Advertisement
football Edit

Divided on divisions? FSU, ACC still trying to sort out football scheduling

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- When it came to the topic of scheduling, every football coach, athletics director and staffer who attended the ACC's spring meetings this week seemed to agree on at least one thing:

It makes no sense that Atlantic Coast Conference football players can go through an entire five- or six-year career without playing every other team in the conference.

And in some instances, the gap between games has lasted even longer.

Wake Forest and Miami, for example, squared off in 2013 and were supposed to compete again in 2020. But that game was scrapped due to the COVID pandemic, and now it's anyone's guess when they might meet again.

"We do want a model where we get to see the teams more frequently," Wake Forest athletics director John Currie said.

Finding that consensus was the easy part. The trick has been coming up with a solution.

*** Don't miss out on any of our great FSU Sports coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial ***


FSU and rival Miami would remain annual opponents even if the ACC does switch scheduling models.
FSU and rival Miami would remain annual opponents even if the ACC does switch scheduling models. (Logan Stanford/Special to Warchant)

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips spoke with a group of reporters late Wednesday afternoon and confirmed there's a desire by many in the conference to switch to a 3-5-5 scheduling format. That would mean each school would have three permanent opponents, five other schools would be part of the schedule for two years, then the other five would come on for two years after that.

That would guarantee every school in the league would face every other school at least twice every four years.

In Florida State's case, Miami and Clemson would definitely be permanent opponents, according to FSU athletics director Michael Alford.

"That's for the betterment of college football," he said.

Alford declined to say who he would push for in the third spot, although he did not sound overly interested in nearby Georgia Tech. While many FSU fans would love having the Yellow Jackets on the yearly schedule -- and Atlanta is home to a huge number of Seminole alumni -- Alford said there are other considerations.

One is what is best for the conference as a whole. Another is what creates the best exposure and revenue opportunities for Florida State.

And a third, not mentioned by Alford but suggested by others, is maintaining competitive balance across the league; not overloading one school with three potentially very tough annual opponents.

FSU coach Mike Norvell didn't say which way he voted on the topic during the coaches' meetings, but he is not totally in favor of doing away with divisions. He saw first-hand the significance of winning a division title during his years at Memphis.

"At my last institution, [we had] three straight years of winning division championships, and the last one winning the conference championship," Norvell said. "Those were things that were pointed to and celebrated. ... But on the flip side, getting the best two teams in the championship game is a great showcase for a conference."

Indeed, along with creating more variety in schedules, another impetus for scrapping the divisions would be ensuring the two teams with the best ACC records meet in the conference championship game.

There have been years in the past where FSU and Clemson, for example, were clearly the best two teams in the league, but one of them stayed home while a representative from the weaker Coastal Division played for the conference title.

Phillips said having that marquee matchup in the ACC championship game could be beneficial in the College Football Playoff discussion, especially once the playoff expands beyond four teams.

"You want your two best teams to have a chance to play at the end of the year for a lot of reasons," he said.

According to several sources, the league's coaches were deadlocked at seven votes apiece when it came to offering their opinion. But Miami A.D. Dan Radakovich and others said the athletics directors are more supportive of the move to the 3-5-5 model.

"We're in a good spot," Radakovich said Wednesday afternoon. "We're closer to the end than we are to the beginning."

A final decision won't come, Phillips said, until ESPN executives have more time to look at the proposed 3-5-5 model and offer feedback. While the television network's officials were at Thursday's meetings, this was their first chance to look at the proposed pairings and how it would all map out.

"That's kind of the last step," Phillips said. "What does that do from a television standpoint? Is that something that's attractive for ESPN? We'll decide whether we want to do it or not, but we'd like to get their input as well."

If the model changes, it could go into effect for the 2023 season. Phillips said he didn't ask for ESPN's input before this week because he wanted to first hear the feedback from coaches and administrators.

"I think they will be supportive," Phillips said of the network. "I would be surprised if they weren't. Especially if you can get some matchups that you haven't had in a while. That makes sense."

What no one knows yet is how much extra money that might mean to the ACC -- and the member schools -- if ESPN is supportive. The conference is looking at every potential angle to boost its annual revenue, which lags far behind the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten.

"Any time we make a change, I want to know that the change is going to make an impact," Norvell said, adding that he is "open" to the switch. "You can change anything that you're doing just to say that you did. But if you're not going to get the impact or a positive response to a change, then why do it?"

Phillips said a decision likely will be made in the next few weeks.

----------------------------------------------------

Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council

Advertisement