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Chat Reel: John Swofford

ACC Commissioner talks pigskin and BCS

Tommy Bowden heads into his second season at the helm of the Clemson Tigers, the team Swofford expects to close the gap on Florida State. Andy Lyons/Allsport

John Swofford answered CNNSI.com users' questions on August 8, 2000, about the 2000 college football season, both from his perspective as ACC Commissioner and chairman of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). A transcript of his chat follows:

CNNSI Host: Welcome to our college football chat with ACC Commissioner John Swofford. Thank you for joining us Mr. Swofford.
John Swofford: Well, you're welcome!

From Scott Stroupe in Charlotte, N.C.: Is the ACC looking to expand? If so, what college football team do you feel will be joining the conference?
John Swofford: Well right now expansion is something I would describe as being on the back burner. We as a league discussed it very thoroughly and discussed it very thoroughly about a year ago and last fall our Presidents came to the conclusion that we would not be expanding at this time. It is a subject matter that we will in all probability revisit periodically, but at the current time we are happy with being nine and do not feel that we are disadvantaged by our nine-membership number.

From dhatlarge in Tallahassee, Fla.: Is an ACC championship game an appealing idea to you now?
John Swofford: Well that question is directly related to expansion in the sense that in order to have a conference championship football game you have to have 12 members. One of the positives in expanding would be the opportunity to have a championship football game particularly from and exposure and financial standpoint however that Championship Conference game can work against you in the National championship picture.

From Steve Schott in Charlotte, N.C.: John, As an ACC football fan I am starting to a little tired of the Big 10, Big 12 and SEC claiming superiority as a conference. Were would you like to see the ACC in 5-10 years regarding football?
John Swofford: Well I'd like to see ACC football considered to be at the top of the heap from a National perspective. I think our football has come a long way since Florida State has joined the league because Florida State has set the bar so high competitively not only in the ACC, but nationally.

If you look at the measurable numbers that are there from a competitive standpoint, I think our league is stronger than it is sometimes given credit for. The ACC is the nation's 'winningist' bowl conference...we've had more first round draft picks in the NFL draft since 1997 than any other conference, than the SEC, and of course, we have nine teams and the SEC has twelve and the league has won three championships in football since the 1990's. With Georgia Tech winning one and Florida State winning two and during the decade of the nineties the ACC posted the second best non-conference record in Division I-A Football.

So I think the numbers are a measuring stick of the quality of football that is being played in this league and in reality when you consider the SEC the big 10, the Big 12 the PAC 10 and the Big east the truth of the matter is there is probably not a great deal of difference in the competitiveness of those leagues on a year in and year out basis.

We recently calculated here in the office, what our schools had spent on football facilities in the 1990's and it exceeded $400 million. And I think that shows a tremendous commitment to the sport of football by our member institutions. And I think that bodes very well for the future of ACC football.

From Ricardo Castro in Panama City, Panama: Every year there's always a team that seems to have closed the gap enough to beat FSU. Last year it was Georgia Tech. Who do you think it is this year?
John Swofford: Well I think it is likely to be Clemson this year. They are starting the year ranked in the top 20. As dominant as FL State was year, two of their closest games were against two ACC teams, Clemson and Georgia Tech. At various times since Florida State has been in the league, Virginia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and now Clemson seemed to have closed the gap at one time or another but few have been able to sustain it.

From Stephen Herrera in Blakeslee, Pa.: Are there any significant changes to the BCS way of computer ranking teams this year or is it pretty much the same as last year?
John Swofford: The compilation of the BCS standings will be identical to last year. What will be different is that the standings will be compiled by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. We did this to protect the integrity of the process and that we did not want a conference office such as ours that might have teams involved in the standings in the National Championship picture to be calculating those standings.

From Will: In your opinion, do you think a team that loses one game but has a top 10 ranked schedule deserves a nudge above a team that goes undefeated but has a 50th ranked schedule?
John Swofford: Well the compilation of the standing is set up to make just that kind of decision. That's the reason that a strength-of-schedule component is part of the BCS standings.

From Doug Haywood in Austin, Texas: I understand that the BCS is basically the system for determining a national champ in football. But why doesn't the NCAA give a playoff system at least one chance. I am and I know other people are big fans of college football. We would love to see a true national champ instead of watching AP, writers, and a computer, who don't even play pick a national champion. It's a shame to players, coaches, and fans of college football.
John Swofford: First of all the presidents will be the ones who ultimately will make a decision about a playoff. The tradition of the Bowl system in college football is a very strong and in many ways a very healthy tradition, and many people in the college game feel like it has served college football extremely well.

Post-season college football is still evolving I think. Seven years ago we started the Bowl Coalition and then the Bowl Alliance and that eventually evolved into what we have today which is the Bowl Championship Series, which guarantees a national championship game.

The BCS by vote of the conferences, and by agreement with ABC, and the four Bowls involved is contractually set through the 2005 football season. After 2005, it is an open book as to whether it will be a continuation of the BCS or something similar to it, or a playoff system.

From Fish_Flake: Who is the dark horse in the ACC this year?
John Swofford: Well, that's hard to say. Maryland is a team that could fit into that category. They were awfully close to being a bowl team a year ago and if their team makes the same progress this year that it has made over the last couple of years I think they could be more of a factor than people might think. North Carolina was down last year but also has the potential to rebound. I think right now you have Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Virginia that feel that their programs are on very solid ground, and are set to be very consistent programs.

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with Commissioner Swofford. Thank you for joining us.
John Swofford: You're welcome! It was good to be with you.

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