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Less than two years ago, the ACC was one of three conferences that spent considerable time congratulating themselves for forming a scheduling "alliance" that was sealed with not a contract but a figurative handshake.

A challenge to our dear readers: Try reading the following italicized paragraphs from the time this "historic" commitment among the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 was reached:

“It’s about trust. It’s about we’ve looked each other in the eye, we’ve made an agreement, we have great confidence and faith. Our board chairs have looked each other in the eye and have committed to the same level of support and connection to one another. Our athletics directors have done that. And so if (a contract) what it takes to get something considerable done, then we’ve lost our way.” -- ACC commissioner Jim Phillips

“There’s no signed contract. There’s an agreement among three gentlemen and there’s a commitment from 41 presidents and chancellors and 41 athletic directors to do what we say we’re going to do. If there’s any lack of specificity in the press release, it’s because we want to make sure we could deliver 100 percent of what we promised, so we’re aligned in how we want to approach this. But there’s no contract, there’s no signed document and there doesn’t need to be. Don’t measure me by what we say, measure us by what we do over the coming months and years and decades.” -- Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff

“If you have to go back and look at a contract that you signed, you probably entered a deal with the wrong parties.” -- Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren

When you're finished laughing at this part of a history lesson about something that's, well, history, consider that this so-called alliance was devised as a counterpunch to the SEC's addition of Texas and Oklahoma.

Hoo boy.

WHERE HISTORY MEETS THE FUTURE (For subscribers-only)

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