Commissioner Swofford,
The Atlantic Coast Conference has a deep and rich tradition full of many instances of honor and pride for it’s member institutions. Â From it’s foundings as one of the first major, modern conferences in the country, it has represented over a hundred national titles, a total of 15 major institutions and over a half of a century of athletic competition. Â The ACC currently represents over a quarter of a million students and millions of friends and alumni across the world. Â It goes without saying that representing all that this great conference has to offer is not a responsibility to be taken lightly and expectations for such an esteemed conference should be of the highest level, no exceptions allowed.
NC State is one of the 8 founding members of the ACC and has contributed greatly to it’s formation and sustainment both on the court and by maintaining a positive reputation in the classroom. Â This is a claim that not all members of this, or any other, conference can claim. Â Because of this contribution, I trust that you will take the concerns of such a loyal contributor towards this conference to heart. Â NC State does not expect preferential treatment and does not even want to advocate that the ACC has been committing any sort of acts that have been coordinated to benefit one team or group of teams. Â (Even holding such a discussion in the formal sense is meaningless.) Â NC State does, however, recognize that in accordance with the high standards the ACC is capable of holding itself to, it’s officiating has become a “black eye” not just for individual teams, but for the conference at large. Â Today, during the North Carolina State University versus University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill men’s basketball game, questionable officiating didn’t just become the thing that fan-bases talk about after a tough loss; rather, ACC officiating became a national topic and was viewed by millions of college basketball fans.
Even if the officiating would not have change the outcome of the game, even if the officials made the best call they could at the time, and even if the ACC is concerned and addresses quality concerns regularly, the commissioner of the ACC must, at the very least, admit that there is a problem and that it must be addressed publicly and transparently. Â If for no other reason then out of respect for the member institutions of the conference, it is important for the university administrations, coaches, players, and fans who donate their time, money, and hearts to know that the conference is concerned with maintaining the level of quality that we should expect out of the ACC.
For these reasons, we kindly request the following…
(a) An explanation, apology, or acknowledgement that an officiating quality problems exists.
(b) Action taken for both Karl Hess or, at the very least, and acknowledgement that his actions, not just their “procedures”, were wrongful and disrespectful towards not only NC State but towards the legacy of ACC basketball.
(c) A plan for reforming ACC officiating be it a change in procedures, a change in contracted individuals, or a change in scheduling of current officials.
As stated, NC State does not expect preferential treatment and does not expect to regain respect on the court by anything other than it’s own blood, sweat, and tears. Â On our journey to earning that respect, we do expect the ACC to continue to provide the quality of officiating and support that should be expected from the ACC.
Thank you for your time, efforts, and for your understanding of our concerns. Â We will be patiently awaiting your response to the actions detailed in this letter.
V/R,
A Rational Fan of a Member Institution in the ACC
Note From The Author: I know there is a flurry of discussion going on regarding the game today and there will undoubtedly be more in the coming week, but I thought it important to document my feelings on the matter as soon as I cooled down after the game.  I feel that most of what is stated in this letter is generous… perhaps too generous… but at least provides a rational response to John Swofford concerning officiating.  In my humble opinion, the actions suggested in this letter would, at the very least, represent a positive move towards transparency and unbiased reform. Honestly, that’s all I realistically expect.  If we are going to play in a conference where they don’t care about the quality of officiating, then fine… just be upfront about it and let us know what we are accepting by staying the ACC.  Otherwise, at least pay lip-service and pretend like you care.  Not doing either one is just unprofessional and does little more than make the ACC look incompetent on a national stage and makes the ACC administration look dishonest.
