News & Observer piece on the history of ACC expansion

Amazing (and very long) piece from News & Observer titled Florida State-ACC was a perfect marriage — until it wasn't that's walks through the history of the modern ACC, starting with the addition of FSU in 1991. Strongly recommend reading the whole piece.

The premise of the piece is that FSU joining the ACC was always about money, just like FSU's seemingly inevitable exit. But this piece is about so much more than FSU:

• Swafford's initial foresight into the importance of football, and how it was pivot from the ACC's previous focus
• In 2005, the ACC seemed poised to be premiere athletic conference in college sports, having some of the most watched sporting events in the country (UNC winning a basketball natty, VT vs Miami, VT vs FSU, etc)
• Until 2007, the ACC was the highest earning conference, and had been for a long time.
• While the ACC has seen over 500% revenue growth since 91, the B10 and SEC have seen over 700%
• FSU's lawyers have said it would cost the school between $570 million and $700 million to exit the conference, should the GoR be enforceable, which is more than FSU has earned since joining the conference in '91

There's many fascinating quotes, anecdotes,and factoids sprinkled throughout the piece. Great read, especially for anyone who hasn't been a cfb fan for more than 20 years.