CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Amid the consternation about the future and present of the ACC — the endless talk about the revenue gap; the speculation over whether the league’s grant of rights will hold; the questions concerning any potential defections — legitimate change has been forgotten in the hysteria. Part of the very identity of ACC football will be lost. The conference’s divisions are going away.
At the conference’s spring meetings in May in Florida, the prospect of a division-less ACC was among the headline topics. Coaches provided daily thoughts on the matter. Jim Phillips, the ACC commissioner, foreshadowed the likely change, which became official in late June. It was the stuff of breathless conversation and debate, perfect for the doldrums of the offseason.
Such chatter seems quaint now, a little more than two months later, given the omnipresent uncertainty surrounding the conference and the entire collegiate athletics enterprise. There are bigger things on the minds of everyone, from financial disparities to conference composition to the very mission of college sports, as Phillips described things here Wednesday.
