If both premier leagues are prepared to fight for them, albeit for different reasons, GT’s willingness to leave would be inevitable. Meanwhile, the Big Ten would get another elite academic institution with great history and, most importantly, a footprint in the Atlanta market. Just to keep the Big Ten out of Georgia, the SEC would consider fighting to add them back in. They may not have a lot of brand value, but they have market value. Who will be the eighth school, then, to join in and get the league out of its GoR agreement? It would be the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. What does this all mean? Given the academic importance and the payouts, the Big Ten is a favorite to land UNC and Miami right now, joining UVA. Sure, FSU, Clemson and VT don’t qualify for the Big Ten, but the SEC will add them in a heartbeat. In fact, that makes getting on board with this a big risk for N.C. State doesn’t qualify for the league academically. There’s also the fact that the Big Ten will be more desperate for UNC because it’s their only shot at getting into the North Carolina market. Simply put, they have more to offer both UNC and Miami. However, they still have a hurdle: The Big Ten just landed a TV deal worth twice as much as the SEC. If that’s as big a commitment as any, the SEC has a shot. Who wins that fight? Well, it depends on how committed the SEC is to keeping the Big Ten out of the South. See where this is going? The SEC and Big Ten are going to be locked in a brutal, bloodthirsty battle to land UNC. The same is true for the Big Ten as well. Remember, UNC was with FSU, Clemson and Miami as the teams who originally wanted out, meaning they are one of the top revenue generators.Ĭombine the revenue with the added market, which still matters to a degree to the SEC, and the irrelevant bonus of them being a strong academic and basketball brand, and they’d bring a ton to the table. By all accounts, the SEC really wants UNC. This means the SEC may add Miami just to keep the Big Ten out. There’s no way around the fact that the Big Ten expanding into Florida would give it a huge leg up over the SEC. Whether or not the SEC wants Miami is debatable, but they definitely want to keep the Big Ten from adding Miami. Here come the real sticking points: Miami and UNC. FSU and Clemson have elite brands, and they aren’t AAU member institutions. The league made clear by adding the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners that they don’t care anymore about expanding into new markets.Īs a result, whatever the South Carolina Gamecocks and Florida Gators feel about this move is irrelevant. FSU and Clemson, meanwhile, are headed for the SEC. UVA is an AAU member institution, though, and its connections are more to the mid-Atlantic and DMV, so the Big Ten adding the Cavs wouldn’t necessarily be an encroachment on the SEC. Why? Well, they’re about equal in brand and market value. It’s not worth it to either conference to add both Virginia schools, but both have brand value and expand each conference’s regional footprint. We’ll speculate on the eighth later.īy far the easiest split is Virginia. So with these priorities, let’s go back to the seven schools on the board right now. Then it values TV market first and brand second.įor the SEC, it’s simple: brand value is first. The Big Ten has a base academic standard required for members: Schools have to be AAU member institutions. So how will this all play out? Let’s start with the priorities of both leagues. It’s the worst-kept secret in the world that the SEC would love to add FSU and Clemson. Last year, the Big Ten already made clear Miami and FSU were on its radar. While the Big Ten wants to expand into the South, the SEC wants to corner it. Then the ACC dies, and the arms race starts. If one more school supports the move, they’ll have a majority of the league on board, and then they can just theoretically hold a vote where the majority will approve to let them out of their GoR and maybe even their exit fees. This move makes it clear that they all are aiming to leave the ACC. State Wolfpack, Virginia Tech Hokies and Virginia Cavaliers. The schools in play are the Florida State Seminoles, Miami Hurricanes, Clemson Tigers, North Carolina Tar Heels, N.C. Clemson, FSU, Miami, UNC, NC State, Virginia & Virginia Tech are “The Magnificent 7” ACC schools, sources told These schools, reported, have met in past several months, w/lawyers examining grant-of-rights to determine just how unbreakable it is.…- Brett McMurphy May 15, 2023
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