DURHAM -- In some of his strongest statements yet about the ACC football championship game's possible permanent future in Charlotte, ACC commissioner John Swofford said Tuesday night that he would like the game to continue to succeed in order to build a permanent home there.
"That would be our preference," Swofford said during a reception at a restaurant outside Durham Bulls Athletic Park, where the ACC baseball tournament will begin today. "We could tell last year being there, how well the game was received. ...
"It established a really good baseline for one year. What we've got to do is develop that consistency from year to year."
The ACC championship game made its Charlotte debut last season after spending its first three years in Jacksonville, Fla., followed by two years in Tampa, Fla. Attendance was reported at 72,379 for Virginia Tech's 44-33 win over Florida State.
Charlotte's position in the geographic center of the ACC's footprint is seen as a plus for the championship game because fans from so many schools are within a short drive of Bank of America Stadium, where the game is played.
Event promoters and civic leaders in Charlotte have long stated their desire to make the city the permanent home of the championship game. Although coaches at first were excited about having the game in the Florida cities because of the weather and recruiting opportunities, low attendance there thrust Charlotte to the forefront as the city where the championship game has to succeed.
There even had been some talk about moving the championship game to on-campus sites if Charlotte struggled. But Charlotte got off to a good start, and ACC officials are hoping it can build on its momentum to become a possible permanent home for the game.
"We really took a big leap forward with our championship game in Charlotte," Swofford said.
Conference officials will see how the 2011 game - set for Dec. 3 - fares in Charlotte before considering options for 2012.
Swofford also said the ACC's basketball coaches are honing in on scheduling issues in hopes of giving themselves every opportunity to gain at-large selections to the NCAA tournament.
The idea of expanding the conference schedule from 16 league games to 18 was discussed in depth at the ACC's annual spring meetings earlier this month. The earliest that change could be made would be for the 2013-14 season.
Swofford said no decision was made regarding that issue, which was a part of the broader discussion of the kind of opponents ACC teams need to schedule to reach the NCAA tournament.
"Collectively, our teams have a much better handle on that moving forward in terms of the numbers," Swofford said.
