Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Calls Out ACC Disrespect

Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi said that the ACC receives more disrespect compared to other conferences.

Nov 4, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi reacts on / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi is one of the more successful head coaches in the ACC since he took over in 2015 and is disappointed with the way people view the conference.

Narduzzi holds a 43-31 record in the ACC, with two ACC Coastal Division Titles and an ACC Championship in 2021. He has served as the head coach for nine of the 11 seasons that Pitt has played in the ACC since joining in 2013 and only Clemson and Miami have more ACC wins in the conference during that time.

The ACC Spring meetings are taking place this week in Amelia Island, Fla. and the football head coaches have discussed at length the strength of the conference and its perception in the modern game.

Florida State finished last season undefeated and as ACC Champions, but missed out on the College Football Playoff over Texas and Alabama, two teams with losses.

Much of this has to do with Seminoles starting quarterback Jordan Travis suffering a season-ending injury, but an undefeated ACC team not making the CFP over teams with losses is not something that the conference should accept.

Nicole Aurebach of The Athletic reported that despite the CFP expanding to 12 teams next season, head coaches still have concern that after the conference champion, other ACC teams will miss out in favor of teams from the SEC and Big Ten.

Narduzzi is one head coach who thinks that the ACC doesn't get the respect it deserves and looks back at his time with Michigan State in the Big Ten, showing that the two conferences are similar in quality.

“To me, there’s a lot of disrespect,” Narduzzi said to Aurebach. “We have a heck of a conference. You know, I was in the Big Ten for eight years prior to coming here. I look at the quality of ACC football that we play. I just don’t think he gets the respect it deserves. Period.”

The ACC did add Stanford and Cal from the Big 12 and SMU from the American on deals that don't give them full media revenue shares, but the Big Ten added Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA, the SEC added Texas and Oklahoma and the Big 12 added Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah to their conferences for next season.

Keeping the ACC together is a tough task with the money that the SEC and Big Ten are putting up for their schools. Still, if play on the field improves across the board and they start to best teams in other confernces, the perception of the league may grow in the coming seasons.

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