ACC Conference Realignment News: The Future Of ACC Football Teams Beyond 2024 Remains Uncertain

Following the instance that the Pac-12 collapsed in the previous year, people have started questioning if the same would happen to the ACC.

There are some indications that portend change for the league; though it is not as likely to happen as soon as the Pac-12. Here is what’s happening with the ACC and what it could do to the Group of Five and college football in general.

This amendment of statutes has a bearing on Clemson & FSU’s ACC Status.

Most recently Clemson and Florida State have sued the ACC over issues regarding the ACC’s grant of rights.

In fact, neither of the schools has served written notice that they want to pull out of the association. However, unnamed officials at the Florida State university have said for several months, the ACC’s media deal has made the Seminoles deficient financially to shoulder the costs that other SEC and Big Ten programs with similar aims of attaining national championships also bear.

For instance, the nine FBS leagues agreed on a six years College Football Playoff deal till 2031 where big ten and SEC would get nearly double the amount the ACC and Big 12.

Florida State has accused the ACC of poor handling of their TV agreement with ESPN as reported by The Athletic. FSU is also in the process of looking for a court in Florida to have it determine if the grant of rights by the ACC is valid.

Clemson is now doubting the legal right of the grant of rights in the ACC especially when a school wants to leave.

The ACC claims that both schools were fully aware of the provisions when they granted rights and when the media deal between the ACC and ESPN was made. Unlike the ACC, the Big Ten has not sued a school in the last fifteen years, while the Big Ten has sued both FSU and Clemson. The florida attorney general has also filed a case in an effort to have the ACC-ESPN media contract made public.

Is ACC Realignment Is Near?

Some of the sports media gurus have opined that the chances of the ACC disintegrating anytime soon are slim because Clemson and Florida State’s case against the organization is not very forceful. Although it might imply that it is not possible, that is not entirely true.

Those schools could figure out the funding necessary to secede from the ACC, or maybe everybody can agree on a common settlement implying that those two programs can search for a new conference.

If it did happen, the ACC would be thus losing, perhaps its two best contributors to college football as a sport. Similar to what happened in the case of the Pac-12, it is possible that the exit of some large colleges would inspire several other large colleges from the same league to follow through.

Could ACC College Football Teams Be A Part Of Big Ten, SEC, Or Big 12 Expansion?

If ACC was to disintegrate, its members should at least be considering other prospect if not the league. A number of current conferences such as the Miami, North Carolina, and Louisville can easily relate to the remaining power conferences. Universities such as UNC, Duke, and Virginia would also of course come with traditions in other sports for example in men’s basketball.

Apparently, a judge said recently that he was going to issue a temporary restraining order against North Carolina’s board of trustees. What that means is issues like a financial status or a proposal on conference changes cannot be discussed behind closed doors.

What do ACC changes imply for the Group of Five: Discussion of the Findings.

Knowing the series of events in this situation for the sake of Group of Five, if ACC will be deemed dissolved entirely, there might be some instances when select programs are neglected by the power leagues. Oregon State and Washington State for instance now have a scheduling deal with the Mountain West.

It is still unclear who some of these leagues that are left, such as the AAC or the Sun Belt, work it out with the remaining ACC teams.

Is an ACC Expansion Possible in the Near Future

Just a few weeks ago, the ACC added Cal and Stanford as two of the final four teams from the Pac-12 with Washington State and Oregon State as the other two, however Clemson, Florida State, Miami, and North Carolina all voted nay. The conference also added SMU a former member of the AAC.

However, going and picking up any more schools does not seem possible at the moment given the unpredictability of the ACC. If Clemson and Florida State made declarations on their indisputed long-term memberships in the ACC today, as improbable at the present moment, then, certainly, the ACC may add more teams in the future. Possible G5 schools could be Memphis or Tulane for the players mentioned above players.

Strategies Of The ACC Football Conference Media Deal In 2024 And Beyond

Yahoo Sports reported, that the ACC’s media deal provided every program with around $40 million in 2021-22. It has a long-term expected expiration of 2036, while, as mentioned when FSU sued the NCAA the deal most likely only covers such until 2027.

Mainstream communications contrast, the Big Ten and SEC’s arrangements permit each school more than $50 million.

What fee is required to get out of the ACC for FSU and Clemson

Some of the material facts of Clemson’s lawsuit included a complain that the exit fee for the Tigers to leave the league was $140 million. According to the Athletic, that amount is more than sufficient, being three times the size of the conference’s annual budget.

But to whom does the program’s media rights belong is another discussion. Specific example includes the amount that Southern Methodist University had to pay in order to regain media rights and leave Conference USA which ranges about $572 million.