NCAA Realignment: Virginia, NC State Among Eight Schools Looking At Leaving ACC
The realignment wheels are churning once again in the NCAA, as a growing number of schools in the ACC are considering breaking their Grant of Rights (GOR) and leaving the conference.
It was reported on Monday that seven schools (being referred to as “The Magnificent 7”) had been meeting over the past several months and had their lawyers examining the GOR to determine how unbreakable it is.
Clemson, FSU, Miami, UNC, NC State, Virginia & Virginia Tech are “The Magnificent 7” ACC schools, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. These schools, @RossDellenger reported, have met in past several months, w/lawyers examining grant-of-rights to determine just how unbreakable it is.… — Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 15, 2023
The initial group of seven included Florida State, Virginia, NC State, North Carolina, Clemson, Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Louisville had joined the list.
BREAKING: Just verified this with a colleague who will also be reporting soon that #CardNation just became the eighth team to put the #ACC‘s existence into serious jeopardy. Of course that means the #Big12 has made the offer. Conference Realignment is going down…and soon!! — SWAIM SHOW (@GSwaim) May 16, 2023
The news comes amid the ACC’s annual spring meetings, which are currently underway in Florida and are expected to wrap up on Wednesday. It’s the conference’s first meeting since FSU athletic director Michael Alford blasted the ACC’s equal revenue sharing model in February.
Alford spoke about the massive difference in projecting revenue distributions between the ACC and the Big Ten and SEC, both of whom recently signed massive new media rights deals.
Alford said that “something has to change” because FSU could not compete nationally if it were to fall $30 million behind SEC and Big Ten schools annually. Big Ten members are reportedly set to make $75 million in revenue from the league’s new media rights deal as of July 1, while the SEC’s deal with ESPN is set to distribute upwards of $70 million per member beginning in 2024.
The ACC is locked into a media rights deal with ESPN through 2036—withan exit fee of $120 million. Breaking the GOR is an entirely separate hurdle.
Last July, rumors swirled with Virginia, UNC, FSU and Clemson reported to be in talks to join the SEC, and the prospect of a seismic shift in the ACC has resurfaced once again with things seemingly coming to a head.
If this comes to fruition, it would obviously result in a massive shift in swimming & diving, as NC State has long been a dominant force on both the men’s and women’s sides, while the Virginia women have become a modern dynasty. Louisville is also a perennial top 10-15 program in the NCAA.
The reports over the last 24 hours have resulted in several predictions about where these schools might end up, with the general sentiment being that the SEC wants FSU and Clemson (primarily for the football rivalry), while UVA and UNC would fit best in the Big Ten.
Magnificent 7 Power Rankings based on what matters (which is TV ratings): 1. Clemson
2. Florida State
3. Miami
4. Virginia Tech
5. NC State
6. North Carolina
7. Virginia https://t.co/rAloW7Ai8a — Treadmill Horse (@treadmillhorse) May 16, 2023
One major shift in the NCAA is already scheduled to happen in 2025, when swimming & diving powerhouse Texas joins the SEC.
Source: SwimSwam
