GREENSBORO, N.C. — Turnover was the overriding theme of the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff on Sunday and Monday as the league has seen an influx of teams over the past 12 months with another slated to join in 2014 and one set to leave.

It made Scott Shafer and Pittsburgh head coach Paul Chryst attractions that they wouldn’t normally be, as members of the media from throughout the conference lobbed questions at the head coaches about their experiences so far in the new league.

Shafer arrived in Greensboro, N.C., just about 24 hours before speaking with the media on Monday, but there’s one aspect that’s already stood out to him.

“I really enjoy the coaches,” Shafer said. “I’ve been around them a couple times in the last couple months.”

One of the league’s criticisms has been that it doesn’t boast the high-profile coaches of the Southeastern Conference or the Big Ten, but it’s still a strong fraternity with recognizable names. Shafer, in particular, said he really looked up to Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer when he was a young assistant defensive coach.

Now, with Syracuse’s move to the ACC, he joins the group that’s always impressed him.

“Just good guys that I think represent NCAA football to a really high degree,” Shafer said.

The common conception about the ACC is that it’s a league of high-flying, potent offenses that rely heavily on speed. When Shafer’s rifled through the game film, he’s seen that fast-paced action that is less common in Big East play. West Virginia, though, which left the Big East for the Big 12 before last season, is a helpful exception.

The Orange beat the Mountaineers in each of the last three seasons. Shafer compares them to Clemson, the conference’s preseason favorite.

“They’re fast,” he said. “They can get on the edge quick.”

Part of that perception is clouded in myth. A team like the Tigers is predicated around a high-speed offense with the defense sometimes lagging behind, but it’s not entirely true for the rest of the conference.

“Is the ACC style just more speed, or are there some good players that happen to be fast that are in it?” Chryst said. “I do think, probably like anything, there’s some truth to it all a little bit and then it’s all a stereotype.”

Chryst and Pittsburgh join Syracuse as the newest members of the ACC this season. Maryland is slated to leave after this season, as Louisville will take its place. It’s a time of turmoil in college athletics, but the ACC has found itself as a league that, after this season, will have its shape for the foreseeable future.

Both SU and the Panthers could see their honeymoon periods in the conference collide with rude awakenings. Pitt begins its season with reigning conference champion Florida State. Syracuse opens ACC play on Oct. 4 with Clemson.

“That’s why you join conferences like this,” Chryst said. “Our players are excited about it, I’m excited about it, our fans are excited … it’s a great start for us. If you’re going to be in any good conference you’re going to play good teams. That’s the way it should be.”

SU plays both the Tigers and Seminoles this year, will continue its rivalry with Pitt and reopen a rivalry with Boston College.

“Conference realignment right now, I think it’s great,” BC head coach Steve Addazio said. “I think Syracuse and Pitt being in is great, getting regional rivalries in there. I think our conference is really well put together regionally, to tell you the truth.”

Until the games begin it will be a relaxing time for Shafer and the conference’s newest members. Monday opened with golf. The weekend was a blur of catered meals and chatting with other coaches and the media.

That changes long before Oct. 4, when Clemson comes to the Carrier Dome. For now, though, there are no complaints.

“It’s been fun. I think both Syracuse and Pitt are excited to be part of the conference,” Shafer said. “I think it’s definitely a privilege to be joining the conference at this time and I think for me it’s been a great couple days.”

Published on July 22, 2013 at 7:14 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2