David Teel later said the ACC is “poised” and “expected” to add Louisville, Dan Wetzel said Louisville could be added “immediately” (among multiple scenarios) and Jeremy Fowler describes the ACC as “‘zeroing in’ on” the Cards.
But at issue, in general: choosing a Big East team to replace Maryland, which is leaving in 2014 for the Big Ten. The serious candidates are UConn and Louisville, though Cincinnati’s obviously interested too. This means we’re not talking about South Florida or Navy any more.
Earlier in the week, neither the Huskies nor Cardinals were certain to have enough support yet to make it in, according to Mark Blaudschun, with neither projected to get the nine of 11 votes necessary. (Card Chronicle makes pitches to each of the four believed to be voting against Louisville.)
The assumption a week ago was that UConn had the lead, but now the thinking is that Louisville’s out in front. You can think whatever you want! All I think is that Louisville is without question the better choice, despite UConn’s superior academics and mystical television market stuff. Louisville offers a greater chance of football stability than UConn does, which is really all that matters for the ACC right now. ACC fans seem to prefer Louisville as well. (And Bud Elliott himself agrees with me.) Seems to be the thinking at the ACC, as a matter of fact:
Need for stronger football is helping Louisville, sources say. ACC was drag on FSU, Clemson this year in BCS. UL best option out there.
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) November 28, 2012
If the ACC will either add Louisville or not add Louisville, then, well, I think the ACC’s adding Louisville.
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