Jay Bilas suggests ACC/SEC merger amidst conference realignment talk

The reality that Oklahoma and Texas will soon join the SEC is becoming harder and harder to ignore. Commissioner Greg Sankey announced Tuesday that both schools have formally requested to join his conference. The move came less than one week after reports surfaced that the two Big 12 powers were considering conference realignment.

Plenty of experts believe this is only the beginning, as the remaining Big 12 programs are likely to join other leagues. Everyone has their theories about what will happen next, including ESPN’s Jay Bilas. The former Duke basketball standout said on air that he believes the ACC should approach the SEC about a merger.

Bilas cited rivalries among the conferences as a major incentive for both leagues to consider a merger. There are four cross-conference matchups that take place each season between ACC and SEC teams: Clemson vs. South Carolina, Florida vs. Florida State, Louisville vs. Kentucky and Georgia vs. Georgia Tech.

The ESPN anchor hinted at the long-term consequences of conference realignment, saying the SEC “will become a junior NFL and NBA.”

A merger with the ACC would also boost the SEC as a basketball conference. Imagine Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse and Virginia fighting it out with Kentucky each season. Then, in football, you’d have Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M. The amount of national interest both sports could generate would be quite large.

Although Bilas has a clear interest in keeping the ACC alive, after all, he played and coached at Duke; his suggestion makes sense.

A merger between the leagues would work not only because of rivalries but also because it would make the league stronger overall. It would essentially have a stronghold in football while boasting three perennial basketball giants.

Both Oklahoma and Texas signed a grant of media rights with the Big 12 through 2025. They could potentially buy their way out; though no word has come out yet about whether they will. For now, at least, we’ve got four years to ponder what’ll come next in college sports.

But things have moved quickly in this case of conference realignment. It wouldn’t be surprising to see an announcement this week that the Sooners and Longhorns have bought out the remaining years on their contracts.

“There’s no reason why the ACC shouldn’t jump in there and take advantage of some of those natural rivalries and markets,” Bilas said. “If I were Jim Phillips, I’d be ringing Greg Sankey’s phone saying, ‘How about a merger?'”