[ColoradoTree]

Raiding the ACC is a non-starter.  Litigating the GoR would be a very expensive proposition with no definitive outcome. The Athletic had a great article about this topic (including an entire copy of the ACC GoR).  The best hope for any schools wanting to leave that conference at this time would be obtaining a release from their contractual obligation.  Good luck with that….

Note:  The reason for the attached being signed by only the UNC Chancellor is that it was his copy that was requested under the FOIA.

https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/...ghts-1.pdf

With enough money, all things are starters. I am confident that there is a group of boosters at Miami, FSU, and Clemson who would be thrilled to pony up the litigation/settlement money required to extract those schools from those agreements and start receiving that SEC money. After all, with ESPN being the major rights holder for the SEC, and as the ESPN agreement with the ACC is the whole reason for the grant of rights, they're probably content to see the SEC get even richer. If you're ESPN, you're probably trying to finagle the better remaining "properties" from the Pac-12 to come join whoever's left in the ACC. 

Let's assume the Pac-12 North is all that's left and joins with an ACC that just saw Clemson, Miami, and Florida State jump ship to the SEC. It has some schools we'd be content calling colleagues. An 18-team super conference with probably three regional divisions for the sports like football that all teams field:

Pacific Division: Stanford, Cal, Oregon, OSU, Washington, WSU
Atlantic Division: BC, Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame, UVA, Virginia Tech (this assumes ND doesn't bolt for the Big Ten.)
Coastal Division: Duke, UNC, NC State, Wake Forest, Louisville, Georgia Tech

I... don't hate that. ESPN is probably pleased with it, too. If I'm the ACC, I'm trying to poach Stanford to try and keep Notre Dame from bailing. 

(This is just working up the A&P Conference idea that's been floated earlier in this thread, so this is hardly my invention, but what's been floating around otherwise.)

For all of these conferences right now, it's grow or die. Even if all 14 legacy ACC schools remain, adding the Pac-12 North gets you to an even 20. Or, you leave out OSU and WSU and you get to 18, with three 6-team divisions that maybe see Notre Dame in the "West" Division to get a guaranteed California road game every year, plus maybe Georgia Tech or something to make 6?

[ColoradoTree]

Raiding the ACC is a non-starter.  Litigating the GoR would be a very expensive proposition with no definitive outcome. The Athletic had a great article about this topic (including an entire copy of the ACC GoR).  The best hope for any schools wanting to leave that conference at this time would be obtaining a release from their contractual obligation.  Good luck with that….

Note:  The reason for the attached being signed by only the UNC Chancellor is that it was his copy that was requested under the FOIA.

https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/...ghts-1.pdf

With enough money, all things are starters. I am confident that there is a group of boosters at Miami, FSU, and Clemson who would be thrilled to pony up the litigation/settlement money required to extract those schools from those agreements and start receiving that SEC money. After all, with ESPN being the major rights holder for the SEC, and as the ESPN agreement with the ACC is the whole reason for the grant of rights, they're probably content to see the SEC get even richer. If you're ESPN, you're probably trying to finagle the better remaining "properties" from the Pac-12 to come join whoever's left in the ACC. 

Let's assume the Pac-12 North is all that's left and joins with an ACC that just saw Clemson, Miami, and Florida State jump ship to the SEC. It has some schools we'd be content calling colleagues. An 18-team super conference with probably three regional divisions for the sports like football that all teams field:

Pacific Division: Stanford, Cal, Oregon, OSU, Washington, WSU
Atlantic Division: BC, Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame, UVA, Virginia Tech (this assumes ND doesn't bolt for the Big Ten.)
Coastal Division: Duke, UNC, NC State, Wake Forest, Louisville, Georgia Tech

I... don't hate that. ESPN is probably pleased with it, too. If I'm the ACC, I'm trying to poach Stanford to try and keep Notre Dame from bailing. 

(This is just working up the A&P Conference idea that's been floated earlier in this thread, so this is hardly my invention, but what's been floating around otherwise.)

For all of these conferences right now, it's grow or die. Even if all 14 legacy ACC schools remain, adding the Pac-12 North gets you to an even 20. Or, you leave out OSU and WSU and you get to 18, with three 6-team divisions that maybe see Notre Dame in the "West" Division to get a guaranteed California road game every year, plus maybe Georgia Tech or something to make 6?