With the Senate passing the Protect College Sports Act, the ACC’s future is back in the spotlight. The bill still looks unlikely to clear the House, but the pressure around the league is real, and the possibility of a shake-up is impossible to ignore.
If the ACC ever starts to crack, the SEC would not just sit around and wait. It would go hunting for the biggest names it could get, and four schools stand out as the clearest fits.
Miami is the easiest place to start. The Hurricanes make a lot of sense in the SEC because the conference already has Florida, and a Miami-Florida matchup would be an obvious draw.
If Florida State ends up in the mix too, that only strengthens the case for Miami. Yes, there would be questions about three Florida schools sharing one league, but in a world of super-conferences, that kind of concern matters less than it used to.
The Big Ten would have a case for Miami as well. The Hurricanes have joined the Association of American Universities, alongside Notre Dame, and that matters because Big Ten presidents have often leaned on that credential.
Miami would also give the league a Florida foothold and a real presence in Southeast recruiting. Still, the SEC feels like the more natural landing spot.
Florida State checks just about every box for the SEC, too. Geography, history, fan base, recruiting and the Florida rivalry all point in that direction.
The league would be passing on one of the sport’s biggest brands if it let the Seminoles slip away because of state overlap. The Big Ten could make a push for a Florida school, but if it did, Miami would probably be the one it chased.
Clemson also looks like a strong SEC candidate. For a while in the mid-to-late 2010s, the Tigers felt almost like a SEC program already, and their rivalry with South Carolina gives the league an easy fit on the schedule.
Clemson would not need much of a cultural adjustment. The only real drawback is that it does not bring the SEC a new television market, but that kind of duplication concern has faded anyway.
The Big Ten would not have as clean a match with Clemson as it would with North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia Tech or Miami. Even so, Clemson would not be left out of the bidding if the realignment race gets serious.
North Carolina is the most interesting piece in the group. The Tar Heels would give the SEC a new state, and the basketball brand is enormous.
Add Bill Belichick at the helm of the football program, and there is at least some intrigue there. UNC is not as strong a football brand as some of the other candidates, and Duke might make sense too, but North Carolina still works as a fourth choice.
SEC money could push the program to another level.
The Big Ten would covet North Carolina as well. It is an AAU school, it has elite academics and a strong athletic department, and it would open up another new state. During the 2023 realignment talks, North Carolina and Virginia were widely reported as major Big Ten targets, and that could matter if the process starts up again.
The Big 12 would be waiting, too, if the top two leagues fill up and North Carolina is still available. In that case, the conference would be ready to scoop up the Tar Heels.
In Other News...
Former Miami Five-Star Is Suddenly Writing A Very Different Next Chapter
Hayden Lowes college path has already taken a sharp turn from the kind of trajectory that once made him one of Miamis most high-profile defensive commitments. The former five-star edge rusher began his career with the Hurricanes, but he is now at Long Beach City College after parting ways with Miami, a move that head coach Mario Cristobal confirmed without offering any details.
Lowe is now taking a hard look at what comes next, and a recent visit to Tennessee suggests he is keeping his options open. He came away sounding encouraged by the Volunteers defensive line rotation and the opportunities that could be available there, a notable development for a player whose next stop will be watched closely by Miami fans who remember just how much upside surrounded his arrival in Coral Gables. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Heads Into Bye Week With One New Concern After Clemson
Miami rolled past Clemson 41-13 to stay unbeaten at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC, and the bye week now arrives with the kind of injury checkpoint every contender expects in October. The encouraging part for Mario Cristobals team is that several players who had been dealing with injuries were back in the mix, including running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and defensive lineman Ahmad Moten Sr., giving Miami a healthier look after a physical conference win.
The concern now is less about the record than the wear and tear that comes with it, especially after a game that featured strong all-around play and a defense that handled Clemson comfortably. With a week off to reset, Miami gets a chance to evaluate who came out of the matchup fully intact and who needs extra time before the next stretch of ACC play, a detail that could matter just as much as the standings later on. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Sent A Message But One Concern Wont Go Away
Miamis perfect start kept rolling in Week 5, and the win over Clemson was the kind of result that makes a real statement in the ACC. The Hurricanes are now 5-0, and with Pittsburgh also sitting unbeaten, the league picture is starting to take shape early as Florida State and Wake Forest added their own impressive performances to the mix.
Still, the celebration came with a reminder that a long season rarely stays simple. Marquise Lightfoot went down with an injury in the Clemson game, leaving Miami with one issue it cannot ignore as the stakes rise and the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]