Article:Proactive vs Reactive: The ACC vs Big East Debate

After watching the ACC and Big East start off slow in the 2009 season I have to wonder, 'What if the Big East had been proactive?' Webster's Dictionary defines proactive as, "serving to prepare for, intervene in, or control an expected occurrence or situation." Had the Big East thought expansion like the ACC, it could have saved the conference, and made it that much stronger. I envision a super-conference of twelve teams (Appendix A).

The expansion to twelve teams would've created a conference championship game between the North and South divisions that could have been played in Bank of America Stadium, the home of the Carolina Panthers. While the Southern division is much stronger than the northern, the same could be said for the East and South in the SEC and Big 12 respectively. I also feel that having BC, Miami, and Virginia Tech in the Big East would improve the quality of play for the other schools. Recruits today watch ESPN and hear the bias against the "Big Least," leaving them to search for alternative BCS-schools. The ACC would have retained its never in doubt automatic BCS bid while the Big East would have retained it as well, making the BCS Bowl format more legitimate than it currently is.

The Big East has suffered without the star power of Miami (even if they have been down), Matt Ryan and BC, and Frank Beamer's Hokie teams. An expanded Big East could have made all parties involved much stronger and only would have affected Miami Hurricanes Baseball negatively, as they'd still be an independent. I would say the only negative is having two Florida teams in the southern division, but USF and Miami don't even compete for the same athletes with regards to caliber or location.

There also would have been an improvement in stadiums for the conference. The Panthers play in the Steelers stadium, the Hurricanes in the Dolphins' stadium, and the Bulls in the Bucs stadium giving the Big East some beautiful facilities. Not to overlook the improvements to the Mountaineers facilities or the intimidating and constantly expanding confines up in Blacksburg.

Appendix A: North: Syracuse, BC, UConn, Rutgers, Cincy, Pitt South: Miami, USF, L'Ville, West Va, Va Tech, ECU