Jim Boeheim, whose Syracuse Orangemen are packing their bags and leaving the Big East for ACC, was speaking at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham and decided to delve into the annoying/interesting/frustrating topic of conference realignment. From the Birmingham News:

“If conference commissioners were the founding fathers of this country, we would have Guatemala, Uruguay and Argentina in the United States,” Boeheim said. “This audience knows why we are doing this. There’s two reasons: Money and football.

Come on, that’s funny!

“It’s interesting because 30 years ago schools made X amount of money,” he said. “Twenty years ago, they made 2X. Ten years ago, they made 4X. Now they’re going to make 6X. And you know what? They’re going to end up breaking even, just like they did 30 years ago.

“At the end of the day, there’s a school with a billion-dollar budget and they’re talking about making an extra $4 million. What does that really mean when your school’s budget is a billion dollars? It’s just what has happened. People feel like they have to get these mega conferences. Whether they’re right or wrong, we won’t know for a while.”

The only thing Boeheim left out? It’s a cash grab for everyone … except the actual participants of college football. I wish Boeheim had gone there. The Syracuse hoops coach also chimed on Andy Katz’s leading question – at least those on the conference call say it was – about the ACC tournament moving to New York and Madison Square Garden:

“It’s a great place for a tournament,” he said. “Where would you want to go to to a tournament for five days? Let’s see: Greensboro, North Carolina, or New York City? Jeez. Let me think about that one and get back to you.”

I agree with Boeheim on Rutgers/UConn going to the ACC … but I think those two are a contingency plan. Neither school has any other option, and the ACC is probably waiting to see if the Pac 12 goes to 16, and what happens with Texas. I believe Texas is the key right now – what if it went to the Big Ten? Would the Pac-12 feel a need to go to 16? Would the SEC?

Boeheim thinks UConn and possibly Rutgers will follow Syracuse to ACC [Birmingham News]