The ACC expanding to 18 conference games?

In the National Basketball Association the “buzz” word has become potential. If you follow Syracuse football like I do their ex football coach, Greg Robinson, used to love to use the word “flashes” a lot. In the high and mighty offices of conference commissioners I think the word that they must love is theory, and if you’re a fan of a team in the Atlantic Coast Conference every time those theories comes out you must get shivers down your spine. Just remember bringing in the last three teams to make the football part of the conference better. And how is that working out now?
 
This time, ACC commish John Swafford has come out with the theory, to be presented to the Men’s Basketball coaches and administrators, to expand the league schedule to 18 games starting in 2011-12. And I am going to say this: what are you thinking? Please do not bring me the theory, as I read in this article, of better games to sell to the fans. Maybe to sell to ESPN, CBS and the likes, but not to the fans.

Here’s what a bigwig of Raycom said:

“I think an 18-game schedule is a plus,” said Ken Haines, president and CEO of current ACC TV rights holder Raycom Sports. “It would make our scheduling a little easier as long as it wasn’t at the expense of high-profile nonconference games. It remains to be seen whether it would make it more valuable.”

And he hit it right on the head. If you’re going to show say, UNC and N.C. State, while the Heels are a Top 10 team and the Wolfpack are unranked with no possibility of going to the NCAA’s, but you have to give up a marquee matchup for both, where is the attraction in this? The answer: there isn’t any! The only way to add more games to the ACC schedule that would make sense, is if the NCAA allowed more games in the season and the conference went to 22 games, where each team plays everyone twice, making it a fair schedule for all. Otherwise, and I know that in this day and age it’s more about the bottom line than anything else, adding 2 games to the conference lineup to lose what could be great early season games makes absolutely no sense.
 
But hey, I’m not the only one saying it, the ACC head coaches don’t like it either:

The idea of playing 18 conference games has been unpopular with the ACC’s coaches. They have said more ACC games would strengthen schedules that already are difficult.

Why would a head coach like Roy Williams want to play two more games in the ACC when in exchange he might lose the game that the Tar Heels have against Kentucky each season? Again, think about this, it makes no sense, and it’s only to make one thing: more money. But more money for whom? Not for those kids that want to play in the marquee games, like UNC/UK. I know I always pound on the NCAA for never being there when things need to be fixed, but always first in line when it comes to cashing in, but now it’s time to do the same to the ACC for the same exact reason.

And for those that want to think that going to 18 games is a lot better, I watch a lot of basketball, and watching the Big East year in and year out, you can see that the big time rivalries, such as Syracuse and Georgetown, have been diluted because of so many games and the uneven schedule. But what I am having even more of a problem with is why would you even bring it up when the coaches don’t want it, the league is going fine and there are just as many cons as there might be pros to this? And again, it comes down to money in my opinion, because what else would move this into the spotlight if everyone is fine with what is going on now?
 
I guess I can end this post by using the words that I began with, there could be plenty of “potential” in doing this, which is showing “flashes” of good things, but most of the time “theories” never become reality, and for this idea that’s going to be discussed soon, I think it would be best that it does not.