But would having someone like that on the league’s side matter?
As the ACC’s football media days get rolling this week, there are a number of simmering issues. FSU’s snub by the College Football Playoff last season helped underscore the lack of ACC voices in national media coverage, and as this piece from 247 helpfully lays out, the league’s coaches are frustrated about it.
ACC coaches and administrators talked a lot this spring about the need for someone like Paul Finebaum, the SEC’s Takesman-In-Chief and a staple on its network, to help similarly drive narratives on the ACC’s behalf. The absence of such a personality on the ACC Network—arguably, there’s an absence of any personality on the ACC Network—has chafed coaches for a while.
The desire for a Finebaum-like media personality within the ACC isn’t a new development, either. Two years ago at the ACC’s meetings, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney complained about the ACC Network’s programming, according to sources, and asked, “Why can’t we have a f—-ng Finebaum Show?” Of course, there’s no way to just create an ACC version of the Finebaum Show in a lab after the former newspaper columnist organically grew it in Alabama for decades, building a devoted caller base of passionate SEC fans, before moving to the SEC Network.
Indeed, I don’t know who could potentially fill these shoes under the ACC banner. Danny Kanell? Eric Mac Lain? The ACC Network at times feels like it’s running on a shoestring and hasn’t developed much on-air talent—most of the ex-players on the roster are duds.
This gets at a larger problem, which is that the ACC is tied to ESPN, and ESPN is always going to prioritize the SEC, which is a far more valuable property. You can see it plain enough in the difference in live coverage that originates from the respective league networks. The SEC Network has a lot to offer, with Finebaum at the head of that ecosystem; meanwhile, on the ACC Network, we’re getting pre-taped segments instead of live halftime studio shows during basketball games. There’s no big name media personality to drive discussion, but also there’s really not much of a discussion, period, when it comes to network content. It barely exists.
A new voice doesn’t much change the predicament, which is that the ACC is always going to be an afterthought at ESPN.