Syracuse to the ACC Reaction from a Lifelong Cuse Fan

Syracuse and Pittsburgh apply to be in the ACC.

That was the headline I awoke to the other day as I was browsing my daily morning websites and quite literally I jumped back, initially not believing what I was reading.  But as I read on, it became more and more clear that the impending change was inevitable and now it is official. Syracuse is no longer a member of the Big East Conference.

It still doesn't look right when I'm writing it for this article. Syracuse is the Big East Conference in every way. I would strongly suggest that if you asked any sports fan to name a team from the Big East, either Syracuse or Connecticut would come out of their mouths. But now it is no more and as a fan of the Orange, it is time to accept it and analyze the move the best we can.

From a Football standpoint, the move makes perfect sense. Big East football has been a dying breed ever since Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech left to join the ACC in 2005. It's current eight-team format has done nothing to excite fans, and it's clearly the weakest of the BCS conferences. Syracuse football, under Doug Marrone seems to be on an upstart after a long down slide, and a move to the ACC is necessary to keep it relevant and complete its rebirth as a major player in the national championship landscape.  

But for me, Syracuse as a university is not about football. It is and always will be a Basketball (and Lacrosse) school. Leaving the Big East, a sixteen-team super conference, is absolutely devastating to its basketball program. Sure, the ACC is still one of the best conferences in the land, and it features two premiere programs in Duke and North Carolina.  But Syracuse is a founding member of the Big East, they helped make it what it is today. Jim Boeheim has never coached in any other conference then the Big East.  

Gone are the rivalries with the likes of Villanova, St. John's, Georgetown and Connecticut which span the course of several decades of tradition. Gone are budding rivalries with teams like Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame and others who have played extremely compelling games since the Big East expansion. Gone are Big East Tournaments in Madison Square Garden, the staple of Syracuse Basketball.  Other then Carmelo leading them to the '03 title, my best memory as a Syracuse fan is the Big East Tournament. Gerry McNamara leading them to a title as a No. 9 seed with clutch shot after clutch shot. Staying up till 2 a.m. watching Cuse outlast UCONN in six overtimes.

It will be difficult to see them play in North Carolina, fighting for a title of a league in which they don't belong. The ACC is Duke and UNC's league, the Big East was Syracuse's. Sure going to Cameron Indoor or watching UNC visit the Carrier Dome will be nice, but it won't be the same. The Big East was always the superior conference in hoops. Syracuse fans were always the first to the forefront to defend their conference when it was questioned by others. But now they become just another enemy. We will still follow the Orange through thick and thin. Cheer when they win, sob when they don't. But once Syracuse moves to the ACC, for lifelong fans, it will never be the same.