Saturday Blitz
Fansided

ACC Football: How did the ACC become the nation’s premier conference?

By Justin Dottavio

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: (EDITORS NOTE: Retransmission with alternate crop.) Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers reacts during the first half against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: (EDITORS NOTE: Retransmission with alternate crop.) Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers reacts during the first half against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next

The rest of the coaching dominoes fall

Other moves made noise with a big name assistant like Larry Fedora coming to Chapel Hill in 2012 to change UNC’s culture. In 2015 Fedora’s Tar Heels squad went 11-3. Big name assistants around college football like Dave Doeren came to resurrect NC State who now has one of the best defenses in college football. Long-time Michigan State Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi left MSU for Pitt in 2015, and upset Clemson in an 85 point thriller.

What drives an upgrade in resources? Winning. Winning brings TV deals, donation dollars and merchandise sales.

The ACC started trying to keep up with the Joneses. It was no longer a basketball and baseball conference. There’s no better proof than Louisville pulling an SEC type move by brining Bobby Petrino back after his controversy at Arkansas. Petrino hasn’t posted double-digit wins but Lamar Jackson has won the ACC’s second Heisman in four years. Louisville is an SEC type school in athletic culture and Clemson and FSU are one in recruiting. These are the schools that don’t fit the “southern Ivy” stigma of most ACC programs. Then there’s the new influx of coaching talent in 2016

2016 saw former UGA head coach Mark Richt head south to Miami. Again, a massive upgrade over Coker, Shannon and Golden. Richt was the first proven winner Miami had hired, well, ever. Think back; Howard Schnellenberger was a top rated assistant but not a big name head coach, Jimmy Johnson wasn’t a big name, neither was Dennis Erickson. Miami was a tryout for Butch Davis and the next three aforementioned coaches before Miami could land Richt.

The rise of the up-and-coming coaches

Last season also saw two fast rising star coaches in Justin Fuente (Memphis) and Dino Babers (Bowling Green) head to the ACC. Fuente took over perennial good team Virginia Tech while Babers was tasked with fixing the Syracuse problems that had persisted since the departure of Donovan McNabb. Also in 2016- Bronco Mendenhall, a head coach of Richt’ian stature, left BYU where he had won 99 games (to only 43 losses) and came to UVA of all places. That’s a cross-country move into the cellar of college football.

What drove these coaches to the ACC? The ACC started upgrading facilities and offering more money. What drives an upgrade in resources? Winning. Winning brings TV deals, donation dollars, and merchandise sales. FSU winning the national title and Winston’s Heisman run got eyeballs on the conference and dollars in the coffers. You can’t draw if you cant’ win. Especially not in places with beaches, golf, and basketball as secondary options to spend your money on.

Home/ACC