Atlantic Coast Conference ponders the future of its football title game
AP
Virginia Tech's Josh Hyman (19) celebrated with fans after the Hokies won the ACC title game last year.
GREENSBORO, GA. — The ACC is hoping a new city brings new and improved results to a conference title game that has struggled to draw interest in its three-year existence.
But the conference's brass aren't just standing idly by and hoping the championship game is magically transformed in its move from Jacksonville, Fla., to Tampa, Fla.
Commissioner John Swofford said Tuesday at the end of the 2008 ACC Football Kickoff that the conference is being more proactive by lowering ticket prices and reaching out to a community it hopes will embrace the game in its two-year stay at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium.
"That city has shown a propensity to put on and support big events in a very big way," Swofford said.
Jacksonville fell far short of expectations after the ACC split into two divisions and staged its championship game there in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
The inaugural game, between Virginia Tech and Florida State, was deemed a modest success. But the past two — Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech in 2006 and Boston College vs. Virginia Tech last season — were relative embarrassments.
Wide swaths of empty seats were beamed to the nation as the ACC's showcase game was portrayed as a flop compared to championship games in the SEC and Big 12.
Michael Kelly, director of football operations for the ACC and the man in charge of running the title-game show, said attendance probably suffered the past three years because of high ticket prices.
Kelly said the average price will decrease this year. The cheapest tickets being offered this year are $25, a big drop from last year's low-end cost of $60.
About 80,000 alumni of ACC schools live in the Tampa area, Kelly said, compared to 50,000 in the Jacksonville area. The conference will focus more heavily on marketing while involving itself in outreach that includes collaborating with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers to promote the game and draw their fans.
"That's a big market and without question a football town, so to speak," Swofford said.
After the two-year stint in Tampa, the game will move to Charlotte in 2010 and 2011. Swofford said he's still not sure whether the title game should rotate like the Big 12 or remain in one location like the SEC.
"By the time we finish that second year in Charlotte, we'll have seven years of experience with the game and I think that will help us make a determination as to what the best route is to go," he said.
AP
Wake Forest stunned the ACC in 2006, capturing the conference title for the first time since 1970.
This year's game is Dec. 6 and starts at 1 p.m. Swofford said half of the 65,000 seats have been sold, and public sale begins Saturday.
Other notable items from Tuesday morning's news conference:
--The NCAA is tinkering with the clock again this year in hopes of shortening games. When a play goes out of bounds, the clock will begin running following the referee's spot unless it's in the last two minutes of the game.
--Also, there's now a 40-second clock that'll start at the end of plays instead of when the referee marks the ball ready for play. There's a 25-second clock for certain situations that include timeouts, changes of possession, after replay and after a measurement.
--All told, the changes are expected to trim 10 to 12 minutes from games while keeping the number of offensive plays per team at 70-76.
--Swofford said there's a "fair amount" of support among ACC presidents for a plus-one format in college football. The issue is moot for now, though, because the 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame's athletic director voted in April against pursuing the plus-one until 2013 at the earliest.
"Other conferences were so strongly in favor of retaining the current format that we never got to the point of taking a vote," Swofford said.
--Thursday night games keep getting bigger. This year, the opening week features four Thursday night games involving ACC teams. Nine of the conference's 12 teams will play at least once on Thursday this season, including Clemson's visit to Wake Forest on Oct. 9. Every team will have a minimum seven days rest preceding Thursday games this season.
--ESPN's College Gameday program will originate from Atlanta on Aug. 30 before Clemson's game against Alabama at the Georgia Dome.
--The ACC has added the Congressional Bowl, a Washington, D.C.-based game that pits the ACC's No. 9 team against Navy.
The inaugural game is scheduled for Dec. 20 at Nationals Park, but Swofford said the bowl will be played after Christmas post-2008.
The Congressional Bowl replaces the Humanitarian, which is in its final season as an ACC bowl partner.
Reach Larry Williams at lwilliams@postandcourier.com and check out the new Clemson blog at www.charleston.net/blogs/tiger_tracks/
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Comments
theronce (anonymous) says...
Considering the teams playing in the ACC title game and the location of the game, I'm a little surprised that anyone is surprised about the attendance. Play the game at the home of the team with the better record.
July 23, 2008 at 7:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Clemson1979 (anonymous) says...
Clearly should be in SC or NC or maybe even GA every year.
July 23, 2008 at 7:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ashleyriver (anonymous) says...
Let's just be honest....unless FlaSt, Clemson, or VaTech are in the Championship game, its not going to be a sellout. Those teams are the only ACC schools who "travel" well to football games. Holding the championship game in Charlotte might marginally increase ticket sales from the NC schools who fought expansion, but the basketball culture long fostered by unc, NCst, Duke and Wake Forest at the expense of the more football oriented schools (and the ACC was founded because of football) will take at least one generation to overcome---if it ever happens.
Don't misunderstand, those NC schools will gladly share in all the football championship revenue, they just won't support their own football teams or improve facilities with the same eagerness they would if it were basketball related.
July 23, 2008 at 9:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MSC (anonymous) says...
smaller stadiums.
July 23, 2008 at 9:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sbs920 (anonymous) says...
Gee, if the quality of play in the Average Coast Conference was better maybe people would show up. High ticket prices? Whatta joke! Just keep moving the chumpionship game further south, that makes good sense. LOL! "Dome" you ACC morons "Dome"
How about a SEC/ACC Championship Saturday in the Georgia Dome. One plays their championship game at noon then the other plays their game at night.
Even a clempson grad should be able figure this one out.
July 23, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tigerfan07 (anonymous) says...
sbs,
If you knew what you were talking about I might would agree with you, but the fact still remains that the only real football schools that have gone to the ACCCG were in the inaugural game. (VT vs FSU). I don't know if it sold out or not that year, but when you have other teams like GT vs Wake and VT vs BC, you won't have a huge following b/c well BC has about 200 fans, and the same with Wake. GT is a little better, but not big enough. The only way it will have a following is if the teams that are SUPPOSED to get there are there at the end of the day. (CU, FSU, VT, and maybe UM if they get there stuff together eventually)
July 23, 2008 at 10:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
huj (anonymous) says...
I can guarantee the move to Charlotte will draw the NC schools' fanbase, should their teams make it to the title game. Particularly UNC, and with Wake's fanbase growing I see them showing up in droves as well since they won't be far from Charlotte either.
Aside from all that, simply moving from venue to venue will do little to nothing for respectability until ACC teams start beating their BCS opponents and win their bowl games, period. The 'build it and they will come' mentality is not working.
July 23, 2008 at 10:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
common_sense (anonymous) says...
Tampa makes no geographic sense.
The game needs to be played in Charlotte, Atlanta, or maybe DC.
Jacksonville made more sense than Tampa.
I'm just sayin...
July 23, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
Yeah, Tampa sounds like fishing. Money must be involved somewhere. And a double-header with SEC might be interesting. It'd sure be one heck of a party.
July 23, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rebel_Yell (anonymous) says...
The problem is that the ACC is the All Cupcake Conference. No one wants to see a title game for a bunch of cupcakes. Wake Forest rules!!!
July 23, 2008 at 11:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ashleyriver (anonymous) says...
sbs920 always has such a great sense of humor!
"Even a clempson grad should be able to figure this one out.".........and he fully knows that Clemson is ranked substantially higher than usc in every academic ranking service that has been published for years and years!!!!! Such jocularity!!
BTW, the management of the Georgia Dome has already fielded a proposal for dual championship games, but have pretty much conceded that because of logistics it would have to be the same weekend, not on the same day......but feasible, nonetheless.
Of course, championships are something usc fans talk about, not actually participate in. Hey, sbs920, perhaps at this years ACC Championship game, some of you usc fans might take that trip to Tampa to reminisce about the ONE conference championship the "fighting" gamecocks have won in over 100+ years of football.......that one conference championship being an ACC championship achieved in 1969 during its lengthy tenure as an ACC member---and, naturally, the poor gamecocks were found to have used illegal players that season....but the ACC still allowed them to keep that lonely trophy in that lone, dusty trophy case.
July 23, 2008 at noon ( permalink | suggest removal )
common_sense (anonymous) says...
I wonder if Rebel Yell knows that his "beloved" Wake Forest is in the ACC?
If for some reason he was trying to be funny...remember this:
Just because USC is in the SEC, that does not make them any good. Ask Vanderbilt & both schools in Mississippi.
I'm just sayin...
July 23, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sbs920 (anonymous) says...
ACC Championships
Spurrier 1
Bowden 0
Now how funny is that ! Yuk Yuk Yuk!
July 23, 2008 at 12:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rebel1 (anonymous) says...
tiggers tainted nat champ followed by ncaa probation and almost death sentence. You tiggers keep trying to make excuses why no one wants to watch or attend a average coast conf game.tammy, 10 yrs ,no acc title. SOS 2 yrs at duke none the less and a champ. ENOUGH said. where did tammy coach before and what has he done. Its a shame when a name gets you your job.
July 23, 2008 at 1:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
common_sense (anonymous) says...
sbs, what ACC school did Spurrier coach for to win that ACC Championship...since that game has only been around since 2004?
I'm just sayin...
July 23, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cutigers08 (anonymous) says...
This is ridiculous. Who cares that Spurrier won a championship at Duke. Carolina fans can bring up all the stats they want about Tommy Bowden and Clemson, and how being one of the worst teams in the best conference somehow makes you good. Fact is Clemson is better than Carolina, always has been, and always will be. And if Tommy Bowden wins his first ACC then what will you talk about?
Go Tigers
July 23, 2008 at 1:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ashleyriver (anonymous) says...
rebel1---the truly shameful, embarrassing aspect of your infantile, barely literate ramblings is that you refer to a person who has defeated your football team 7 out of 9 times as "Tammy". How does it feel to have someone to whom you've ascribed a girl's nickname kick your butt every year???
Incidentally, do ya think this year's gonna be any different?
July 23, 2008 at 1:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rggr (anonymous) says...
So Spurrier was more successful at Duke than USC...
Losing to good teams does not make you a good team. Vanderbilt plays in the SEC - oh yeah, you lost to them too. It didn't seem like USC thought that one of the bottom teams in the ACC, UNC, was a cupcake last year.
July 23, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sbs920 (anonymous) says...
common_sense
Spurrier was at Duke when he won the acc.
all of CU nation loves little tommy. . . today. . .
how many times have the orange orangatangs come after his little monkey butt when he loses. Remember when he was in tears on a TV interview after a (Duke or WF) loss.
July 23, 2008 at 3:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fantasy5 (anonymous) says...
OK, Duke won the ACC with Spurrier forever ago, during a time I don't even remember and most of you probably don't either. Regardless of size or competition, you don't hear CLemson fans talking about how Tommy took Tulane to an 11-0 record before taking the job in Tiger Town. BC he hasn't done anything YET w/ us. Spurrier hasn't done anything w/ USC and probably never will. So with that playing field even w/ neither coach doing what he came to accomplish, all we have to look at is our history, and I don't need to remind any of you what that looks like. Clemson is going to win the ACC this year and run the table while beating two-SEC teams. GO TIGERS!!!
July 23, 2008 at 4:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JAMJOH (anonymous) says...
I can see why you call yourself fantasy
July 23, 2008 at 4:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dereksmith (anonymous) says...
I thought lou holtz was GOD!!!!!
July 24, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sbs920 (anonymous) says...
No, he was just "Granny Clampett" in disguise
Weeeee Doggies Uncle Jed, why is Jethro wearing orange overalls!
July 24, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
girlygirl (anonymous) says...
Dereksmith - holtz thought he was God too !!
July 24, 2008 at 2:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fjms (anonymous) says...
RW, why such hatred for Clemson and the A.C.C.? Our football history is very similar to yours.
July 24, 2008 at 3:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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