So, here we are again. Listening to Jim Boeheim complain again and again about how the ACC needs to give up on it’s roots and only play the ACC tournament in BIG media markets (and then getting absolutely crushed by the City of Greensboro’s twitter account). The irony shouldn’t be lost on anyone that Syracuse is 0-3 in the conference tournament since joining the ACC so their stays at whichever city the tournament is in, they don’t get to stay very long. Mr. Boeheim stated that the conference needs to go where all of the talent is and stated that the ACC should only play the tournament in New York City, Washington D.C. and Atlanta GA. What he failed to realize is, the ACC isn’t the main attraction in ANY of those cities! Not ONE!
New York city is a pro sports town. People in and around New York don’t really care about college sports. You can get better attendance at smaller cities where the conference tournament is the big event each year. New York isn’t that place. Washington D.C. is another city that Boeheim feels works for the ACC (since he knows because Syracuse has a long history in the ACC *sarcasm*). This isn’t a terrible idea, but the closest school to DC is Virginia which is 115 miles away. DC is a Maryland town, Maryland’s campus is 15 miles from Washington DC, a metro ride really. And is Maryland in the ACC? Not any longer! Finally, he suggested Atlanta. Why would the ACC conference have their basketball tournament in Atlanta? In the heart of SEC country!?!? Georgia Tech might be located in Atlanta but that is UGA country.
With all that being said, the ACC should rotate it’s conference tournament. Not to New York, Washington DC or Atlanta. Instead rotate it between Boston, Pittsburgh, Greensboro, Charlotte and Jacksonville FL. All of these cities are in ACC territory and have the infrastructure to host a week of college basketball. Neither Jacksonville nor Charlotte have schools in their cities but are within easy driving distance of most schools. Boston and Pittsburgh have easy airports to get into and out of.
These are the cities that should host the ACC tournament games. Jacksonville, due to it’s proximity to Miami, Florida State, and Clemson. Pittsburgh because it’s an up and coming city with a lot to offer. Charlotte has hosted the tournament before and has proven it can handle the amount of people, Greensboro because it is the location of the ACC headquarters and for nostalgia, and Boston because you can’t exclude the Northeastern schools of BC and Syracuse.
