We live in a time in which the seismic shift in collegiate athletics is arguably greater than ever before. The College Football Playoff is expanding to 12 teams, name, image and likeness (NIL) is being woven into the fabric of the sport, transfer rules now resemble free agency, and you can bet there's more coming.
One thing that doesn't feel like it's done is conference realignment. This fall, we'll see the fruits of a conference shakeup with the latest round of musical chairs resulting in Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, and former Pac-12 teams Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and USC joining the Big Ten among other things.
And while you would think there would be a long pause after all that chaos, we have to remember that Florida State seems very motivated to leave the ACC. And while the buyers don't seem to be as plentiful and anticipatory as many would believe, it could still result in a domino of that conference crumbling. If that were to happen, look for the wolves to try and feast on one team in particular according to Paul Finebaum. While appearing on ESPN's "Get Up," he said the biggest prize in realignment coming from the ACC is no other than the North Carolina Tar Heels.
“Clemson, and especially Florida State, have been making a lot of noise,” Finebaum said. “Florida State just went rogue, about a year ago, saying it’s too good, essentially, my word, not theirs, for the ACC. Clemson has been a drafting partner. But there doesn’t seem to be any interest right now, in really either the Big Ten or the SEC, for them.
"I think the real school to keep your eye on down the road if the ACC starts to show fractures, and that's the University of North Carolina," Finebaum said. "Both the Big Ten and the SEC, I think, would listen, if Chapel Hill called, and then the question is, who else would come along with them, from the ACC."
It makes a lot of sense, especially for the Big Ten. UNC is an AAU member, something the Big Ten seeks when looking at academic profiles of institutions in the conference, and it would also get either the SEC or Big Ten into a new media market, something that could also help out with future television contracts and media rights deals. On the field, it would result in an enhanced pedigree in basketball and some of the Olympic sports as well -- so that too is appetizing.
Of course, the big question that would arise if all of that were to start to become a reality is what teams might follow Carolina. Can you really have some Carolina Blue without Duke or NC State? What about Clemson and others that would be pretty attractive as well?
For now, let's all take a deep breath and just enjoy this coming fall and winter with new programs trying to figure things out in this brave new world, all while keeping an eye on how things might unfold down Tobacco Road.
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