Mike Krzyzewski rips realignment
by Jesse Yomtov, USA TODAY Sports
Seemingly incensed by with the upcoming shakeup of the ACC, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski took to his satellite radio show to unleash a rant of epic proportions.
The four-time national champion shredded conference realignment, notably rival Maryland’s upcoming move to the Big Ten.
“For us, we have a good brand at Duke University, but we also have a good brand because we’ve been in the ACC. We benefit from that brand. And people who have gone to school here, played sports here, they are not only Duke people; they’re ACC people.
“And when you give that up, what price is that? “What does that do? The fact that they’ll never be a Duke-Maryland game again. There may never be a Texas-Texas A&M game again, a Syracuse-Georgetown game again. Those schools aren’t gonna schedule one another. I mean, that’s not gonna happen. And in Maryland’s case, that’s the only conference they’ve known. And they’re right in the middle of the ACC. And now their fans, they don’t have a place. They’re outsiders. They really are outsiders. What price? What price is paid for that?”
Along with Duke, Maryland was one of the founding members of the ACC back in 1953, but Maryland announced in November that the school would be joining the Big Ten come 2014.
Terps fans have long considered themselves outsiders in the Tobacco Road-based ACC, so the irony of Krzyzewski’s comments aren’t lost in College Park.
Syracuse and Pittsburgh are joining the ACC in 2013, with Louisville and Notre Dame coming aboard at some point down the road.
Continued the legendary coach:
“This is an assault on tradition. What sets us apart from the pros? What sets us apart from the rest of the world? Intercollegiate sports is really something that only the United States has. No other country has that. And our thing is based on all the right values: loyalty, honesty, tradition.”
You can make your own comments on college sports supposedly being based on loyalty, honesty and tradition.
“The branding that you have gotten from doing that has elevated the academic institutions that those athletic programs represent. And doing things the way … [For more on Coach K rips realignment, says Maryland will be 'outsiders' in Big Ten, click here.]
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