The college sports world seems to be experiencing some déjà vu because there are reports of teams deflecting from the ACC similar to what happened in 2010 when the ACC poached teams from the Big East Conference. If the reports are true, they will definitely have an impact on lines for college football once the conference relocation takes place.
Before ACC fans start to panic, you have to understand that at this point the reports are merely rumors and they haven’t been confirmed. The main issue that is causing the talk of teams leaving the ACC is the fact that the conference has been angling to get its own network, just like the Big Ten has.
The rumors began when Notre Dame left Hockey East for the Big Ten. Since it is hockey, which doesn’t carry as much weight as football or basketball, it is too early to read too much into it. You also have to consider the fact that Notre Dame is an Independent that is aligned with the ACC for football and basketball, the hockey team moving to a better hockey conference is understandable.
The reason people are reading too much into Notre Dame playing its hockey in the Big Ten is due to the fact that the Big Ten recently signed a $1.5 billion deal with FOX for half of the conference’s TV rights for six years.
Another reason for the panic is the fact that the Big 12 knows that it needs to add two more teams to the conference so they can have a conference title game like the ACC, Big Ten, Pac 12, and SEC do, improving their chances of being selected to participate in the College Football Playoffs.
The chances of the Big 12 expanding to 12 teams aren’t very high because Texas has already convinced TCU and Texas Tech to oppose expansion. The Longhorn Network is also going to continue through 2014, which means it is in Texas’ best interest to keep things in the Big 12 the way they are.
Despite all the talk about the ACC expanding or losing Notre Dame, the Irish are locked into a contract with the conference for football and basketball through 2024, and will pay a hefty fine if they try to leave.
Since the Big Ten’s new deal with Fox runs through 2023, insiders believe the conference might make a run for some ACC teams after the contract expires. While it is a very likely scenario, it will be difficult to pull off because the ACC will likely have its own network by then and teams will not be very eager to leave what is widely considered to be the best basketball conference in the country.
To prevent the Big Ten from poaching members of its conference, the ACC must act quickly and get the ACC Network Deal going soon because the more time they give the Big Ten, the better their chances of successfully poaching ACC teams are.
The ACC will find out more about the current situation after the Big 12 votes on whether to expand the conference or not. If they do, the ACC will need to figure out how to keep its current members.
