Scattershooting: The Atlantic-Pacific Coast Conference? UT AD takes swipe at UVA’s Elliott

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Scattershooting around the ACC, while thinking the conference might go bi-coastal by the weekend …

Will it be the Atlantic-Pacific Coast Conference? ACC presidents are meeting again Thursday to discuss the addition of Stanford, Cal and SMU, a move many believe would make the conference more stable in these uncertain times.

Additional TV revenue from ESPN could go toward travel expenses, with leftovers distributed to programs that are successful in postseason, perhaps satisfying disgruntled Florida State.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel broke the story that western expansion is back on the table, and that different financial models would be discussed.

SMU has reportedly agreed to not take any TV revenue from the ACC for the first five to seven years. The Mustangs’ faithful are so desperate to become a member of a Power 5 conference that they reportedly will contribute $200 million to the athletic program to make up the difference.

Both Cal and Stanford would take a lesser share of the estimated $72 million in annual additional revenue from ESPN with the addition of the three schools to the ACC. Both West Coast schools have agreed to join and gain only 30 percent of the revenue, which would leave tens of millions (possibly as much as $55 million) available for the ACC.

According to multiple sources, a reversal of the straw poll among presidents two weeks ago is expected. In that straw poll, there were four voting no (12 of 15 presidents have to vote yes for expansion to pass): FSU, Clemson, North Carolina and NC State.

Some believe a retraction in a statement by UNC women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance might reflect his school’s change in attitude toward expansion.

During an interview with WRAL Sports on Monday, Dorrance said he hoped “Cal and Stanford die on the vine,” and added those schools would be “horrible for us,” in terms of financial and recruiting issues.

On Wednesday, Dorrance issued a quite different statement that said he had the “utmost respect” for Stanford and Cal and their soccer programs.

“They are outstanding institutions with dedicated leaders, committed students and world-class soccer programs and coaches,” said Dorrance, who is in his 47th year with Carolina. “I don’t think conference expansion is in the best interest of Carolina and the ACC at this time and I trust and respect the decisions that the conference and school leaders are making on behalf of Carolina and the ACC.”

Could that be a hint that UNC has changed its mind on expansion? NC State will certainly follow Carolina’s lead on such a vote.

Should the measure pass and the ACC expands to an 18-team conference, the three new schools would sign the Grant of Rights package through 2036, but would eventually get a full share of revenue by the end of the contract.

It appears that with the new financial models, the ACC will expand and it could happen by the weekend, which if nothing else could add to the stability of the league and keep it a strong third in revenue behind the Big 10 and SEC.

Vols AD takes slap at UVA’s Elliott

Tennessee athletic director Danny White added a little juice to the Vols season-opener with Virginia this week when he took a swipe at UVA football coach Tony Elliott.

Some have forgotten that Elliott was a strong candidate for Tennessee’s coaching vacancy when the Vols fired Jeremy Pruitt for gross NCAA violations. Elliott and Josh Heupel, who was hired by White, were reportedly the finalists for the job. Heupel was head coach at South Florida and Elliott was Clemson’s offensive coordinator.

When Elliott talked with Virginia media Monday, he was asked about facing Tennessee after having been a candidate for the job. Elliott was complimentary of the Vols’ program and said it wasn’t the right time, which apparently hit a nerve with White.

White tweeted out: “Interesting … don’t remember offering. Ignored this the first time, can’t do it again. An interview doesn’t constitute an offer. Interviewed several candidates, offered 1.”

Elliott never really said that he was offered the job, but his statement left room for interpretation. Such disputes aren’t uncommon when it comes to these scenarios, where there is conjecture on whether a job was offered or not.

Here’s what Elliott said to Virginia media:

“Tennessee, in my opinion, is one of the blue bloods. One of the top-tier programs in the country. When I evaluated, there were a lot of positive things about it. It just wasn’t the right time for me. When it came down to it, I prayed about it. I said, ‘I want the Lord to lead me in the direction that you want me to go.’

“It was close, but at the end of the day, when I looked at the totality of everything, it just wasn’t the right time and the right fit for me.”

Whether Elliott was offered the job or not isn’t that big a deal at this point. Tennessee certainly had strong interest in him and to try to make this an issue is making a mountain out of a mole hill. Certainly Danny White has better things to do.

Covering all the bases …

• Virginia basketball recruiting target Jalen Haralson, a 2025 5-star, who has at least 25 offers, has scheduled his first official visit. He’s going to Auburn on Sept. 30.
• One unidentified coach in the SEC told Jamie Shaw in a “coaches confidential” survey dealing with issues, had this to say about NIL: “Money talks. If you want a kid, you’re going to have to pay for him. It’s a win-now era in college basketball. You can turn a program around in a year with a roster flip.”
• One of the Tennessee NIL collectives, “The Vol Club,” has released its own vodka and will get 25-percent profit from each bottle sold to support Vols athletics.
• Former Wahoo baseball star Zack Gelof of the Oakland A’s is one of seven players in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) to have 20-plus extra base hits in their first 28 games.
• Andrew Abbott update: The former Cavalier southpaw is now 8-3 as a rookie with the Cincinnati Reds and owns a 2.99 ERA in his first 14 starts.
• Hats off to former UVA basketball coach and Charlottesville resident Pete Gillen, who just returned from visiting U.S. troops in Kuwait. Gillen and other former college coaches held a hoops tournament for troops during their visit.
• Kon Knueppel, a major recruiting target for UVA, said he will visit Wisconsin on Sept. 12. He also has official visits planned to Alabama, Virginia (Sept. 14) and Duke next month.
• This nugget from Danny Neckel: Only 34 freshmen in men’s college basketball made at least 50 three-pointers last season. Two of them — Isaac McKneely and Andrew Rohde — are on Virginia’s roster this coming season.
• If you missed Scott Ratcliffe’s profiles on all of UVA’s transfer basketball players (Jacob Groves, Jordan Minor, Dante Harris and Rohde), you’re missing out. However, you can still read them in our basketball archives.
• Thank you to the thousands of viewers that have tuned into the first three “Jerry & Jerry Shows,” LIVE each Tuesday morning from 10:15 to 11:15 on numerous platforms, including my Twitter. This past Tuesday, we spent at least 30 minutes with a fabulous interview with legendary UVA running back Thomas Jones.