The ACC might be holding on by a thread after all, as the Clemson Tigers could be the team that cracks the code of the much-maligned grant of rights. Until something drastic changes, football powers like Clemson and Florida State will be stuck into the god-awful monstrosity that is the ACC's TV deal with ESPN until ... 2036. The league is adding Cal, Stanford and SMU next year ... as backfill.
One Clemson senior administrator told Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier that Clemson might be announcing a departure from the ACC "sooner than later." Along with Florida State and North Carolina, these have been the three schools most likely to leave this Power Five conference. If you wanted to pick a fourth, it is probably Virginia, but the Hoos could have some bigger fish to fry.
The big question now is not if, but when, and more importantly where to? If Clemson is able to get out of its grant of rights, odds are the Tigers will be heading to either the Big Ten or the SEC. The smart money would have to be on the latter for cultural reasons, as well as Clemson not being an AAU university which the Big Ten loves more than FOX TV money. The big question is when can they leave.
If Clemson is on the way out, that would probably indicate Florida State is gone, and maybe others.
Just when we thought conference realignment was over with, Clemson rips off the band-aid.
College football realignment rumors: Clemson could leave the ACC
Once again, this is all about money. Throughout the Dabo Swinney era of Clemson football, the Tigers have been built like an SEC program that plays an ACC schedule. They have shown that they can hang with the very best teams in the southeastern footprint, even if they play in the inferior football conference. Of course, leaving the ACC will make things harder for them to make the 12-team playoff.
The ACC will be getting one of presumably five AQ spots, along with the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and the Group of Five champion. In most years, a 10-2 Clemson team could have been in a position to make the College Football Playoff as one of what looks to be now seven at-large bids, regardless of what league the play in. But once again, why would teams like Clemson and maybe Florida State also leave?
See, even college football blue-bloods such as these could get lapped financially due to the horrendous grant of rights deal they signed to be members of the ACC. The Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC will all be able sit back at the negotiating table multiple times over before the ACC can reassess where it is at. The league fought for stability over finances. Sadly, that move could lead to its undoing.
Overall, Clemson will need another team to jump ship, or go with the Tigers, to their new league. Sure, in-state rival South Carolina may hate the fact Clemson is a damn good fit in the SEC, but the Gamecocks will get over it, much like Texas A&M had to with Texas coming over next year. The same principle would apply to Florida if Florida State would come aboard with Clemson to make it 18 teams.
Ultimately, it really feels like the ACC added Cal, Stanford and SMU to offset the future losses of Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina. Clemson and Florida State feel like SEC teams, but North Carolina could be a Big Ten team. They pride themselves on their abilities to do more than shoot hoops and turn left, but the basketball dies hard along Tobacco Road. Keep an eye on UNC now...
So if Clemson were to leave the ACC, expect for them and another team to join the SEC in ... 2025.
