What Teams Could the ACC Target If They Expand?
Next week Texas and Oklahoma are reported to inform the Big 12 that they are leaving the conference, most likely heading to the SEC. With the first domino falling, more changes are expected to happen that will shift the landscape of college football.
The ACC will be one of those conferences that will be looking to counter punch the SEC. Currently the conference has 14 football programs, along with Notre Dame who dips their foot in with football with a handful of scheduled games each year.
If the conference does decide to expand, they most likely will go with two teams, to get to an even sixteen. Who are some of the options that the conference could look towards if they do grow the conference?
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Of course this is the big fish for the conference and arguably the only counter punch Jim Phillips could make to keep pace with the SEC. But getting the Irish will not be easy. In 2020 ND became a football member, and according to Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbick the program is even more dedicated to football independence. Right now ND has no reason to leave football independence, it would take a change in the football landscape that would push them towards a conference. That would either be a big monumental shift in playoff structure that keeps the Irish on the outside, or a huge discrepancy in financials. Don't see that happening right now, but dominoes have yet to fall, and things could always change.
West Virginia Mountaineers
If Texas and Oklahoma flee the Big 12, and the conference struggles to find an answer in return, one end result could be mass exodus and potential collapse of the conference. West Virginia could be an attractive team to multiple conferences, and makes a lot of sense to the ACC. They have multiple historic rivalries with former Big East foes Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Miami, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Miami. However, on paper they don't match up with other member profiles, especially in the academic departments. That likely won't matter in the end, but worth looking at. The other negative for WVU is that they lack the star power the ACC will need to contend with the SEC. This is certainly a team worth watching.
Cincinnati Bearcats
If the ACC is going to throw out the academic profile of the conference, why not look at Cincinnati? They have raised their football profile to the point that Luke Fickell and company have created one of the best teams in the country. With the rise to a more prestigious conference, the school could continue to improve. Would get the conference in to the Ohio area, which is a positive as well.
UCF Knights
The one time "national champions", UCF has to be an attractive expansion candidate for many conferences. They have been consistent in football, play in a major market, have started to build some history of success and are becoming a draw. However, the ACC have two teams already in the Florida area, and the conference can ill afford to anger FSU at this point.
Other Options
Navy: Heard this name floated around. Not sure how much this would actually move the needle, although they have a history with multiple former Big East teams in the conference.
Poach Another Power Five Conference: There is always the chance that Jim Phillips could look outside the box and try to persuade a team already in another Power 5 conference to join the ACC. Maybe the geographic footprint setup of the conference is pushed aside to try and grab a team like USC or Stanford out of the Pac-12, or they make a sweet heart deal with a team like Penn State. Again, very unlikely to happen, but did we think Oklahoma and Texas would join the SEC?
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