Will the last one out the Big East door please turn out the lights? Louisville became the latest escapee Wednesday morning when they were officially voted into the ACC.
The Cards replace Maryland, who just jumped ship to the Big 10. The ACC chose Louisville over Connecticut and Cincinnati, two other Big East programs desperate to get the hell out. Louisville strong football/basketball combination won out, as did their already healthy athletic budget. Louisville joins Florida State as the only two ACC members with overall budgets north of $80 million a year.
The ACC hopes by bringing in the strongest football program among the wannabes that it will entice Florida State and Clemson to sit tight.
Realignment fever has spiked once again, and once again we will see just how much the Big 12 (i.e. Texas and Oklahoma) really like having just 10 members. If we are sweeping towards the Super Conference model, the Big 12 must expand, and the pickings are getting slim. West Virginia would have loved to have Louisville as a regional partner which means maybe Cincinnati moves up the chart.
Maybe realignment moves into the background for a few years (both the ACC and the Big 10 supposedly are happy at 14 members), and maybe it is still spinning out of control.
As if there weren't enough going on over on the 40 Acres with the unrest in football and the lackluster start in basketball, the UT administration must take a lead in whatever the Big 12 decides about realignment.
There is an old chinese curse that goes: "May You Live In Interesting Times."
DeLoss Dodds is having one helluva interesting year.