I’d agree. WVU in the ACC gives us WVU-Pitt, WVU-Virginia Tech, WVU-Virginia, just off the top.
And West Virginia is a perennial contender in men’s hoops, and would be a welcome addition to the ACC in that respect, no doubt.
Why it’s not going to happen: money.
WVU doesn’t bring a lot of it with them to the ACC.
Morgantown is part of the Pittsburgh TV market, so you wouldn’t see an uptick in ACC Network subscriptions from bringing WVU in.
If the ACC were to, say, invite SMU, in the Dallas TV market, you’d have the potential to add 3 million TV sets to the ACC Network’s carriage, at an annual impact of $150 million to $200 million on the ACC’s bottom line.
That’s roughly $10 million to $13 million more per school in conference TV money.
Another factor, definitely a distant second, but still a factor: academics.
WVU ranks 249th in the latest U.S. News rankings.
Everybody else in the ACC, aside from Louisville, is in the top 80.
The presidents would have no problem signing off on a school with a mid academic reputation if it could make them more money, but that isn’t the case here.
WVU in the ACC would make for tons of intriguing matchups.
But it ain’t gonna happen.
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