ACC, Big 10, SEC and conference realignment: UNC’s next step

The number is 6.

If you decide that there are only 6 current members around ACC, Legally challenge the granting of league rightsThe rest of the meeting, and the transactions that connect it, can collapse.

This does not guarantee that contracts signed by all ACC members may be broken again with a version originally modified in 2013 and then in 2016.

14 full-time members and Notre Dame Sands Football have signed media rights to the league until 2036. This was intended to be an economic deterrent for schools considering leaving the league and creating stability.

yet, Here we are still thinking of farewell.. (Thank you, UCLA and USC.)

The decision of Trojans and Bruins to join the Big Ten reopened Pandora’s Conference Reorganization Box, essentially creating a Power-Two conference. Both the SEC and Big Ten are in a position to sign a $ 1 billion deal, each paying more than $ 100 million to members by the end of the last decade, while waiting for the next television deal.

The ACC is in danger of being left behindThat’s why all members have the potential to think about their next move, whether they want it or not.

What makes sense North Carolina in this rapidly changing landscape of reorganization?? Is it part of the six needed to disband the league, or is it part of the league that fights to put it together? Let’s look at both options.

Support ACC stability (do you expect it?)

Next year will be the 70th anniversary of the existence of ACC. UNC is one of the league’s charter members. That has to mean something, right?

After all, Big Ten and the SEC don’t rush through the Greensboro Coliseum doors to play basketball tournaments. Competition between Duke and North Carolina could potentially hang in balance If the Tar Heels choose to leave.When Politically speaking, the NC General Assembly can certainly weigh heavily. If UNC leaves means Wolfpack is left behind.

Carolina can look to Maryland as an example where more income does not always lead to a more successful athletic club. The Terrapins haven’t yet opened up a true rival since leaving ACC for the Big Ten in 2014. They just play opponents and games that don’t make much sense to the fan base.

Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports have each reported that partnership discussions between ACC and the rest of the Pac-12 team have begun, helping both leagues remain intact.

As detailed by SIWith this agreement, these West Coast teams have signed a broadcast contract with ESPN and the event will be displayed on the current ACC network. It will also increase ACC revenue without requiring renegotiation, opening the door for teams to escape entitlement. Question: Is the increase in revenue substantial enough to make a difference?

One option that ACC may have to resolve is to change the distribution of revenue. Instead of all members gaining an equal share, schools that create tier systems, do hard work, and have league brands such as Clemson Football and Carolina Basketball are eligible for a higher percentage reduction. can do.

For example, ACC generated nearly $ 580 million in revenue during the 2020-21 fiscal year. This was a league record. (This included Notre Dame as the first and perhaps the only full-time member since the football team joined the ACC in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

All league teams received an average of $ 36.1 million based on 2020-21 figures. Under unequal share options, top schools will instead take close to $ 50 million, and lower tiers will receive close to $ 20 million. By comparison, SEC schools shared an average of $ 54.6 million based on fiscal year 2020-21.

Stocks in SEC and Big Ten will skyrocket as Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC and UCLA and USC join the Big Ten to expire more ordering television deals.

The unequal model of ACC is that at least some schools in the top tier Widening the gap between SEC and Big Ten revenue sharing.. Perhaps some of the remaining ACC schools will be asked to take a smaller share and will accept that option — considering the option that if ACC is collapsed, it could be much less in the new league. To do.

Notre Dame Cathedral does not currently have an equal share of ACC’s earnings due to its independent football team. But it may be the sweetener that Irish people need to join the league in football as well.

All conferences, to some extent, see Notre Dame and its next move. The NBC pays Ireland $ 15 million annually to broadcast a football match, with transactions increasing in 2025.

Notre Dame Cathedral has long valued football independence over money, so it’s still a long way to become a full member of the ACC. However, having an Irish football brand may be ACC’s best chance to save the league, as it changes the amount the league can command from a broadcast contract.

Survival mode

As it’s rapidly becoming a high-stakes musical chairs game, the only way to get a seat in Carolina when the music stops is to actively secure a spot in one of the two super conferences. Carolina brings significant cash to national brands and multiple sports competing at the national level.

that is Definitely the most coveted school Behind Notre Dame for attending emerging Power Two conferences. This is accompanied by a warning to find a loophole to escape the grant of rights or to attend five other ACC schools.

Of course, the SEC is geographically superior and offers what appears to be a natural competition with the bordering states of Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina. Adoption of UNC, especially in football, could be boosted in SEC regions such as Florida and Texas by joining the league. Former UNC Prime Minister Holden Thorp speaks on OG radio show on Wednesday He said he had discussed with the president of the SEC school about Heal, who joined the SEC in 2010.

But field hockey, wrestling, men’s and women’s lacrosse and boat tar heels field teams. As a league, the SEC does not currently offer championships in these sports. This is because the number of members is too small or not offered at all. If UNC joins the SEC, individual partnerships must be sought to bring those teams to the meeting. This is similar to what UNC is doing in the women’s gymnastics competition currently in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League, as it is another ACC team with only North Carolina State University and Pitt participating.

Big Ten has a championship in every sport that UNC has a team with, except fencing. Hockey is the only sport that Carolina does not offer as a Varsity sport sponsored by Big Ten. (Heel has a club hockey team that participates in Division II of the American University Hockey Association.)

And under former commissioner Jim Delaney, who played basketball at UNC under coach Dean Smith, Big Ten created a soft pitch in Carolina in 2013, when it finally expanded by adding Maryland and the Ratgers. rice field.

Carolina also fits into the Big Ten academic footprint. All league members except Nebraska are members of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and include UCLA and USC. UNC is one of five ACC schools that are also members of AAU, including Duke and Virginia.

Fortunately, UNC has a say in determining its future. Most ACC members have to wait to see how things evolve. It’s a question of how Tarheal aims to play it. Will they stay or will they go?

This story was originally published July 7, 2022 6:35 am.