ACC Basketball: Why adding West Virginia Mountaineers would be a good idea
3. West Virginia adds a competitive sports program to the ACC
The ACC doesn’t have to add another team, even though they’re at 14.5 programs. The .5 is because of Notre Dame, who is with the ACC in all sports except football, where they’re an independent. Although there’s an agreement to play six games against league opponents, the Fighting Irish have made clear that they don’t want full membership in football.
If the SEC going to 16 teams creates a superconference arms race, there are two realistic options for the ACC to counter with; West Virginia and Maryland, who was originally with the ACC until a decade ago. While the Washington D.C. market still makes the Terrapins very intriguing, they would have to take a pay cut to leave the Big Ten to the ACC.
The Mountaineers make the most sense from all realistic options when it comes to fan base, regional ties, and potential rivalries. While the football team hasn’t had as much high-level success, they’ve been ranked at some point in 17 of the past 20 years. And on the basketball court, the same of being ranked is 14 of the last 17, including three Sweet 16 appearances in four recent years, along with a Final four spot in 2010 when they were in the Big East.
Focusing on ACC Basketball, West Virginia also has a Hall of Fame head coach in Bob Huggins. He’ll be turning 68 this September but still has a number of years left with the Mountaineers. And after losing Roy Williams and eventually Mike Krzyzewski, the league could use another top-tier head coach along with Tony Bennett, Jim Boeheim, and Leonard Hamilton.
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Most important, adding West Virginia wouldn’t hurt the ACC in any way. They wouldn’t go to the bottom, unlike Rutgers and Nebraska when they moved conferences, and would remain as viable contenders in both main sports. Who knows what the next steps are for everyone after the Texas/Oklahoma vs Big 12 situation is resolved but one that makes great sense is the Mountaineers making their own move to the ACC.