2023 NCAA conference realignment (12/20: the PAC-2 join the WCC)

[JGibson]

Could Florida State be out the door in the ACC? Their next stop could be either the SEC, Big 12, or B1G.

https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1738074736993747033


If UNC leaves the ACC for elsewhere, then Duke should too (preferably to the same conference together). Seeing that Top 5 basketball rivalry go away would be a shame, and both are respectable middle-tier football schools.

[GeorgiaModerate]

UNC and Duke seem like a natural fit with the SEC.

[7,052,770]

My suggestion, all of which seem like good fits:

SEC (24) - Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State
Big 10 (22) - Stanford, Cal, Syracuse, Notre Dame, plus maybe 2 Big 12 schools?
Big 12 (19/17) - Pittsburgh, Louisville, SMU
Big East - Boston College, Wake Forest (can be football only in AAC or CUSA)

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

My suggestion, all of which seem like good fits:

SEC (24) - Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State
Big 10 (22) - Stanford, Cal, Syracuse, Notre Dame, plus maybe 2 Big 12 schools?
Big 12 (19/17) - Pittsburgh, Louisville, SMU
Big East - Boston College, Wake Forest (can be football only in AAC or CUSA)

Better scenario than what will actually happen.
Prospect of Florida State in the Big Ten disgusts me even more than Washington or UCLA. Remember when AAU used to be make-or-break? I hope the SEC pushes hard for them.

You left out Miami, so I guess that rounds out the Big 12.

Big Ten will not be settling for Cal, and probably not Stanford or Cuse either. I've long wanted Virginia there, but I think they end up stuck too when clearly nobody wants them. The new motives are much more shameless than when Rutgers was added. If they don't get FSU, UNC, or Duke, they have no reason to expand.

I'll make you football czar just this once.

UNC and Duke seem like a natural fit with the SEC.

I couldn't disagree more. Not one thing about Duke feels natural in the SEC, and North Carolina should view Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Washington and UCLA as much closer athletic and cultural peers than anyone in the SEC. I can't imagine the SEC going from zero lacrosse teams to 8 national championships overnight.

Clemson is by far the most natural fit, arguably followed by Virginia Tech which has just fallen off too much as an athletic program this decade to receive immediate consideration.

Florida State / NC State / Georgia Tech would also be ahead of this pair in terms of pure cultural fit.

[Donerail]

My suggestion, all of which seem like good fits:

SEC (24) - Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State
Big 10 (22) - Stanford, Cal, Syracuse, Notre Dame, plus maybe 2 Big 12 schools?
Big 12 (19/17) - Pittsburgh, Louisville, SMU
Big East - Boston College, Wake Forest (can be football only in AAC or CUSA)

Better scenario than what will actually happen.
Prospect of Florida State in the Big Ten disgusts me even more than Washington or UCLA. Remember when AAU used to be make-or-break? I hope the SEC pushes hard for them.

You left out Miami, so I guess that rounds out the Big 12.

Big Ten will not be settling for Cal, and probably not Stanford or Cuse either. I've long wanted Virginia there, but I think they end up stuck too when clearly nobody wants them. The new motives are much more shameless than when Rutgers was added. If they don't get FSU, UNC, or Duke, they have no reason to expand.

I think the move for us is to just tie ourselves as tightly as possible to Notre Dame. These expansions seem to always happen in pairs, and Notre Dame pushed hard to get us into the ACC in the first place – they would almost certainly be our ticket out. And I think the Big Ten would be willing to pay an extra revenue share if it's part of finally locking down Notre Dame, maybe as part of a deal that also adds UNC/Dook.

I don't think the SEC can afford to give the Big Ten any sort of recruiting foothold in its footprint. Whatever their problems, I can't imagine the SEC letting them poach FSU/Miami. Clemson also feels like a natural fit, and Georgia Tech probably for the same reasons as Florida. Geography admittedly seems to matter less and less, but the SEC's primary advantage is that it has a natural recruiting monopoly over the most talent-rich region in the country. Gotta make the defensive move here.