Word got around on Twitter Thursday night that ACC commissioner John Swofford was in Clemson, SC, meeting with university officials.
Naturally, that once again stirred up conversation, albeit however brief, related to conference realignment. But according to the Charleston Post and Courier, Clemson president James Barker said the exchange, which was initiated by him, was “very positive and professional” and “did nothing but reinforce” the school’s role in the ACC.
Here’s a portion of the story:“There were questions about history, questions about the future, about conference alignment, all those types of questions you would expect from a group that is very interested in athletics to be able to ask when they have the conference commissioner in the room,” Barker said. “How does the revenue gets shared? What about the bowls? The BCS changes? All the things you would expect.”
Barker said the ACC’s new deal with the Orange Bowl was discussed as was its new television deal with ESPN, a deal some have speculated might compel teams to look at other conferences. Barker downplayed the impact of the new television deal.Big 12 media days begin this Monday. I imagine any and all realignment talk will be downplayed (again) by conference officials as well.