I became an avid Louisville fan in 1980 when I was 9 yrs old. I remember as if it was yesterday watching that title game on my parent’s old console. Those were the good old days. I wasn’t concerned with conference alignment and it was something that never even crossed my mind. The only thing that mattered was if my Cards were going to win or lose. Since 1980, I have watched the Cards play in three conferences (Basketball). In total, they have played in six different leagues (Basketball). They have belonged to the Big East Conference since the 2005–06 seasons. Before that, they belonged to the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from the 1925–26 to 1947–48 seasons, the Ohio Valley Conference for the 1948–49 season, the Missouri Valley Conference from 1964–65 to 1974–75, the Metro Conference from 1975–76 to 1994-95, and Conference USA from 1995-96 to 2004-05. They played as an independent school from 1911-12 to 1924-25 and from 1949-50 to 1963-64 (29 total seasons). Note: Football has belonged to three of these leagues. The Missouri Valley Conference, Conference USA, and Big East

I don’t know about the rest of you but I thought once we got into the Big East that it was going to be for the long haul. I remember how excited I was to hear we were joining the league. But things started to change and the Big East slowly started to fall apart. Now all that is left is a group of Catholic Basketball Schools. The Louisville program will now spend a year in the make shift American Athletic Conference before moving to the ACC in 2014. Thanks to our superior athletic programs and our great Athletic Director, we seem to have found a new home again. This time it looks like it may actually be for the long hall as news broke today that – the Atlantic Coast Conference presidents approved a grant of media rights for the league through 2026-27, effectively halting the exodus of any schools to other conferences. The move solidifies the future of the ACC, which had several teams that had been speculated as targets of the Big Ten and possibly the Big 12. The ACC’s grant of rights makes it untenable financially for a school to leave, guaranteeing in the 14 years of the deal that a school’s media rights, including revenue, for all home games would remain with the ACC regardless of the school’s affiliation. With this move the ACC becomes the fourth league with a grant of rights, along with the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12. The SEC is the only conference among the “power five” leagues that does not have a grant of rights.(ESPN)

Like 8 years ago, when we got the news about our membership to the Big East I will be very happy to join the ACC. But that happiness will now come with much more optimism. The move taken by the ACC today will hopefully give us conference stability and that’s something I have never seen as a Cardinal fan. I had always hoped that one day we would find our place in the shuffle and I’m just glad that it finally appears that has happened. Now all any of us can do as fans is the same thing I have done since I was 9 years old. Look forward to that next Cardinal victory. Louisville first Cards Forever!