Coach K: The ACC And Big East Should Merge

The basketball would be off the charts. Football? That’s a different story.

Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement has been mostly quiet lately but that changed recently when he brought up an idea on his SiriusXM radio show last week: that the ACC and the Big East should partner up. Here’s what he said:

“Our conference has been a great one. think it needs to get better. We’re down, results-wise, in both men’s basketball and football, at least the bowl games. I’d like to see something innovative, like I’d like to see the ACC and the Big East talk and form a mega basketball conference.”

It’s an interesting idea but it might be challenging with football and the Big East. Remember that when Syracuse, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami left the Big East for the ACC, it was because part of the conference was football-driven, or at least highly interested, and the rest were purely basketball.

As Coach K noted, UConn would like to have a football home, but who else in the Big East would care?

That would make revenue a big concern, but basketball wise, having Duke, UNC, Louisville, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Virginia and the other ACC schools in a conference with UConn, Villanova, Georgetown, St. John’s, Creighton, Providence, Xavier and the other Big East schools would be huge for basketball.

Rick Pitino liked the idea saying this: “I am 100 percent in agreement with him.The problem with the Big East right now and the [schools’] presidents, is they’re just looking at the bottom line and they don’t want to share the revenue because schools in the Big East don’t have football, and they don’t have money.”

“In order for it to be grown to make millions down the road, you have to sacrifice five, six, seven years just like any company would. I’ve been saying it all along, the only way to do that is by expansion. So, if you don’t want to expand, I totally agree with Mike Krzyzewski.”

It’s a good starting point for a discussion.