The ACC would be willing to take in a basketball school that has a recent history of going far in the NCAA tournament, because that gives the conference schools more money. The only school I would consider would be Kentucky, if they wanted to leave the SEC. 
The ACC will never consider offering an invite to Liberty. The only expansion talk that will hit the table for ACCās Board will be if/when ND chooses to consider joining for football. Otherwise, the ACC is set for a long time. Even if ND joined in football, there are doubts the ACC would bring in a 16th school.
Many schools in the league are still gagging over admitting such a weak academic institution as Louisville ā currently #192 in US News & World Report ā with no other ACC school ranked lower than #85 (NC State). But Louisville entered only because of Marylandās abrupt departure, and the league needing to shore up its TV markets for the pending talks, at the time, for a contract extension with ESPN and a conference network looming.
Liberty falls woefully short, academically, as well as offers zero value in market expansion or high level prestige in any major sports. WVU is #224 in USN&WR rankings, residing in a small population state, and has never received serious consideration by the ACC for expansion in 1979, 1991, 2004, 2012 or 2014.
Hi Mikey - I think Iāve seen you say in the past that ND will never go independent. Is that still your opinion post-pandemic? I wonder if making the playoffs this year while they were in the ACC made any difference. I wouldnāt think so, but thought Iād ask.
I keep in touch with several former business colleagues that are ND alums and big donors to athletics. In the past they would paraphrase the old George Wallace proclamation ā āAn independent today, an independent tomorrow, an independent forever.ā
However, according to those same ND friends, the events of B1G/SEC signing massive new TV contracts, further widening the payout gap with ND, and the Irish doing so well this season playing an ACC schedule, and making the playoff, has forged some new discussions among the donor base. Apparently, NDās highly respected AD Jack Swarbrick, has recently spoken to several football donor groups to enlighten them on the challenges ahead for ND. Donors giving has been able to close the payout with Power-5 conferences. But Swarbrick indicated the ever widening disparity in TV contract payouts would slowly place ND in a competitive disadvantage. And that joining the ACC in football may be inevitable for both ND and the ACC to remain financially viable against B1G and SEC.
So while I donāt envision any imminent change with ND football, the Irish eyes are opening to a possible reality down the road. What happened this season may have given ND a slight nudge on what might be possible. I know ND administrationās was very appreciative in how the leagueās board of directors/ADs and Swofford worked with them to make the season possible.
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The answer is not expansion but inclusion. 8 power conf / 10 teams. The ACC in 2026.
Clemson, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Duke, NC. State, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Florida State, Central Florida.
Bigger is not better. (Also Georgia Tech went back to the SEC and Liberty would go to the newly Big East)
Unfortunately the economics win out and bigger is betterā¦a 10 team league wouldnāt work with our own network, bowl tie-ins or a legit championship gameā¦especially with the inconsistent teams that you have proposedā¦SC aināt coming to the ACC nor is Maryland leaving the BIGā¦maybe you can get UCF but the academic snobs voting would say that is snowballs chance in hellā¦
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Agree with @JumboHoo thereās no way you can get UofM or SC to leave those sweet paychecks from the SEC and BIG. The only way would be to offer more money and a 10 team conference with no conference championship game and still only one powerhouse team isnāt going to move the economic needle enough.
The ACC is exactly what itās going to be until the top league is formed and Clemson finally leaves for greener pastures.
Donāt you think Clemson is in the greenest pasture? Theyāre pretty much guaranteed a spot in the College football playoffs every year.
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I wonāt argue with you there for a minute. Just meant if they form the proposed super league with all the elite teams, the cash payout likely would be too good for Clemson to skip out on
Sureā¦they have a guaranteed bowl spotā¦ but their payout from ACC is still the same as every other ACC teamā¦ an elite league sounds interesting on paper but with only 4 teams in the playoffs, I donāt think an elite conference will get all 4 spots and then you would have to have wink wink deals with other bowl tie-ins based upon a hypothetical league consisting of select SEC, ACC, BIG and Big 12. Teamsā¦ too many chicken or egg conversations to have for any SEC team or BIG to skip out on their current dealsā¦ not to mention all capital investments made in their respective TV networks that an elite league would need to stand up pretty quickā¦ I canāt see it really getting doneā¦also my omission of the PAC 12 is not a mistakeā¦
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I know back in the day IPTAY which is the sports giving to Clemson was far and away number 1 in the country and not even close. If it is still
what it was they can kinda pick and chooseā¦ maybe
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Well said. the elite league is my own fever dream for what Iād like to see happen. The top 15-20 powerhouse schools flex their muscle go to ESPN and set up a deal, they play their own season and go for it. The other 80ish D1 teams left can fall back into the traditional set up. Pipedream/delusion? Sure. Funny I didnāt even realize you forgot the Pac-12 itās definitely not 2005 anymore.
According to George Welsh, IPTAY = Itās Probation Time Again, Yāall
I heard that from a friend on the team. I donāt know if itās true, but I want it to be.
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This post is old but since it was created in November itās now more realistic that Notre Dame will decide to become a full member with the new playoff structure so this could actually happen. Cincinnati is the obvious choice.
1.) They are an old Big East school and are Louisvilleās rival.
2.) It puts the ACC in Ohio, probably the 5th or 6th best football recruiting state.
3.) It puts the ACC into a new TV market thatās a major metropolitan area.
4.) Itās in the current ACC footprint close to Louisville.
5.) Itās not a great Academic university but itās much better than Louisville and West Virginia. If they join with a great academic university like Notre Dame is it really that bad?
6.) They are traditionally a basketball school and the ACC is a basketball conference.
7.) They would be a city school in a city school conference just like Louisville, Pitt, Syracuse, BC, Miami, etc.
8.) The ACC can create 2 divisions with 8 teams each and renew some old rivalries. An old school ACC division and an Old Big East division and actually make realignment make sense for once.
9.) Cincy showed this past season that they can compete at the highest level in football with multiple coaches (Brian Kelly in 2009 and Luke Fickell in 2021). Think about how good the ACC wouldāve been this past season with Clemson, ND, and Cincy all in the top 10.
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Big East Division
Notre Dame
Cincinnati
Pitt
Syracuse
Louisville
Miami
BC
Virginia Tech
ACC Division
Duke
UNC
Virginia
GT
FSU
Clemson
Wake
NC State
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Fuck Ohio worst state ever
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Youāve never been to kansas
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I didnāt mind Ohio. But I spent a few weeks in Iowa when I was in high school and that place SUCKED.
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I lived in Hoisington KS. was amazing at age 4.
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Lived in Ohio for 4 yrs itās fine. Iowa is a waste of space
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