This is where we really dissect whether this addition is a good or bad thing for the ACC?

Welcome back to the Adam Gold show on a day where the ACC touches the Pacific Coast Highway. Unbelievable, but very believable at the same time. We all saw this coming.

You don't publicly flirt with Cal and Stanford and SMU and not ultimately, you know, go to dinner. I mean, it's just going to happen. Well, so the ACC killed the league by saving it, saved the league by killing it. Does it really matter? Destroyed the league in order to save it, Adam, is the phrase you're looking for.

Yeah, no, I think it does. I really believe, and I've said this all along, that the grant of rights and the network, that the ACC had actually created an infrastructure or foundation that allowed it to wait some of this out, and it had until about 2030 where it really had to start making difficult decisions. And instead, a number of these presidents got panicked by Florida State's saber rattling and the breakup of the Pac-12. They acted precipitously, and they did something that assures that when Florida State and Clemson and UNC now do leave, and they will, this assures it, this makes it 100%, it's going to happen. There's no way to stop it now, that other schools will be left behind in the second tier league.

Notre Dame's going to flee too. It's just the short-sightedness of this is just staggering to me, and they talk about hundreds of millions of dollars. It comes to less than four million per school per year.

Every public school in the ACC spends in excess of a hundred million dollars on athletics. It's tip money. They threw nickels at Randy Woodson until he caved. I would argue that this was going to be an inevitability anyway, that sitting, doing nothing was worse than doing something, even if this something is not all that much. I agree. It's not, this is not anywhere close to bridging the gap.

I don't believe it was ever billed as bridging the gap. Florida State, no, nobody, nobody, nobody in their right mind thinks that this was the explanation that I was given. Right. And I'll tell you this right now.

This is from inside the ACC. The presidents have asked us to close the revenue gap and this does that. That's a hundred percent. Nobody, nobody is going to believe that.

Would you listen to me, please? This is what I was told. I'm not telling you it's true. I'm telling you this is how it was pitched to the presidents and they bought it.

All right. But we're being told also that this is a good idea and we all know that it's not a good idea. So we can challenge that. And we know that they don't believe this is going to close the revenue gap. The revenue gap is going to be $50 million between the SEC and the ACC and the Big Ten and the ACC.

Yes. You and I agree on that and there's no doubt about it. What I'm telling you is what the people who run the league talked themselves into and it's ludicrous and they made a terrible short-sighted decision when they didn't have to act. And now they're going to have to sort through the wreckage for the next five or six years and then they're going to be stuck in a second-tier league of their own devising. Again, that would have happened either way.

I think sitting by and doing nothing was worse than doing something. Look, I want to hear Jim Phillips and I know Jim Phillips can hold immediate availability. It's kind of offline for most people but I know we're going to monitor it here.

I know you're going to go and participate in it as well. I want to hear Jim Phillips from his own mouth say that this will close the revenue gap because the revenue gap is going to be... We're not even closing it by adding Notre Dame as a full-time member if they ever did that. We're not getting to the money that the Big Ten and the SEC and smart people recognize that. So I don't believe for a second that Jim Phillips is going to say that out loud that we are closing the revenue gap. I will wager you one American dollar that he says something like the president asked us to address the revenue gap and this does that.

Now you and I both know this addresses about an eighth of the revenue gap or less tip money. It's insignificant but that I'm telling you this is what the spin is going to be. This is what they have talked themselves into in their little cloistered offices in Charlotte now not Greensboro and and it's just it's the the lack of leadership here. I don't necessarily blame Jim Phillips. He's trying to do what his bosses are telling him to do but when you're taking orders from the presidents of Notre Dame and Syracuse who have the two loudest voices in the room you end up with a conference run like Notre Dame and Syracuse.

I don't think anyone's holding them up as case studies. Well Notre Dame's vote really didn't matter. They just they they would have needed if Notre Dame didn't have a vote. When he has pushed this harder than Notre Dame which is a 20 percent member of a conference that it's pushing to do something it doesn't want to do. Don't get me started on Notre Dame. I don't know why the ACC is listening to Notre Dame at this point as I wrote you can't blame Notre Dame for trying to push the ACC to doing things that hurt hurt the ACC. Just like you can't blame a raccoon for going through your trash but it's your fault you didn't lock the cans. I blame I blame the raccoons all the time.

Luke Tkach of the News and Observer is joining us here. I know I've I've had I've had it out for for the raccoons. Here's the thing I don't I it's not that I think that the ACC did a good thing here but I do think that they added money and we were looking for any money we're putting games on in movie theaters for maybe there's a dollar there whatever it's that's not gonna hurt anybody. I wish it wasn't for all sports.

I wish it was just a football deal because I do fear that once again we are going to punish the athletes for the desire to find more money but here's where I come on in terms of this issue. I think this ended a long time ago. I think the notion that we were headed anywhere but where we are headed right now that happened that ended eight years ago. When the SEC why did the SEC add Missouri? It wasn't because Missouri played good football. Oh they got St. Louis and Kansas City.

I got two cities we'd love to we'd love to be all over the state of Missouri and especially in those in those two cities right. They didn't they don't need they didn't need Missouri. They added Texas A&M and then and Texas A&M joined because they wanted to separate from Texas and as soon as they could they screwed Texas A&M. We are headed for an a time that has no bearing to what we have now or what we had 10 years ago and it's inevitable that we'll have two leagues they'll all be in one entity being two conferences the SEC and the Big Ten and it'll just look just like the NFL and there was nothing that anybody could have done to stop it. Yeah I mean maybe although I would point out that the SEC added Missouri to get the those two television markets at a time when television markets mattered they don't in 2023. I agree. So that's so that logic has changed I mean you're not you're adding SMU in the end the Bay Area teams is not going to get you any additional network revenue I mean you can't even watch ESPN in those markets right now. I've got a I've got a I've got a TV screen on in front of me that says we offer Disney a fair deal yet they are demanding an excessive increase thank you. So like that just underlines how stupid it is to act rashly and irreversibly right now given how in flux the situation is and my argument is this some of this may be inevitable true but you had bought yourself the time to wait some of this out and ride it out. I think there's a change it though. Well once you've added these schools you're in a much worse bargaining position they don't add anything they make you worse competitively it's a it's a disaster for everything traditionally that you care about the ACC in terms of being good at football or being good at men's basketball it doesn't it doesn't do anything to help any of those issues it's a short-term panic move to add some limited revenue from ESPN and placate presidents who saw the big 12 act and wanted the ACC to do something the smart move here was to do nothing at all not now but you bought yourself time use it. Again I don't think this makes the ACC any worse than it was I think it does make them money small amounts of money it makes them money and ultimately it might not matter anyway we talked to Iris Chafell from WarChant.com says Florida State's gonna lead the league in two years anyway the league is dying I don't know it might it might die the Pac-12 died maybe with the ACC should just call themselves the Pac-18 now I don't know it doesn't really matter anyway since it's all about college football as a TV product but I just I think sitting standing pat was worse than trying something even though this is obviously not awesome and I'd also think that the AC college conferences are not really college conferences anymore they're corporate entities they're money-making machines and that's what that's where we are that's fine and even if you felt like it was absolutely imperative for the ACC to act they still went out and added three schools that nobody else wanted I mean either of the other conferences could have taken Cal and Stanford when they were picking over the bones of the Pac-12 and nobody wanted that I agree like they're literally this is a buy one get two free deal at Foodline for irrelevant football programs it's just you're you're you're shopping at TJ Maxx and trying to tell us we're eating dinner at Morton's it's it's a complete load of it I would never eat at TJ Maxx no offense to the folks at TJ Maxx I would never eat there would you have would it be different if if it were Memphis and Tulane versus Cal and Stanford it's a it's a really good question and I and I would I would say would I feel differently if it was Navy and Tulane and the answer is probably but but here's look think about it if college football is all that matters adding Navy buys you half of a better college football property than anything the ACC has right now Army Navy moves units it is a huge deal and and you could have bought yourself half of that uh no I mean I think that's a great example your question is exactly a great example of why it would make sense to wait you're acting now because these schools are sitting on the bargain basement table at 80 off 90 off if you use the leverage that you have over the next five to six years you can make the smart decision and add schools that actually help you Navy helps you because they bring the RV Navy game Tulane might help you I don't think Memphis but you also might be in a situation in five years where the big 12 schools are looking to get out and then you have your pick of them there's a million options that you foreclose yourself out from by doing this very taking this very it's the ACC's best bad idea and acting now from a position of weakness hurts you a lot more than waiting and acting from a position of strengthwood something that you as an Everton supporter will understand I think we're headed for a college football world that includes promotion and relegation by the way Cal and Stanford are both top 20 institutions according to U.S. News and World Report Stanford is fourth callous Cal I know nobody cares you can't sit here and tell me we're at a football super league and then read no no USA today rankings to me they're it's irrelevant it's like what the temperature is it's it's and the weather by the residents want a hobnob come on the highfalutin peers the weather in San Francisco is fantastic all right you look it is what it is at this point we'll look to cock of the news and observer man uh talk to you later all right I'm gonna go I'm gonna go see what Jim Phillips says you may owe me a dollar I I'll be more I'll write you a check I'm not sure that'll clear I'll take for a dollar I I can cover a dollar all right take care of the news and observe here on the Adam Gold Show hey look at some point we we have tiebreakers all over sports right at some point Quiz Bowl will be the tiebreaker Stanford is fourth this is U.S. News and World Report not USA today uh Stanford is fourth Duke is 10th Notre Dame in the league 19th Cal 20th two top 20 institutions academic institutions UVA is 28th North Carolina's 30th Wake Forest is 31st Boston College 36 eight of the top 36 schools in the United State academic institutions in the United States of America that's what it's all about it's college sports isn't it yeah I know I know I did that on purpose the whole thing's a joke um as I said before I don't even know and I know Jim Phillips is going to talk uh in a little bit and we'll try to uh cull some things from it and present them to you later I don't look at this as a good day and if I were able to talk to Jim Phillips I would I would ask him how how do you how do you characterize today because it doesn't feel like a good day did you do something nice for others yes you did you gave Stanford and Cal as soft a landing as they were going to get you provided a warm bed for southern methodist and of course in-depth looks at all of the panthers wins touchdown Carolina panthers playbook download and subscribe today at wrelsportsfan.com or wherever you discover your favorite podcasts it remains to be seen whether or not this makes the ACC better I don't think anybody can sit here and say definitively that it doesn't but everybody has their mind made up and I understand why but I'm not sure that that's the right answer but I do think that doing nothing was the worst of all the options because I recall being watching the ACC get criticized for doing nothing so it almost was like you can't win could the ACC have added Memphis could they added Tulane could they have added Navy look I have been advocating for years that Navy be be a member of the league because Navy might be a better conduit to Notre Dame anyway it's just where the whole thing is uh the league got bigger I don't know it got better it did create more money and that would be it would be foolish to deny that and there's no way that the league is going to try to sell this as gap gap has been bridged because we're gap gap has been bridged because we're all smart enough to know the numbers are public the gap is too big to bridge just within even if you handed even if you cut the additional money in half between Florida State and Clemson you have not bridged the gap one other thing about this and then we'll do a halftime the notion that by NC State changing their vote from no to yes remember last week in a straw poll Florida State Clemson North Carolina North Carolina State we're all no's the notion that NC State breaking away from UNC and voting yes was somehow going to oh well NC State's going to be left out when North Carolina leaves as though it was up to North Carolina hey you can't take us unless you take my friend here like no it was never up to North Carolina it will be up to politicians I don't I just don't know where we get that mindset it was not going to be up to the tar heels to decide NC State's fate it was going to be up to the people who either approve or disapprove of these types of things and honestly it's always going to be every school for itself just like it's every conference for itself it's always going to be every school for itself for itself remember what Mike Krzyzewski said yes two days ago I think it was two days ago in Chicago we need leadership the conference commissioners are are competing against one another it's exactly what's happening if you go back over the last several years every single time the conference commissioners have gotten together to in theory band together remember the alliance at first opportunity one will stab the other in the back let me just and this is the last thing I'll say about this particular issue go back to the pandemic the five conference commissioners met during at the very beginning what to do what to do what to do and they decided let's wait let's wait a couple of weeks and see where we are this is like mid late summer as we're getting into august let's just wait we'll see we'll see where we are in a couple of weeks they had not made a decision on whether or not to play and the big 10 the next day we are not playing figuring they were going to take the high road and the acc the scc and the big 12 all said hmm we're gonna wait we might play we don't know yet we might play and the pac-12 because they do everything the big 10 wants or did until they died the pac-12 yeah we're not playing either well the acc the scc and the big 12 played and i'm not saying that was the right decision to play but they played and they were going to be on tv and then about eight weeks later the big 10 and the pac-12 were like yeah we should play because they saw tv dollars leaving so the big 10 went from moral high ground we're gonna consider the safety of our athletes to go and huh those other leagues are making money well we're not again there is no honor among thieves and that's the way the conferences operate these days