Tech Sports Blog

[The following post was published at HokieHaven.com on October 29, 2007.]

Unfortunately, I don’t have much of a blog update for this week. Work has been busy, and I haven’t had much time to write. Instead of leaving my readers empty handed, I took a few minutes to go over the various scenarios for both division races in the ACC. While there are three teams with just one conference loss, there are still a number of teams who can still win their division for a shot at the ACC Champsionship.

Here is what we know:

• NC State and Maryland have been eliminated from the Atlantic Division race.
• North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Duke have been eliminated from the Coastal race
• Boston College and Clemson control their respective destinies in the Atlantic
• Virginia Tech and Virginia control their respective destinies in the Coastal

The situation in the Coastal division is the more simple of the two, so I will start with it.

Virginia (5-1): The Cavaliers are in the driver’s seat of the Coastal. Regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s game at Miami, UVA will advance to the ACC Championship Game if they beat Virginia Tech on the last weekend of the regular season. If Virginia loses to Virginia Tech, they can back into the division title if they beat Miami, the Hokies lose back to back games to Florida State and Miami, and Miami loses their season finale to Boston College.

Virginia Tech (4-1): Virginia Tech also controls their own destiny in the Coastal Division. If the Hokies beat either Miami or Florida State, and then beat the Wahoos in Charlottesville on November 24th, then Virginia Tech will earn a trip to Jacksonville. If Miami beats Virginia this weekend, then the Hokies can still win the division if they lose to both Florida State and Miami provided Tech beats Virginia and the Hurricanes lose their season finale to Boston College. There is no scenario that allows Virginia Tech to go to the ACC Championship Game with a loss in Charlottesville.

Miami (2-3): Miami can still win the Coastal Division, but they would need some assistance by the Hokies. In order for the Hurricanes to earn a trip to Jacksonville they would need to win out (Virginia, at Virginia Tech, at Boston College), and Virginia Tech would have to beat Virginia at the end of the season after losing to both Florida State and Miami. This would create a three-way tie for first at 5-3, and Miami would win the tiebreaker because they would have beat both Tech and UVA. (Note: even though it’s possible North Carolina wins out and finishes at 5-3 to fit into that first place tie, Miami would still win the tiebreakers.)

While the Atlantic Division looks just as simple with Boston College leading, things can get pretty interesting if BC stumbles down the stretch. Because there there are actually a ton of permutations for the Atlantic crown right now, I’m going to go through the easiest path to the ACC Championship Game for the teams in contention there.

Boston College (4-1): BC still resides all alone at the top of the Atlantic Division. They just need to beat Clemson and beat either Maryland or Miami. This would put the Eagles at 6-2 or better with the possible tiebreakers over Clemson and Wake Forest should there be a tie for first place.

Clemson (4-2): Clemson has Wake Forest and Boston College remaining on their ACC schedule. If the Tigers beat them both, they would finish at 6-2, with a possible tiebreaker over BC, and Clemson would earn a trip to Jacksonville.

Wake Forest (4-2): While Wake has a good ACC record, they need a little help in order to advance the ACC Championship Game. Wake Forest needs to beat Clemson and North Carolina State to finish at 6-2. Because the Demon Deacons lost to Boston College in week 1, they would also need the Eagles to lose at least two of their last three games.

Florida State (3-3): Assuming I did my math correctly, it is still possible for Florida State to make to the ACC Championship Game. In addition to winning their two remaining ACC games (at Virginia Tech, and vs Maryland), the Seminoles need a whole lot of help from the divison rivals. Boston College would have to lose Maryland and Miami, but the Eagles would need to beat Clemson. Clemson would have to lose to Wake Forest and BC. Wake Forest would have to beat Clemson, but lose to NC State. North Carolina State would have to win out. This would create a four-way tie for first at 5-3, and the Seminoles would win the tiebreakers.

The situation in the Atlantic will become much more clear this weekend. Wake Forest and Clemson square off on Saturday in what is essentially an elimination game, and Florida State travels to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech. Come Sunday, the Atlantic could very well be a two horse race.

[The following post was originally published at HokieHaven.com on February 26, 2007.]

Thanks to Maryland’s upset over North Carolina, our Virginia Tech Hokies (10-6) find themselves in a 3-way tie for first place of the ACC. If the men’s basketball team can beat the University of Virginia on Thursday and Clemson on Sunday, they will earn the #1 seed for the 2007 ACC Tournament. Because they swept UNC, Tech will hold the tiebreaker over the Tarheels should they win out as well. Simply put – the Hokies control their own destiny for the first place seed in the ACC Tournament.

That’s the easy scenario, but what will happen if they don’t win out? Things start to get complicated. Let’s take a quick peek at how the ACC breaks ties. (Note: these rules were published prior to the 2001 tournament. I am assuming they haven’t changed since then.)

1. When two teams are tied in the standings, regular season head-to-head results are used as the tie-breaker.
2. If the two teams split their regular season games, the tie is broken by comparing each team’s records against the team occupying the highest position in the standings, and then continuing down until one team gains an advantage.
3. If three or more teams are tied, the combined record of each team against the other teams involved is used to break the tie. After this procedure, if two teams remain tied procedure 2 is followed.
4. If procedures 2 and/or 3 fail to establish an advantage, a coin-flip to break the tie will be conducted by the Commissioner.
5. If there is more than one tie in the standings, and when utilizing the tie breaking procedures you come to a pair of teams tied, a team’s record against combined tied teams is used, rather than performance against the individual tied teams.

Now that we are armed with knowledge, let’s take a look at the top of the current ACC standings:

For each team, starting at the bottom and working my way up, I’m going to tell you the best seed for the ACC tournament they can earn, no matter how crazy the scenario. (Note: The ACC does not recognize a regular season champion. Their tie breakers are used specifically for seeding in the tournament.)

Duke (8-6) Remaining games: vs Maryland, @ UNC. Best possible finish: 10-6 Best possible seed: #3
Duke can head to the ACC Tournament as the 3-seed if they win their remaining games and BC, UNC, and either VT or UVA lose their remaining games. Virginia Tech or UVA would be in 1st place, and BC and Maryland would finish outside the top 4. Duke can also achieve a first-round bye if BC loses to Georgia Tech, and the Blue Devils win out.

Maryland (8-6) Remaining games: @ Duke, vs NC State. Best possible finish: 10-6 Best possible seed: #4
In order for Maryland to earn a first-round bye in the ACC tourney, they will need to win out, have UNC lose their remaining games, BC beat Georgia Tech, and have VT and UVA finish at 11-5 or better. This would cause 2-way tie for 4th place between the Terps and the Tarheels, and Maryland holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over UNC because of their win on Sunday.

Boston College (10-5) Remaining game: vs Georgia Tech. Best possible finish: 11-5 Best possible seed: #1
It’s pretty simple (albeit virtually impossible) for Boston College to finish at the top of the ACC standings – beat Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia Tech lose their remaining games, and Virginia loses to Wake Forest after beating the Hokies. This would cause BC and UVA to both finish at 11-5, and BC holds the tiebreaker over UVA due to their win over the Hoos back in January. Boston College is more likely headed for the #3 or #4 seed. In order to earn a 1st round bye they need to either beat Georgia Tech or have Duke lose at least one more game.

Virginia (10-4) Remaining games: vs Virginia Tech, @ Wake Forest. Best possible finish: 12-4 Best possible seed: #1
Due to the fact that UNC beat UVA earlier this year, Virginia will need North Carolina to lose at least once if the they beat both Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. The worst the Cavs can do is the 4-seed.

North Carolina (10-4) Remaining games: @ Georgia Tech, vs Duke. Best possible finish: 12-4 Best possible seed: #1
Like Virginia, this is simple for the Tarheels. They need to win out. If they finish 12-4, then they will finish with the 1-seed if Virginia Tech loses at least once, and they will finish with the 2-seed if Virginia Tech wins out. If UNC splits their last two, then they will be the 4-seed if UVA wins out, and BC and VT both win their final games. This will cause those 3 teams to be tied for 2nd at 11-5, and the Tarheels would come out at the bottom of that threesome. It is possible for North Carolina to finish outside of the top 4, but that’s only in the super-crazy Maryland scenario.

Virginia Tech (10-4) Remaining games: @ Georgia Tech, vs Duke. Best possible finish: 12-4 Best possible seed: #1
As has been already noted, the Virginia Tech Hokies now control their own destiny. If they beat Virginia and Clemson, they will be the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament. Things get interesting if that doesn’t happen.

First off, the worst case scenario: VT loses out and finishes at 10-6. If Boston College beats Georgia Tech, then the Hokies would be the 4-seed regardless of what Duke and Maryland do, because they didn’t lose to either. If Tech does finish at 10-6, there are many scenarios that can play out. It would still be possible for VT to finish with the 2-seed if North Carolina lost its remaining games, Boston College lost, and Maryland won its final 2 games. However, it’s not really worth the time and effort to go into the detail of every scenario if the Hokies finish 10-6.

If Virginia Tech loses to Virginia and beats Clemson, they will finish at 11-5 and will need some help. If Virginia and North Carolina win out, then UNC will grab the 1-seed and UVA will grab the 2-seed. VT would take the 3-seed regardless of BC’s game at GT. If UVA wins out, but UNC loses at least once, then Tech will grab the 2-seed behind UVA. However, if UVA loses to Wake Forest and UNC loses a game, then there will be a 3-way or 4-way tie for first place depending on BC. Virginia Tech would come out on top of that group to grab the 1-seed.

Finally, if Virginia Tech beats Virginia on Thursday, but loses to Clemson, they would grab the 1-seed if North Carolina loses a game and the 2-seed if North Carolina wins out.

After running through these scenarios, I’ve noticed a common thread for teams other than Virginia Tech and North Carolina – they all need the Tarheels to lose. UNC certainly doesn’t have an easy week, but I will be surprised if they don’t win out. Also, even though it’s possible for Duke or Maryland to earn a first-round bye, I just don’t see it happening. VT and UVA have already locked up byes, and BC and UNC don’t need much to happen to finish in the top 4.

What is the toughest conference in Division 1 basketball? Every year this question is debated by ex-players, ex-coaches, fans, and the media. This year I’ve heard many in the media say that the Pac-10, Big East, or ACC was the toughest. I have also heard a few people claim that the Big Ten, SEC, or Big 12 was the most difficult. The opinions change based on where folks are from. Bill is a Texan, and he says the Big 12 has the best basketball in the country. Sam grew up in New York. There’s not a doubt in his mind that the Big East the toughest conference. Jane is from Los Angeles. She says the Pac-10 is the best conference. Bob lives in North Carolina, the ACC is second to none in his mind.

But how exactly do we determine “the best” conference? Do we base it on the AP top 25? According to those rankings, the Big East comes out ahead, right? They have 5 teams ranked by the Associated Press, while the SEC, Pac-10, Big 12, and ACC each have 3 ranked teams. The Big Ten and Mountain West only have 2 each. Big Ten fans cry foul, “We’ve got the top 2 teams in the nation!” This is true, as the Big Ten has more top 10 teams (#1 Wisconsin, #2 Ohio State) than the Big East (#10 Pittsburgh). The Pac-10 (#4 UCLA, #9 Washington) and Big 12 (#6 Kansas, #8 Texas A&M) are each represented twice, while the SEC (#3 Florida) and ACC (#5 North Carolina) have one each.

The fact of the matter is the Top 25 rankings are there for TV ratings. When teams are ranked, they’re worth mentioning on Sportcenter, and the media can hype up the games involving ranked teams. Where teams are ranked has absolutely nothing to do with how they are seeded in the NCAA Tournament, nor does it indicate the depth of a particular conference.

(more…)

The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team, in their 3rd season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, has visited two teams who were undefeated at home (Georgia Tech and North Carolina) and gave them their first losses on their home courts. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard the phrase, “Win your home games and split your road games,” describing how to be successful in the ACC. With a 4-2 road record and a 4-1 record at home against conference opponents, the Hokies are doing better.

After sweeping Duke and UNC, the premier hoops teams of the ACC, can anyone question that the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team isn’t legit?

Has that set in yet? I’ll say that again. The Virginia Tech Hokies have beat the Duke Blue Devils in Cameron, they’ve beat North Carolina in Cassell, and they beat the Tarheels again in Tech’s first trip to the fabled “Dean Dome” where UNC was previously unbeaten this season. Two of those wins mark the first ever win for Virginia Tech over Duke in Durham and the first win over UNC in Chapel Hill since 1966. If I was a true stats junky I’d find out the last team to sweep Duke and North Carolina in the regular season, but I’ll just wait for ESPN to tell me that.

What a turnaround we’ve had since the loss at Boston College. There were many Hokie fans who doubted the team after the beatdown that BC gave us. They thought the Hokies had already peaked. Instead of giving in to the pressures of the ACC, the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team has played with renewed inspiration. First they obliterated the Virginia Cavaliers by 27 points. That win marked the largest margin of victory over a conference opponent since joining the ACC. And tonight they marched down to Chapel Hill and won their toughest road game of the year. Folks, we didn’t peak when we took down North Carolina in Cassell. Tonight’s win was bigger.

Are the Hokies for real?

You better believe it.

In case you don’t know, I do indeed live in Charlottesville. I’m often asked by my fellow Hokies, “How can you live there?” Well, Zima’ville, as I like to refer to it thanks to Colin Cowherd’s rant, is actually a pretty cool city. It’s medium-sized with a small town feel, but it’s got some culture. Yes, there is the wine & cheese aspect of the city that I like to laugh at, but it’s got a good mix of people with a sizable group of 20-something and 30-something professionals. Luckily for me, UVA is mostly restricted to the western half of the city, so I don’t have Wahoos in my face 24/7.

Speaking of Wahoos, thanks to last night’s victory over Maryland their men’s basketball team sits atop of the ACC with an 8-2 conference record. After starting 1-2 in conference, Virginia has won 7 in a row – they are on an absolute roll. Looking at their remaining ACC schedule – @VT, FSU, @Miami, GT, VT, @Wake – it pains me to say that they have a shot of winning the regular season title. That is assuming they continue to play at the level they have been for the last few weeks.

On the other end of the emotional spectrum, our beloved Hokies have lost 2 straight and dropped to 4th place in the ACC with a 6-3 conference record. On the surface, that doesn’t look so bad. Fourth place in the ACC is a great position to be going into the final 3 weeks of the regular season. The three losses don’t look that bad on paper. First we lost to Florida State on their home floor after the biggest week in Virginia Tech basketball history. Don’t look now, but the Seminoles are one game behind the Hokies tied for 5th place. One week ago we lost to N.C. State in Cassell. We were due to drop a game at home, and the Wolfpack went on to upset North Carolina over the weekend. On Saturday the Hokies traveled north to visit Boston College. The Eagles, now 7-2 (16-6 overall), completely dismantled Tech. However, there is no shame in losing to BC. They are a good team and sit alone in second place in the ACC.

So, why is everyone nervous? Because everyone who watched the last two games saw how the Virginia Tech Hokies played. Gone was the team that beat Duke in Cameron and that upset UNC when they were #1 in the nation. Instead we saw the team that lost to Marshall. To grab a quote from TechSideline.com‘s Hokie Hotline notes: Seth Greenberg … The energy level wasn’t there in the losses to NC State and Boston College. Greenberg is hoping that’s because the team was a little tired. Every game right now is so power-packed that it’s exhausting. That is the nature of the ACC. Week-in and week-out, you have to be ready to play – you must bring your A game. Also noted on the Hokie Hotline was that this is a good time for a full week off. I couldn’t agree more. It was the end of the December when the team last had a week off. Unfortunately, it was the week before the Marshall game, but let’s not dwell on that.

Hopefully this week will give the team a chance to catch their proverbial breath and get ready for UVA. Saturday’s game is one I already had circled on my calendar, but it now takes on added importance. The Virginia Tech Hokies need to upend the 1st place Wahoos. A win on Saturday will be a shot in the arm for their confidence. A win will cut the magic number down to 3 – we’ll need only 3 wins after we beat UVA to virtually lock us into the NCAA tournament. Last, but not least, a win on Saturday is a win over the Virginia Cavaliers. To me, that is motivation enough.

Yet I get the feeling our rivalry with UVA has cooled off some since we joined the ACC. We probably wouldn’t have received the invitation to join the ACC without the help of UVA. We have completely dominated the Wahoos on the football field by beating them 7 of the last 8 meetings. UVA is 7-2 against us in the last 6 seasons of men’s basketball (since we’ve re-started playing them on each other’s home courts), and they beat us 3 times last year. There just hasn’t been much competition in football and men’s basketball, and those are the only sports that really matter for the majority of each school’s fans. We’ve kicked their butts in football, and they said, “Wait ’til basketball season!” They’ve kicked our butts in basketball, and we said, “Wait ’til football season!”

Don’t get me wrong, I consider Virginia our #1 rival. I just think this rivalry has lost some luster. If you asked this year’s freshmen and sophomores at Virginia Tech who our biggest sports rival was, I bet most would say Miami. Based on football, they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong – we’ve split the last 6 meetings with the Hurricanes. Take away football, and Miami is just another ACC school. The University of Miami and Virginia Tech are 900 miles apart and are just as dissimilar as their locations.

Charlottesville is 2 hours away from Blacksburg. There are a ton of Hokies and Hoos in Tidewater and in Northern Virginia, and they often work with each other at their jobs talking trash about the other’s school. Students of each often know high school classmates who go to the other university. The dislike goes way back to the days when farmers’ sons went to the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, and the sons of lawyers and doctors went to the University of Virginia. These days the cultural differences between the two student populations aren’t quite as big, but they are still somewhat evident. You still see more jeans and flannel in downtown Blacksburg than you do around The Corner in Charlottesville.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that while I want to see Virginia Tech beat UVA at everything in which we compete, I do understand that competition is what fuels a good rivalry. I like joking around with the Virginia fans, and I love driving my maroon truck with a Virginia Tech sticker and Virginia Tech plates around their town. I want the students of both universities to fully embrace this rivalry, too. Pranks that don’t involve property damage, assault, and/or kidnapping should be encouraged. (eg: The painting of the T at the midfield V at Scott Stadium in 2004.) Have pride that you are a student or alum of the best damn university in the Commonwealth of Virginia!

Go Hokies! Beat the ‘Hoos!

Most Hokies think Virginia Tech proved its worth to the ACC the first year the Hokies were in the conference. In 2004 and 2005, the football team won the conference and the basketball team finished a surprising 4th place in the regular season standings. Those Hokies who believe we proved our worth that year as members of the Atlanta Coast Conference wouldn’t be wrong. While we may have already proved our worth, I believe we have truly become a peer in the eyes of the rest of the ACC, thanks to the success the men’s basketball team has enjoyed thus far.

The men’s basketball team presently sits alone at the top of the standings at 6-1. They have beaten Duke in Cameron, previously #1 North Carolina, and Maryland on an icy night. Those teams have won 3 of the last 6 national championships. With Sunday afternoon’s win over Georgia Tech, the Hokies are now 3-1 on the road in the ACC. This team has the confidence that they can play with anyone in the nation, and that they can go to an opponent’s home court and bring home a win. That’s a very dangerous combination.

It is most unreal that 4 more wins should get us into the big dance. I’m not sure you’ve noticed, but we have 9 games remaining on our schedule, 5 of which are at home. Assuming the team keeps playing the way they are now, all 9 of the games are winnable. (Although @UNC might be stretch.) What is also impressive at this point is that the team doesn’t seem to be flying too high. I believe that Seth Greenberg has them playing one game at a time, which is very important in the perilous ACC schedule. Anyone can bring you down on any given night, so you must bring your A game every time you step out on the court. The Hokies have been doing that as of late, as well. Tech is 7-1 since the embarrassing loss at Marshall.

We’re almost halfway through the conference season, and Virginia Tech has beaten all of the traditional ACC powers. The team’s goal of getting a bid to the NCAA tournament is in sight. However, the fact of the matter is that we’re not playing for a tournament bid now – we’re playing for our seed in the tournament.

…

A few random thoughts to close out this post …

• Georgia Tech was held to 37% from the floor.
• The Hokies are allowing 62.4 points a game – that’s 2nd best in the ACC
• Zabian Dowdell scored 23 points against the Yellow Jackets. I think he deserves to be 1st team All-ACC at the end of the season.
• Lots of teams in the top 25 had a rough week. I bet the Hokies move up to 18th.
• According to RealTimeRPI.com, Tech’s RPI is now 20. That’s presently 3rd best in the ACC behind UNC (2) and Duke (5)

Per TheACC.com, here is VT’s schedule for next season:

1 Sep - East Carolina
8 Sep – at LSU
15 Sep – Ohio University
22 Sept – William & Mary
29 Sept – North Carolina
6 Oct – at Clemson
13 Oct – at Duke
20 Oct – Open
25 Oct – Boston College (Thursday)
1 Nov – at Georgia Tech (Thursday)
10 Nov – Florida State
17 Nov – Miami
24 Nov – at Virginia

Next November is gonna be rough.

I noticed a couple of interesting tidbits over at FanBlogs.com.

First off, according to this Florida Times-Union article, the ACC is considering its options for the ACC Championship Game. They can either renew the current contract for another two years, tweak the contract to renew it for only one year, or they can bail out of Jacksonville altogether. Based on the article, I get the vibe that the ACC is going to go with the 1-year option and reassess after next season. Personally, I hope they bail out of Jacksonville. The fact that the loser of the ACCCG has ended up in the Gator Bowl in each of the first two seasons the game has existed really hurts both the championship game and the Gator Bowl. Nobody wants a return trip to Jacksonville after losing the conference championship game. I would love to see the game in Charlotte, purely for geographic reasons. Plus the bowl game in Charlotte is a lower tier bowl, so the loser of the ACCCG will never end up there.

We’re still waiting for the ACC to release it’s schedule for the 2007 football season. Apparently there’s an issue with the schedule of one of the schools, and they are waiting for that to get straightened out so everyone’s schedule will be made public at the same time. However, if you checkout the bottom of this independentmail.com article, Clemson will not be playing any Thursday night games this year. According to Jim Weaver, on a previous Hokie Hotline, Tech is likely to play two games on Thursday night – one at home and one on the road – with Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Clemson as likely candidates. BC is the only home game of the bunch, so that’s got to be one Thursday night game. With Clemson out of the mix, Georgia Tech has to be the other.

As a side note, my airfare and hotel accommodations have been booked for Baton Rouge, the weekend of September 8th. All I’ll need is tickets to the LSU game!

It is unbelievable how fast this summer flew by. It feel likes it was only yesterday that I started my new job. That was 2 months ago. While the end of summer is upon us, and that is bad news to some, the good news is that there are only 4 weeks until the Hokies take the field at North Carolina State.

Four weeks!!! I can hardly wait. I can practically smell the peanut oil for the turkey fryer, taste the goodness of a stiff Jim Beam & coke, and hear Lane Stadium rocking.

So, what happened over summer vacation?

• Boston College officially joined the ACC in July.
• The ACC added two bowl tie-ins for 2006. (The Emerald Bowl in San Fransisco and the Music City Bowl in Nashville will host ACC teams starting in 2006.)
• The ACC media picked Virginia Tech and Florida State to win their respective divisions.
• Virginia Tech is ranked #7 in the first USA Today Coaches Poll of the year, ahead of our ACC brethren (#8 Miami, #12 FSU, #22 BC, #23 UVA).

There is definitely a sense that this season could be something special. But along with this hope there is a dose of reality – everyone remembers 2002 and 2003. Talent plus Hype does not necessarily equal BCS. What will make the 2005 Hokies any different? They have arguably one of the most talented teams in Tech football history. However, this talented team will hopefully remember what it took to win an ACC championship. Team United is what they were called last year. If Team United shows up on September 4th, this season will be more memorable than 2004 and possibly more memorable than 1999.

But, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. The season has yet to begin, so I’m going to try and keep Rose Bowl talk to a minimum. I wouldn’t want to get too excited only to show up in Blacksburg for a game and see the cHokies take the field.

EDIT: I wanted to leave you with links to two articles – an excellent read at TailGateFever.com and Terry Bowden’s ACC Preview at Yahoo! Sports.

According to ESPN, the Big East and ACC have settled their differences out of court. After Virginia Tech and Miami’s defections to the ACC, members of the Big East conference sued Miami and Boston College, accusing them of conspiring with the ACC to destroy the Big East. Tech was never involved in this lawsuit because we were essentially an afterthought when ACC expansion began. It appears that they have settled out of court for the tune of $5 million.

So, BC should join up with the ACC in July without much fanfare, and life will go on. As a parting shot, I’ll leave you with this article, titled Beamer says ACC is the place for Hokies.