The 12-Pack Welcomes Virginia in the SBN Conference Re-Draft

As gbruin teased in yesterday's post welcoming Boston College to the fold, the 12-Pac has seemingly cornered the ACC market with the addition of the Virginia Cavaliers. As we wrote yesterday, the addition of UVa not only gives the conference a foothold in Washington DC and the greater Mid-Atlantic region, but fits in great with the main priorities of the conference - including the aforementioned media markets, academics (US News's #25 undergrad, plus top-10 business and law schools), facilities and revenue-generation and being yet another prime road tripping destination.

While the school's main-revenue sports have struggled in recent years, that has not stopped UVa from developing one of the largest-resourced athletic departments in the nation, with 2009-10 revenues exceeding $81 million. The money that has been generated by the athletics foundation has allowed the university to develop a set of facilities for revenue and non-revenue teams that rival or beat any others in our conference, while the hope of relevance for UVa Football and Men's Basketball can unlock an even greater revenue stream that can make this pick look like an absolute steal by our commish. As well as academics, revenue and facilities, another of our aims in selecting schools has been how desirable of a destination the school is for a visitor - after all, half the fun is following our team to fun new sites. UVa boasts a scenic and historic campus - one can walk by the dorm rooms of Edgar Allen Poe and Woodrow Wilson while walking to the game, while Charlottesville - and the surrounding country - in the fall is a beautiful place to spend a few days.

While the two schools have some of the cultural differences that one might expect between institutions located in Los Angeles and in central Virginia (albeit a college town), UCLA and UVa do share quite a few similarities: They are two of the elite universities in the United States, public or otherwise; both universities have an iconic campus landmark modeled on an ancient European structure; while maintaining power in the non-revenue sports, both schools recently cut loose under-performing (alumni) football coaches after a stretch of mediocrity in the sport; years ending in 19 hold special significance for both - The University of Virginia was chartered in 1819, while UCLA was founded exactly a century later, in 1919; both universities for some reason awarded me a degree; Gene Block...

As a destination, there is plenty for prospective travelers to do before and after game day. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a short drive away for the outdoorsy; while the estates of Presidents Jefferson, Madison and Monroe are all close to the university. Plenty of significant sites from our nation's history are close enough to work into a trip, such as Jamestown, Williamsburg and Richmond, as well as the obligatory Washington DC plug. I know that I am leaving plenty out - hopefully, Brian or one of his co-bloggers at Streaking The Lawn can refresh my memory. Head on over there and say hi. 

The first 8 rounds, plus our initial pick in Round 9 are below (table from BCInterruption)

Comissioners and Conference names: BCI: Twelve Pack;  BHGP: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants; TSK: The Empire (working title); BECB: Conference TMZ; HoS: House of a Thousand Sanctions; RCR: The Cult Of Les Miles.

It is still a little ways until our next pick, but never too early to share your opinions as we update the draft board. Who should the Twelve Pack get next. Post your thoughts here or over at BC Interruption, where Brian is not just the Commissioner, he's also a member.