As the Big Ten begins its annual football media day event this week in Indianapolis, the ACC will be holding its mid-summer ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina at the same time. While the Big Ten welcomes four members from the Pac-12 as new conference members this season, the ACC will be welcoming in two new members from the West Coast with Cal and Stanford. The ACC will also be going through its media day frenzy under what seems to be a cloud of constant uncertainty as multiple members in the conference have not hidden from a desire to break free of the conference’s grant of rights and potentially land in a new conference home. Of course, the riches that come with being a Big Ten member are enough to entice a few ACC schools to pursue membership in the conference.
Florida State and Clemson are the two headliners that continue to push the issue with the ACC. Both schools have taken legal steps to challenge the ACC grant of rights in hopes of creating an exit that isn’t a massive financial burden. For now, the Big Ten reportedly is not looking to add Florida State.
“[Big Ten commissioner] Tony [Petitti] is staying away from expansion , and we’re taking Tony’s lead,” a source reportedly said to Brett McMurphy of Action Network. Of course, that came with a bit of a disclaimer alluding to mass chaos in the ACC on a level similar to the downfall of the Pac-12.
“There is no appetite among the presidents unless there is some catastrophic development with the ACC and it forces [the Big Ten] into a decision,” McMurphy quoted the same anonymous source as saying.
The SEC is reportedly in the same boat as the Big Ten when it comes to adding Florida State and Clemson. In the SEC’s case, the conference already has a firm foot in each of those schools’ home states with Florida and South Carolina. Of course, the SEC did just add Texas despite already having Texas A&M . But Florida State and Clemson aren’t on the same level overall as the Longhorns.
2024 Big Ten football media days full schedule and speakers
The long-time rumors of the Big 12 being the most likely destination for Florida State and Clemson may continue to linger until it becomes a reality. We have been seeing those rumors for well over a decade now, so it may be time to just get the move done.
Florida State and Clemson appear to be a bit of a package deal one way or the other, but there are other schools that could be potential targets for the Big Ten if the ACC comes crashing down. North Carolina is believed to be the bigger fish in the pond if the Big Ten chooses to go fishing. North Carolina would fit in with the Big Ten and the SEC, and the Tar Heels would be an attractive candidate for each.
Miami has become a rising candidate in the rumor mill, and it is being reported the Hurricanes would make a push to join the Big Ten, Miami would make sense for the Big Ten as it would help get the Big Ten a footprint in Florida, and the school is a member of the AAU. And it may not take much to convince Miami to leave the ACC. Miami seems to be the school watching the action around them and waiting to pounce on their opportunity to leave.
Miami and North Carolina as a pair of new Big Ten programs would seemingly be a great move for the expanding Big Ten. If the ACC does crack, adding Cal and Stanford to the mix is not far-fetched given the Big Ten’s new standing on the West Coast. Throw Virginia and Georgia Tech on the radar as well just in case, but Big Ten fans should clearly be paying close attention to the rumblings surrounding the ACC for the foreseeable future. It may not implode quite like the Pac-12, but the ACC is the conference on the shakiest of grounds right now.
The ACC Football Kickoff and Big Ten media days are scheduled for Tuesday, July 22 through Thursday, July 25.
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