Conference realignment has already redrawn college sports once, and it may not be finished. The ACC is no longer staring at the same kind of chaos that once had Clemson, Florida State and other league powers wondering about an exit. Moving into the Big Ten or SEC is a much tougher lift now, with media contracts, conference investment and other financial ties making a switch expensive and messy.
That doesn’t mean the ACC is locked in place. If the league ever chooses to add again, the most likely targets would be the mid-major schools that have been floated as possible upgrades: South Florida, Memphis, Tulane and UConn. And if that happens, Virginia could come out ahead.
There’s a catch, though. Any new arrivals would probably have to accept the same type of setup SMU, Cal and Stanford took, which delays full ACC television revenue until 2034.
That kind of arrangement is part of why expansion is such a complicated sell. It brings in new schools, but not immediate full-value money for everyone.
Still, there are real reasons Virginia might like the idea. UConn, Memphis and Tulane would bring the ACC into Connecticut, Tennessee and Louisiana, giving the conference - and Virginia Athletics by extension - more visibility in new markets. Virginia has already spent time playing in places like California and Texas, and that kind of footprint can help with recruitment and admissions.
UConn also brings something else to the table: basketball cachet. If the Huskies joined, the ACC would become an absolute monster on the hardwood, with UConn alongside Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisville, Syracuse, Miami and the rest. That kind of basketball company would make expansion feel far more attractive from Virginia’s point of view.
There’s also the geography angle. Virginia sits close to the Washington, D.C. metro area, one of the biggest in the country, which could help draw visiting fans in larger numbers.
South Florida has its own appeal, too. It has had football success and would create a new rivalry trio with Miami and Florida State. UConn would also reopen old Big East connections with Syracuse, Boston College, Pitt, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Miami.
But expansion would not come cheap in other ways. More schools usually mean more travel, and that hits financially, mentally and physically. Road games would stretch farther from traditional ACC territory, and that could mean less money from home games in football and men’s basketball.
If the league added several schools, it might even scrap home-and-away scheduling. That would be a real loss for Virginia if it meant fewer chances to play Duke or North Carolina multiple times in a season, especially with major revenue tied to those matchups.
And there’s no guarantee the new schools would keep pace. USF, Memphis, Tulane and UConn all have strengths - UConn and Memphis in basketball, Tulane and South Florida in football - but none of them is a sure thing across the board.
Cal, SMU and Stanford have at least held steady so far, with Olympic sports thriving at the California schools and SMU football emerging as a College Football Playoff contender. The question is whether any new additions could do the same.
If they couldn’t, the ACC’s reputation and national TV appeal could take a hit.
That said, Virginia could still find value in an expansion setup if it means collecting more revenue while new members wait for their full share. And with college sports, permanence is a myth.
Maryland left the ACC after more than half a century. The Pac-12 has been reduced to a shell, and Oregon is in the Big Ten.
Even the idea of student-athletes being paid once felt impossible.
Nothing in this sport stays fixed for long. Another round of expansion is possible, and if it comes, Virginia might be one of the schools positioned to gain from it.
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