By Will Vandervort.
The Atlantic Coast Conference has no intention of changing the current way it runs its football championship.
Despite reports on Tuesday citing the ACC is looking at a three-division league should deregulation occur, the conference is staying steadfast it plans to keep things as it is. Multiple sources told The Clemson Insider.com Wednesday the ACC just wants to have the option in place.
Under NCAA rules, conferences must have 12 teams and two divisions to host a championship game. Deregulation of this rule, will allow leagues to host a championship game no matter how many teams it has, which is especially appealing to the Big 12, which currently has 10 teams and cannot host a title game.
The ACC has been out in front of deregulation of the championship game, and last year publically announced it supported the idea and was pushing for it. However, the league has no desire to change its parameters at this time. Sources say deregulation is not on the agenda when the conference’s coaches and athletic administrators gather for its annual spring meetings next Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Tuesday, CBSsports.com reported chairman of the new NCAA Football Oversight Committee, Bob Bowlsby, said, “There’s some belief that the ACC would play three divisions, have two highest-ranked teams play in postseason.”
“I have no idea where these comments came from,” a spokesman for the ACC said. “We have not talked about breaking into three divisions.”
There was talk by the ACC last spring about the possibility of playing its two best teams in the championship game regardless of division, but that’s all it was – talk.
Sources say the issue has not been brought up since and the ACC in no way has discussed the possibility of changing its current structure.
The ACC admits it will always look to see what is best for its member institutions so they can position them for the maximum success as possible.
One source says it would not make sense for the ACC to move to a format where it picks its two best teams because as the last two years showed they still have been able to get two teams playing on the biggest stages in college football in each of the last two years.
In 2013, Florida State won the final BCS Championship Game, while Clemson beat Ohio State in the Orange Bowl. Last year, FSU advanced to the inaugural College Football Playoff, while Georgia Tech—the runner up to the Seminoles—played in the Orange Bowl and beat Missouri.
“They have the best of both worlds right now. It doesn’t make sense to mess that up,” the source said. “There is no reason to bust that up. Your goal is to get one team in the playoff and the other in the New Year Six. Breaking that up by putting the two best teams in a championship, especially if it is like 2013 doesn’t make sense, it would hurt them.”
People might say it will help the ACC Championship Game with attendance if a Florida State were to play a Clemson in the title game, but the ACC has already fixed attendance issues by keeping its championship game in Charlotte to help centralize the event, while getting great corporate sponsors to help with distributing tickets.