ACC, Big Ten, Pac 12 Alliance Announcement "Expected Soon"
The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 are reportedly in talks to create an alliance to battle the SEC, and that an announcement of that deal could be happening soon. According to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, the deal could be announced as quickly as next week.
Auerbach said that this deal will include scheduling ramifications, and other factors would also be included. Clearly with today's news, this means that this alliance is more than just talk, that it looks like it will actually come to fruition.
This move could be as seismic as the SEC additions of the Longhorns and Sooners to the college landscape . It would keep those three conferences on equal footing. Now teams like Clemson, Michigan, Ohio State, and USC could schedule each other, giving these power schools more of a reason to be satisfied in their current spot and less like likely to flee for the SEC. It would also allow for programs to increase their strength of schedule to better prepare for the playoffs.
In addition if this happens, this could be the catalyst for Notre Dame to finally jump in with the ACC fully. Scheduling flexibility as an independence has always been their sticking point, but if they could schedule USC, Stanford, Clemson, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, it’s possible that the Fighting Irish might at least pick up the phone and talk with ACC commissioner Jim Phillips.
Arguably this move would put this "alliance" on closer footing as the SEC. Details are murky right now, but getting these conferences together could help programs build resumes that come close to that of an Alabama, Georgia or Florida. Gone would be the joke "Who has Clemson really played?". The other aspect that needs to be flushed out is the financial piece, how much of an increase will teams in the alliance see?
There is one clear loser in this scenario if the three conferences go through with this plan, the Big 12. Already a conference on the rocks, this move would effectively kill the their hopes of survival. The only hope they would have of making it is to try and grab as many top tier G5 programs that they could to raise the profile of the conference. Could a conference that would now include Boise State, UCF, and Cincinnati be enough to save them? That's hard to say, but it would most likely at least give them a fighting chance. Of course there is always the possibility that more of their teams get grabbed by either the SEC or ACC/Big Ten/Pac 12 alliance as well.
From Boston College's point of view this is a win-win. Getting the scheduling flexibility to plays teams like UCLA, Ohio State, Stanford and others will provide rich new matchups and rivalries, while not keeping the Eagles behind.
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