Fortuna Files: What's next for the ACC?
The biggest drama during ACC spring meetings actually happened in North Carolina. Plus, thoughts on kickoff times and salaries, plus a potential surprise.
Twenty-four thoughts in honor of my Knicks having their best season in 24 years. Away we go!
1. There was sure to be some tension this week at ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., but I’m not sure anyone predicted that the league’s biggest soap opera would occur in Chapel Hill. North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham left the ACC meetings early to meet with the school’s Board of Trustees, who on Monday approved an audit of the athletic department.
2. Ace reporters Brian Murphy of WRAL and Andrew Carter of the Raleigh News and Observer have covered the story extensively this week, and, to be completely honest, some of the board members’ concerns simply seem off-base.
3. Per Murphy, trustee Dave Boliek essentially wants UNC to join a richer conference: “I am advocating for that. That's what we need to do. We need to do everything we can to get there. Or the alternative is the ACC is going to have to reconstruct itself. I think all options are on the table."
4. Per Carter, another trustee, Jennifer Halsey Evans, was critical of Cunningham not being available for a trustees meeting in March, when Cunningham was occupied with NCAA men’s basketball tournament selection committee duties.
5. So, where does all of this stem from? Cunningham has been at UNC since 2011. He is widely respected throughout the industry and, presumably, on campus. (He wouldn’t be in his position for 13 years if he wasn’t.)
6. For one, go back to March. Shortly after Clemson followed Florida State and sued the ACC, UNC board chair John Preyer spoke to Inside Carolina’s Greg Barnes and sounded largely supportive of Clemson’s move. Most notably, he was asked about Cunningham’s more delicate public approach to ACC matters, and his response may have foreshadowed what was to come: “It is a potential conflict, and it's something that is disturbing based on some of the comments he’s made recently which seem to support the ACC at the expense of Carolina — that’s a bad look. I think we all recognize that change is hard, but sometimes change is exactly what is needed. We all have to fight the comfort of complacency. And I think that now is the time to be very open to pursuing all options, including those beyond remaining in the Atlantic Coast Conference.”