There has been a lot of talk in the ACC over the past week and I’m not so sure how much weight these reports actually hold. It has been said that Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech are the “Magnificent Seven” schools that are looking to leave the conference for greener pastures. I really don’t think these schools are going anywhere, but let’s take a look at some logical landing spots for these teams if they do leave the ACC.
Clemson, FSU, Miami, UNC, NC State, Virginia & Virginia Tech are “The Magnificent 7” ACC schools, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. These schools, @RossDellenger reported, have met in past several months, w/lawyers examining grant-of-rights to determine just how unbreakable it is.…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 15, 2023
SEC – Clemson, Florida State, Miami, & North Carolina
The SEC seems to be on track to becoming one of the few power conferences left in the country. They and the Big Ten look to be the two leaders with another conference maybe creating a third mega conference with the remaining teams. There would likely be mutual interests between these schools and the conference. The SEC makes the most sense here and would be the premier conference if they joined. That would put the SEC at 20 total teams after these four, Texas, and Oklahoma.
BIG TEN – Virginia & Virginia Tech
I don’t know if the SEC would want to take all of these schools, so they might be having to look elsewhere. I see these conferences capping out at around 20 teams, meaning that the Big Ten might only be able to afford one or two of these teams. They currently sit at 14, with USC and UCLA coming soon. I also believe that eventually Oregon and Washington will be in the Big Ten, and potentially even Notre Dame. With that being said, that would only leave room for Virginia and Virginia Tech. They make the most sense geographically, even though that doesn’t seem to matter anymore, but they are right by Maryland and close to many other Big Ten schools.
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BIG 12 – North Carolina State
This leaves one school remaining, the North Carolina State Wolfpack. They would be the one school left out of the SEC and Big Ten if that were to happen, but they could find a home in the Big 12, along with a few other ACC teams if the conference collapses. The Big 12 could be home to all the schools left out of the big two conferences. They will have 12 members after Texas and Oklahoma leave. Imagine Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, and these six other ACC schools join the SEC and Big Ten, you could see the Big 12 add the likes of NC State, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Duke, Pittsburgh, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, or Arizona State. Any combination of these teams makes sense. The conference already stretches from Utah to Texas to Florida to West Virginia to Iowa. I’m not saying this will happen, but it would not surprise me in the slightest.
