College Football Expansion, Realignment: What’s Next For The SEC?

College Expansion: What’s Next For the SEC?

@PeteFiutak
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Conference Realignment: What's Next For ...
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12
Cal & Stanford | Florida State
Washington State & Oregon State

Current Situation: Very, very quiet. Too quiet.

The powers-that-be aren’t freaking out, even though they should be after the Big Ten cemented itself as the No. 1 conference business-wise with the addition of Oregon and Washington. They’re waiting to see how the mini-mutiny in the ACC will play out and then go from there.

Best Case Scenario: ACC schools figure out how to get out of their disastrous grant of rights situation. That, or the SEC helps pay off the massive exit fees to get Clemson and Florida State out of there as soon as humanly possible.

Land those two along with the new additions of Oklahoma and Texas, and there’s a new 18-team league that becomes beyond unstoppable in football.

Worst Case Scenario: There’s no way the ACC grant of rights deal can be broken, and the $130ish million exit fee is too rich for everyone involved. Meanwhile, the Big Ten - also unable to go grab ACC schools - takes things up another notch market-wise and gets Stanford and Cal as the SEC treads water.

Best Guess, What Will Happen? If there’s a way to pry loose a few of the ACC schools, the SEC will secretly help find a way to make that happen. The more likely scenario is … nothing.

The SEC should’ve made a move on the vulnerable Pac-12 schools. Arizona and Arizona State would’ve been brilliant fits if the idea of Oregon and Washington was too off-the-tracks. Now there aren’t any options that expand the brand without the ACC schools to choose from.

Notre Dame? Nah. Mountain West schools? No chance. Tulane or Memphis or USF? Doesn’t help the cause at all. So, again, nothing until further notice on the ACC situation. 

Conference Realignment: What's Next For ...
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 
Cal & Stanford | Florida State
Washington State & Oregon State