It is the best, most logical, and most realistic solution. The ACC has 15 members and the Pac-12-3 has nine members. Well, combine them together and you suddenly have a 24-team behemoth that would fix all the problems for BOTH leagues. The PAC’s problem is that it can’t get a satisfactory media deal and it’s losing members to its competition (the Big 12 to the lay person). The ACC’s problem is that they negotiated a 20-year long media deal in 2016 that doesn’t pay their members enough money and locks them into a Grant of Rights until 2036. Well, if the two leagues were to merge, suddenly the ACC would be able to renegotiate their media deal because they’d have a change of membership, triggering a necessary renegotiation to accommodate them (the new members being the former Pac-12 teams to the lay person). That would also give the former Pac-12 the negotiating clout they need to get the media deal they need. It would also allow the Pac-12-3 to continue to play their nine game conference schedule because they would simply play their eight other former Pac-12 brethren while filling that ninth game with a built in ACC opponent for each team.
On a given year, Utah might play a Clemson or a Florida State. The teams who finish with the best overall records in the former ACC and Pac-12 would face each other in a championship game to determine who gets the auto bid to the CFP. The new league would be called the Atlantic Pacific Athletic Conference (or APAC for short). The former ACC and Pac-12 Networks would also merge together, which would be extremely beneficial for both. It would suddenly increase the reach of BOTH networks, as the former ACC Network would suddenly be available all over the West Coast while the former Pac-12 Network would be available all over the East Coast. And the Pac-12 Network would suddenly become available on DirecTV AND on ESPN+, forever solving the problems it has. This is the BEST solution they can do because the Big Ten is not expanding and none of the remaining Pac-12 teams want to be forced into the Big 12. I see no downside here for either party. GET IT DONE PAC-12-3 BEFORE YOU COLLAPSE. The answer for the Pac-12 isn’t to try to expand with G5 teams. It’s to MERGE WITH ACC.
This is the best way forward to me. However, don’t count on the best teams from the ACC. The SEC or B10 will come for Clemson, FSU and Miami sooner or later.
I think you can add UNC and Virginia to that list. As soon as the ACC schools can get out of their GOR, between 4 and 6 of those schools are gone. The long term is what makes staying in the PAC precarious. Eventually, Oregon and Washington will be gone to the BIG and my guess is that 6 will be gone from ACC.
I’m not sure if the “change of membership” really does anything to the ACC’s GOR… I recall reading somewhere that it would take an actual dissolution of the conference to break it.
I too find it difficult to read the entire wall of words here… but agree a merger (or formation of a new conference) would be a great solution. A coast-to-coast conference made up of the current Pac and ACC members would solidify all of their spots in the CFB landscape, and flip the seemingly imminent P2 to more of a P3 situation.
Not until 2036 though. They’re locked into that grant of rights. EVERY team in that league would have to pay over 100 million to leave before then. That’s more than a decade from now. Also known as, the amount of time Utah has been in the Pac-12 and the amount of time they were in the Mountain West
I didn’t say it would change their grant of rights. I said it would force their media deal to be renegotiated. Their media deal changing due to new members doesn’t affect their teams being locked into their GOR. It would also probably be more like a P4 situation if you count the Big 12. This move would definitely put the ACC/Pac-9 ahead of the Big 12 IMHO. I would reckon that it could even supplant the Big Ten, as the football brands would comparable (Utah, Washington, Oregon, Clemson, and Florida State vs. Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, and USC). They’d probably become the #3 conference in the pecking order, solely because of perception. Though this new league would arguably be just as good if not better than Big Ten and comparable to the SEC in actuality.
Well, a forced renegotiation of the ACC Media Deal, which the Pac-9 teams would be incoporated into, would likely result in higher payouts. Remember, BOTH leagues would be combined into one, resulting in far more inventory and ability to broadcast games on multiple platforms in multiple time zones. This is a league that would have multiple strong football brands (Oregon, Utah, Washington, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, etc.) AND basketball brands (Arizona, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Syracuse, Oregon, etc.). The current ACC media deal was negotiated 7 years ago, and a renegotiation would probably mean an expansion of media partners. The ACC already is contracted through ESPN, and they’d get that Pac-12 After Dark slot. Plus ESPN likely wouldn’t have enough available slots to show everything, making it necessary to bring in another media partner. Such as NBC Sports, who could offer their USA Network as an outlet for showing the additional games that adding all the Pac-9 members would create. Even after they were to theoretically merge, they could still look at adding additional schools. However, it would become far easier to do that then because they’d have their media deal, which the Pac-12 has repeatedly said is a necessary prerequisite to further expansion.
Not a lawyer and never read deeply about the ACC GoR. But what if the ACC disolves and reforms as a new conference? Kinda like Bankruptcy with corporations wonder if there is some kinda nuclear option loophole. If the conference can claim to collapse and then just rejoin some new conference. I’m sure someone has thought about it. But seems like except for the B10/SEC every other conference better have some kinda parachute option.
Yeah that’s in line with what I suggested above. FWIW I’ve seen posted in various places that a dissolution requires eight schools to vote in favor of it. Not likely to happen.