Teams Leaving The ACC And Conference Realignment

ACC Conference Realignment has been quiet until now. Neither a football program has left, nor the conference has not approached any school to join them.

But, clouds of suspicion have been looming over ACC since May 2023 as seven schools were spotted examining the grant of rights agreement with their legal representatives.

ACC teams to Big 12

Big 12 lost two of its biggest names, the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners, to SEC in the NCAA conference realignment. They will join SEC in 2024.

They added UCF Knights, Cincinnati Bearcats, Houston Cougars, and BYU Cougars to fill the void left by the Sooners and Longhorns. These four will play their first campaign in the Big 12 in 2023.

The expansion scheme does not stop there.

The news of seven ACC schools looking for a way out of the conference opens an opportunity for Big 12 to lure them.

Some football programs that might head to Big 12 from ACC are:

• Clemson Tigers
• Miami Hurricanes
• NC State Wolfpack
• North Carolina Tar Heels
• Florida State Seminoles
• Pittsburgh Panthers
• Virginia Tech Hokies
• Louisville Cardinals

USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins are two new teams in the Big 10 Conference. They announced their exit from Pac-12 in the summer of 2022.

The Trojans and the Bruins will be full members of the Big 10 in 2024. They will be sixteen team conferences in 2024.

All other teams in the group are:

• Michigan Wolverines
• Ohio State Buckeyes
• Penn State Nittany Lions
• Maryland Terrapins
• Michigan State Spartans
• Indiana Hoosiers
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights
• Illinois Fighting Illini
• Purdue Boilermakers
• Iowa Hawkeyes
• Minnesota Golden Gophers
• Wisconsin Badgers
• Nebraska Cornhuskers
• Northwestern Wildcats

They will implement the Flex Protect Plus model with no divisional format starting in 2024. It was announced on 8th June 2023.

The Big 10 realignment does not end here. With Pac-12 and ACC falling apart and its members seeking new homes, they may bag some big names.

Big 10 adding 4 schools in a week has been heavily emphasized in the media.

Clemson and FSU to Big 10 is currently the talk of the town. Many sources believe they will be heading toward the Big 10 in a week.

The Tigers and the Seminoles are among the seven who have discussed ACC’s grant of rights and media deal with their lawyers.

Likewise, Pac-12’s Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks are eyeing a move away from their current group. They may possibly be heading to Big Ten.

The door opened for other schools after Colorado Buffaloes jumped ships and made Big 12 their new home earlier last week on 27th July.

Clemson going to the Big 10 can become a reality this week, as suggested by many reports. Colorado going to the Big 12 has triggered a domino effect.

The Southeastern Conference and Big 12 have also been in the mix for Clemson’s possible destination. The most significant name that keeps appearing and has credibility is Big 10.

Clemson Tigers has been the most successful among the fourteen ACC teams in the last decade. They have won seven ACC football championships in the last eight outings.

At the national level, they stand tall with Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tigers are the only team besides the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide to win multiple National Championships since 2015.

Adding a powerhouse known for producing top-notch talents like Deshaun Watson, Andre Branch, DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, Trevor Lawrence, and many more will benefit significantly to any conference.

Florida State leaving ACC must be finalized by a withdrawal application by August 15. They have a virtual meeting on August 2.

FSU’s biggest concern is the revenue gap between ACC and SEC/Big Ten schools. The meeting could possibly make their stance clearer in this saga. Whether or not they will jump ship remains to be seen.

Michael Alford, Florida State Athletic Director, has been vocal about his stance on the current media rights deal and grant of rights agreement for a few months.

Alford stated in the February meeting, “We have to do something because we’re a brand. We’re a very important brand, and we drive the media value in this conference.”

He spoke with CBS Sports and said, “We drive the appearance and the revenue. … We’re OK because we’re 10 to$15 million behind … $30 million is a different deal.”

The statement was directed towards the current media rights, valued way lower than SEC and Big 10.

The UCF Knights, the Big 12 members, will have better revenue than the Seminoles. The difference is something that is not sitting right with FSU and many other teams.

FSU generates $32 million from media rights and is the highest revenue earner in the ACC.

The possible destination for the Seminoles are Big 10 and Big 12.

Big 12 has a good Florida market with UCF, and adding FSU can expand their reach and help them generate a great rivalry between these two.

ACC expansion 2023 could happen if it strikes a partnership with Pac 12. Should it expand, it may bring in new teams from the West.

ACC has seen no new addition yet but it will not be long before it makes a strategic move to stay competitive with SEC and Big 10.

The rumors of the Florida Seminoles and Clemson Tigers departing have created a great buzz. But, it does not mean they plan to sit with folded hands and let other conferences take all the publicity.

Currently, they are concerned about restructuring their revenue model and are focused on keeping the fourteen members happy enough to make them stay.

ACC Expansion To 16 teams

ACC expansion candidates are as follows:

• West Virginia Mountaineers
• Oregon Ducks
• Washington Huskies
• SMU Mustangs
• Utah Utes
• Arizona State Sun Devils
• Arizona Wildcats
• Stanford Cardinal
• California Golden Bears

Considering how bleak Pac-12 has been for the past few months without a new deal and UCLA, USC, and Colorado, the ACC may try to bring Pac-12 teams.

Having Oregon and Washington adds depth to football and basketball. They can play Syracuse and deliver some amazing games of basketball.

The addition of some of the above-mentioned names will help expand the market and hopefully give them an opening to restructure their media rights deal.

ACC breakup can happen if one of the schools challenges the grant of rights and gets an escape hatch. Other programs are sure to follow.

The current grant of rights is valid till 2036 and the mid-$30 million revenue for each team is undervalued. As compared to the SEC and the Big Ten, there exists a $30 million gap.

With such a huge difference, the ACC teams are bound to fall behind other powerhouses.

The saving grace for the conference is the humongous $120 million exit fee.

The legality of the contract and the media right to ESPN seems solid as many legal advisers have pointed out.

ACC grant of rights exit fee is assumed to be $120 million. If any school desires to leave, they must pay the mentioned sum.

On July 11, 2022, Tar Heels Wire mentioned it would take six current team members to challenge the grant of rights if they want out. This was originally mentioned by News & Observer’s C.L. Brown.

The grant of rights was signed during the tenure of former commissioner John Swofford in 2016. The deal with ESPN to build an ACC Network and the ambition to expand the league by collapsing the old Big East saw the ACC in legal restraints until 2036.

Per the deal, ESPN owns the media rights to telecast the member schools’ games.

The 20-year contract still has thirteen years to spare. Many believe the compact is airtight, and ACC football programs cannot escape. Even if any school breaks the deal, ESPN and the ACC will still hold the TV rights till 2036.

The move made to sustain a decent flow of revenue to all fourteen schools is undervalued in the current market, and there is nothing they can do now.

CBS Sports pointed out that the Flordia State Seminoles, the highest revenue generator in ACC, fall behind the SEC and Big 10 teams by approximately $30 million annually.

The primary problem for ACC members is the length of the agreement, and it does not seem to run out any time soon.

Restructuring the revenue model

Big names like FSU, Clemson, and Miami believe they are worth more than what they get as annual revenue.

The lengthy contract and the lower revenue have created a gigantic blockade for all fourteen schools. While competing to remain at no. 3 conference and give a fight to the SEC and Big 10, the financial aspect presents a massive setback.

With that in mind, the revenue model has been changed in the recent turn of events.

Previously, every team would get an equal share of the annual revenue. A merit-based system was proposed but was immediately scraped.

If approved, several members, including Louisville, Wake Forest, and Duke, would be paid less, while stronger programs like Clemson and Florida made more.

Instead, the new model pays an equal amount for all teams from the regular season revenue, while the postseason revenue is shared among those who qualify for the playoffs.

But, the problem lies with the grant of rights and the limited revenue amount the conference gets each year through media rights. 

ACC and Pac 12 merger could have resulted in a ‘coastal conference’ with 23 teams (14 ACC and 9 Pac-12) in 2024.

The merge would have made it the biggest conference. The idea about a possible merger came from the leaders in North Carolina. They wanted a ‘super conference’ with Pac-12 and ACC schools.

Pac 12 ACC alliance never came to life, and the idea became a mere idea. The notion never set sail, and the potential merger’s fire was extinguished before it could give real heat.

The delay from Pac-12 to land a new media rights deal and the teams ready to leave the conference spoiled the presumed merger.

If it were turned into reality, they would have surely landed a mega TV rights deal and rivaled the SEC and Big Ten. Many rivalries like Washington vs. Washington State and Oregon vs. Oregon State would have seen daylight.

ACC TV Deal with the CW Network will start on the 9th of September, 2023. The network will air 50 ACC (13 college football and 37 basketball) games this season.

The CW Network and ACC inked a four-year compact on the 13th of July. It is set to run till the 2026-27 campaign.

The first game to air via this station will be the September 9 fixture between Pittsburg Panthers and Cincinnati Bearcats.

The CW Network’s president Dennis Miller was optimistic about the project and said, “We are committed to making The CW a destination for live, appointment-viewing sporting events.”

Likewise, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said, “We are thrilled to be adding The CW to our weekly television lineup for ACC football and basketball games.”