On Monday, it was announced that there were seven teams within the ACC that were looking to secede from the conference. The seven teams were reported to have been led by Clemson and FSU, followed by Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Now predictions and rumors are swirling with such ideas that Clemson to the SEC, among the other six disgruntled schools, could be making moves out of the ACC.
This will obviously be an ongoing discussion throughout the offseason well into the start of the regular season and beyond. With the current scope of college sports, where other conferences are in the middle of media rights discussions or hopeful conference expansion, the ACC now has a huge problem on their hands.
With as many obstacles as Clemson and the six other disgruntled members would have to overcome to withdraw from the ACC, it's also not completely out of the realm of possibility either for the conference to be completely altered in the coming seasons, if not totally dismantled.
Most of the seven ACC teams are in proximity to teams in other conferences that could make a lot of sense, that is if they were to find a loophole out of ACC grant-to-rights deal. The only question then becomes — would those conferences want them? We know the Pac-12, Big 12 and others outside of the super conferences are taking seemingly all comers. But are the SEC and Big 10 looking to expand? If they are, we're going to look at where they could end up. But first let's look at the current and future members of the SEC and Big 10 conference.
SEC
Georgia
Tennessee
Alabama
LSU
Texas A&M
Florida
Vanderbilt
South Carolina
Ole Miss
Mississippi St.
Missouri
Kentucky
Auburn
Arkansas
Texas*
Oklahoma*
*won't join until 2024
Big 10
Ohio St.
Michigan
Penn St.
Wisconsin
Michigan St.
Indiana
Maryland
Rutgers
Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern
Purdue
USC*
UCLA*
*won't join until 2024
Who makes the most sense from the ACC to join each super-conference between the SEC and Big 10?
Clemson
One of the leaders of this hopeful secession in the group of seven is Clemson. Their potential move seems like one of the clearest ones in the entire group. Already having an in-state rival they play yearly in the South Carolina Gamecocks, the easy move is for the Tigers to move right into the SEC.
Let's be honest, they kind of already feel like an SEC team anyways.
FSU
Much like Clemson, the Seminoles already have an in-state rival in the Florida Gators from the SEC that they play yearly. But is it a given that they would go to the SEC? By further expanding their dominance with adding a high-profile team in FSU, it makes a lot of sense to go to the SEC. It's the most likely due to the proximity to other SEC teams. But do I think the Big 10 would make a strong push for FSU? Absolutely.
Miami
Thinking of the Miami from yesteryear, it would be fun to see the Hurricanes in the expanding SEC, playing the likes of Tennessee, Texas, Alabama and others, including renewing the Florida rivalry. However, it makes even more sense for the Big 10. The Big 10 would be expanding their recruiting footprint in a big way by adding Miami, not to mention a valued interests in opponents' fans looking for a tropical trip. Plus, imagine if USC and Miami were at a prime level in college football again. Those would be some must see games, along with Ohio St., Michigan and Penn St. The biggest loss would be if Miami goes to the Big 10 and FSU goes to the SEC.
North Carolina
I think this is another one for the Big 10, and a much needed one. Tar Heel sports is a big brand, particularly in basketball, and football has been competitive over the last decade or so. It would be nice to see the Gamecocks and Tar Heels duke it out in the SEC, but overall, this addition to the Big 10 has some interesting matchups that come with it as well.
NC State
The Wolfpack don't have quite the same appeal as the Tar Heels, but if North Carolina makes the move to the northern conference, I don't see why the state school wouldn't do the same. Having in-state rival games are always intriguing and the Big 10 would take that into account.
Virginia
The farther northeast you get the more it feels like we're getting into Big 10 territory. The Cavaliers, if for no other reason at all, just seem like a Big 10 team.
Virginia Tech
This one is a bit tricky. While moving farther up the east coast, you'd think if the Big 10 took on Virginia, that the Hokies would be right behind them. But a few seasons ago the Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech played in Bristol, TN at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was a unique setting that brought in almost 157,000 fans. You have to figure that the SEC would take that into consideration if and when they look for expansion. That type of matchup could become a yearly deal if the Hokies were to join the SEC.
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