ESPN insider reveals what could be next for ACC in conference realignment

The Big Ten made a huge splash on Thursday, poaching USC and UCLA from the Pac-12 in the latest round of conference realignment. That led to questions about what it means for leagues such as the ACC, and ESPN insider Pete Thamel shed some light on that Friday.

During an appearance on SportsCenter on ESPN, Thamel said this is a pivotal moment for the ACC as rumors swirl about what could be next for some of its programs, such as Clemson. The league’s media rights deal doesn’t help the situation, and Thamel said the conference could look at a few options to try and keep pace.

“Texas and Oklahoma were the first domino, this was the second,” Thamel said. “Now, the question everyone’s asking me is how quick do the next dominoes go? As usual, the lawyers are going to win in college athletics because any movement from the ACC is going to require breaking a grant of rights and an exit fee that could be in the neighborhood of about $100 million. There will be lawyers and there will be consternation if there are teams that get recruited out of or attempt to leave the ACC.

“This is a moment where can the ACC recalibrate itself? Could it reach out west and try to get some sort of east coast-west coast league going in order to to deliver both major coasts for a TV market? There will be some creativity. … There’s already been discussions before this of the ACC having some type of unequal revenue sharing to take care of the Clemsons, North Carolinas, Florida States, the bell cows and the winners and to try to close that financial gap.”

Matt Fortuna weighs possibility of ACC exodus after USC, UCLA report

With conference realignment at an all-time high, The Athletic’s Matt Fortuna discussed what that means for the ACC following the shocking news.

“The ACC grant of rights is through 2036 and keeps exiting teams from taking their media revenue to another conference,” Fortuna wrote in a Twitter thread. “That figure — believed to be north of $100 million — goes down with each year, and at some point that cost may not outweigh the cost of losing out on SEC money.”

This now becomes an extra important season for Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia and the rest of the pack that have been chasing Clemson for the label of the ACC’s premier program. But now, Clemson has an even larger target on their back following their disappointing 2021 campaign.

“It’s why this season is crucial for Clemson; a new-money power whose reign atop the ACC ended in 2021 and lost lots of key assistants,” Fortuna continued. “If the Tigers fall from national power to ‘really good team’ — at the smallest ACC public school, no less — are they as attractive of a property?”