The month of March is typically a time of celebration for the Atlantic Coast Conference. For decades, the ACC has been a standard-bearer in college basketball. The ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament was once considered as big a spectacle as the NCAA Tournament itself. The crowning of the league’s champion at the annual tournament in Greensboro would often be followed by regular appearances in the Final Four and national championships by the conference.
This March may be remembered as the league’s darkest hour and the culmination of decades of poor decisions. The increasing television revenue of the SEC and Big Ten compared with the ACC’s has been well documented from a football perspective.