The Biggest Mistake South Carolina Ever Made=Leaving The ACC?

[stonecutter357]

The biggest mistake the University of South Carolina ever made was leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Gamecocks' basketball program, once a top ACC competitor, has fallen on hard times. The football program struggled until Steve Spurrier arrived to make it competitive in the Southeastern Conference.

Leaving the ACC is a bad idea for any member.

Read More>>>> http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports...bu-ar-1945633/

Thoughts?

[robgusc76]

I cant really say it was, because if we werent in the SEC, i dont think we get the recruits we get now. Esp. For football.

[GregoryHouse]

we get the recruits (and the money) that we get now mostly because we are an SEC school

[TheMule]

The mistake was made by Clemson when their balls fell off after agreeing with us to leave the ACC at the same time.

[airjeffdude]

It can be viewed as being negative during the 80's and 90's but we are finally starting to turn things around in the SEC. Had we stayed in the ACC till the 90's and then left for the SEC, things might have been different.

[GarnetInChicago]

He's comparing South Carolina in 1971 to VT leaving today? Do I really need to bother explaining why this is a stupid analogy? He's a Clemson fan, isn't he? Nobody else lives in the past that badly and thinks it has any logical bearing on the present.

[stonecutter357]

I think it's the other way around. Leaving the ACC was the BEST thing South Carolina has ever done.

[AtlGAMECOCK]

biggest mistake USC made was not burning down that orange abortion tent in Pickens county on the way out.

[Acockolypse Now]

I think he's missing the bigger picture.

It would have been stupid for us to stay, Clemson agreed to go with us and then pussied out, and (like Madonna) we made it through the wilderness.

[Stillwearingmyjoehat]

This topic is like a mushroom: it always seems to pop up whenever it gets dark and there's a manure piling up.

Personally, I don't think leaving the ACC in 1971 was Carolina's biggest mistake.
Carolina's biggest mistake was not leaving the Southern Conference in 1933 and going with the SEC 79 years ago.

[heathbates]

Who wrote that article and why do they have credentials to get anything published?? I would rather challenge for a title in the most elite conference in college sports than have a paved road to a title in the AnybodyCanConference.

[b381l]

I get the TD every day. Paul Woody has some really stupid pieces sometimes. He wants Tech to stay because if they leave it will hurt Va. He just used SC as an example to make his point. He and I both know Tech isn't leaving because of the political problems it would cause in the state. If Tech did leave, he would not be able to write much about them because they wouldn't be part of Va football anymore.

[Gamecock Rob]

Was it a bad move in 1971 to leave the conference, probably. Did the 30 years between the ACC and the SEC suck, yes. Has joining the SEC been the best thing to ever happen to the school as evidenced by the massive $$ that come into the program, the success we have had in football (the amazing facilities we can now afford, bowl wins and an East title), basketball (an SEC title, a 2 and 3 seed, yes i know we lost but we were good, and the CLA) and baseball (goes without saying).

[Coulwoodwarlord]

This is simple, and I'm old school. Standing on the perch we are at right now. Leaving the ACC was a master stroke. Go back at any point in time and the answer may be different. But today, this day, nope !

[Stillwearingmyjoehat]

Originally Posted by Gamecock Rob

Did the 30 years between the ACC and the SEC suck, yes.

Really? You don't know your Carolina history. First of all, it was 20 years.

The 'Cocks enjoyed more success between 1972 and 1992 than the previous 19 in the ACC: Bowl appearances, better success against our old ACC opponents, George's Heisman, REAL consideration for the first time as a national contender (1980, 1984, 1987), doubling the size of the stadium, baseball success in the '70s and '80s.

Did basketball suffer? Possibly but we'll never know if the program declined because Carolina left the ACC or if McGuire lost some of his touch with Walsh, Jobe and others leaving his staff. Independence certainly didn't hurt Marquette, Notre Dame, DePaul and Louisville basketball and there's no reason to just assume it was the harbinger of all problems for Carolina's program.

Anyway, just saying the '70s and '80s sucked because we left the ACC is flat out wrong. We weren't world beaters then but we were head and shoulders over where our athletics were in the '50s and '60s.

[Gamecock Rob]

Originally Posted by Stillwearingmyjoehat

Really? You don't know your Carolina history. First of all, it was 20 years.

The 'Cocks enjoyed more success between 1972 and 1992 than the previous 19 in the ACC: Bowl appearances, better success against our old ACC opponents, George's Heisman, REAL consideration for the first time as a national contender (1984), doubling the size of the stadium, baseball success in the '70s and '80s.

Did basketball suffer? Possibly but we'll never know if the program declined because Carolina left the ACC or if McGuire lost some of his touch with Walsh, Jobe and others leaving his staff. Independence certainly didn't hurt Marquette, Notre Dame, DePaul and Louisville basketball and there's no reason to just assume it was the harbinger of all problems for Carolina's program.

Anyway, just saying the '70s and '80s sucked because we left the ACC is flat out wrong. We weren't world beaters then but we were head and shoulders over where our athletics were in the '50s and '60s.

Ok, sorry, I am 25 and kinda just have heard plenty of woe was that time stories from numerous gamecock fans. That being said from what I have read and looked at I feel like the 800 rule issue being declared unconstitutional would have benefited the athletic programs in the years between 1971-1992.

That being said, thank god we are in the SEC and I couldn't be happier that we told the ACC to stick it where the sun don't shine.

[Rebel4ever]

Everything happens for a reason. I don't harp on if it was a good idea or bad mistake. We are where we are and I like it, in the best college sports conference in the nation.

[mater]

My problem with article is it does not eleborate on THE reason why we left:

Frank McGuire had enough of the ACC not allowing minorities to play, then Clemson felt the pressure from Tobacco Road NC to stay rather than staying loyal to the state. But what do you expect from a school that celebrates Pitchfork Ben Tillman.

Plus, comparing a move from 1971 to 2012 is unfathomable, why don't they ask Georgia Tech if they made a mistake when they left the SEC.

[Rebel4ever]

Originally Posted by Stillwearingmyjoehat

Did basketball suffer? Possibly but we'll never know if the program declined because Carolina left the ACC or if McGuire lost some of his touch with Walsh, Jobe and others leaving his staff. Independence certainly didn't hurt Marquette, Notre Dame, DePaul and Louisville basketball and there's no reason to.

Were they independent at another time cause they were in the Metro Conference with us in the 80's. They could have been independent at another time but I don't know.

[BuCockyfan]

To be Devils Advocate, we would have a better shot at a MNC and BCS Bowl Games if we were in the ACC.

We get great recruits because were in the SEC, but everyone else gets great recruits too. All depends on perspective.