Syracuse Moving to the ACC Q&A: Florida State

We got our chance to talk about our future ACC rivals in the "Meet Your New Neighbors" series. Now those same folks that we lightly poked fun at get to offer up their own opinions of us! Each week, I'll be posting Q&A responses from one of the 12 current ACC schools, and I'll also be submitting to some questioning on their respective sites, too. It should be fun, and if we're lucky, people might get as angry as they did in the Virginia Tech profile comment thread.

This week, we got to sit down with Tomahawk Nation's Bud Elliott. As you'll soon find out, Bud's not a fan of the direction of the ACC. He also won't be talking about Cimarron.

Also see last week's conversation with Blue Devil Nation.

Was Syracuse your first choice for ACC expansion?

Tomahawk Nation: Certainly not. I thought Louisville or Notre Dame would have been much better, as they'd increase the ACC's bargaining power with the only sport that seems to matter in the TV game.

We've heard some rumors of you guys flirting with the Big 12. What's going on there?

TN: It's all rumor on our end as well. But I do believe FSU is constantly examining its options.

On a related note, as an FSU fan, do you want out of the ACC? And if so, would you prefer the Big 12 or the SEC?

TN: I do, for a variety of reasons mostly relating to the conference preferring hoops over football while the football schools bring in the money, and preferential treatment for the Tobacco Road schools. And yeah, the SEC is a much better fit geographically and culturally.

What are the lasting effects of the Seminoles' ACC tournament title this year?

TN: I think it further legitimizes FSU as one of the better basketball programs in the country. And it is a great accomplishment for such a top-heavy conference.

Does Florida State become a consistent contender in basketball? Is it a flash in the pan? And does conference expansion (with two strong basketball schools) derail future success somewhat?

TN: More so than it has been? I'm not sure about that. But I think they can remain where they've been.

I think the newcomers to the conference will push FSU down a bit in the pecking order, as both programs are equal to or greater than FSU in the basketball department of late. But I think the stronger hoops conference will help with FSU's reputation.

Any tips for getting by in the ACC (dos, don'ts for fans)?

TN: UNC & NCSU hate each other. UVA hates Tech. Miami hates FSU, etc. But there are some less obvious rivalries. Wake and FSU get pretty dirty in football. Clemson fans hate UNC because UNC's brass basically levied additional penalties on CU when CU got caught cheating.

Basically, if you're not on Tobacco Road, the conference won't give a damn about you. It's better than the Big East because it's more stable, but the perks really sort of suck.

Thoughts on Syracuse overall? (both as an institution and an athletic program)?

TN: I really like Doug Marrone. I hope for 'Cuse's sake that he won't get run off, provided he can make a bowl every few years. Other than that, I don't really know much about the program, though I'll have to make the road trip to cover it for TN when FSU's turn is up.