Inside The Panthers

ACC, Pitt Football Needs Immediate, Tangible Action to Remain Among Elites

The Pitt Panthers need their conference to make bold moves soon, lest they risk falling into a lesser league.

Stephen Thompson

ACC, Pitt Football Needs Immediate, Tangible Action to Remain Among Elites
ACC, Pitt Football Needs Immediate, Tangible Action to Remain Among Elites /
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PITTSBURGH -- The ACC appears to be falling behind in the struggle to maintain elite status in the world of college sports. As the Big 10 and SEC lay the groundwork for a college athletics cold war, and the Big 12 makes aggressive moves towards adding current Pac-12 members, the ACC is still recovering from the stunning realignment rumors. As a result, some of their middle-class member schools, like the Pitt Panthers and others, are threatened with the possibility of descending into a lower position as the have's and have not's separate themselves further. 

The Panthers are not one of the elites, even within their own conference. They are not prime candidates to join either of the impending super conferences and will hope that the ACC can emerge out of a scrum to create a second-tier power league that, while not on par with the SEC and Big 10, could be mentioned in the same breath. 

But the ACC has taken little decisive action just yet. A join television deal with the Pac-12, which Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger and Pat Forde reported on Wednesday has been discussed by officials from the two conferences, is the most concrete step they've taken while the Big 12 rallies to draw some Pac-12 members into its borders. 

This is an urgent matter and the ACC isn't treating it as such. They need to take quick, decisive action lest they and their less wealthy and powerful members fall to the wayside. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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