Opinion: Big Ten-ACC Merger would be a gut-punch to SEC Fanboys

After the shockwaves of USC and UCLA heading to the Big Ten began to settle, multiple scenarios surfaced from coast to coast. Some rumors even resembled my thoughts as I began writing this piece—more on that in a moment. 

As we sit now, the Big Ten and SEC will have 16 teams by the 2024 season. If I had to guess from this point, things will head in a few different directions—either all five leagues move to 16 teams giving us 80 teams playing top-flight football, or there will be just four leagues that survive, and we have somewhere between 64 and 80 programs.

Of the remaining Power 5 leagues not with 16 teams, it would seem that the ACC is in the best position with the potential to add Notre Dame and another team to move from 14 to 16 teams. My hunch would be that given the fragility of the remaining PAC-12 teams and the uncertainty in the Big 12, West Virginia would seem to be the most logical addition to the ACC along with the Fighting Irish.

At that point, the Pac-12 (10 teams) and Big 12 (11 teams) could come together as a 21-team conference, or even the perceived Top 16 schools in those two leagues coming together to form a new Big Pac conference, but figuring out which teams would make sense to keep is incredibly difficult. My instant thought is to eliminate BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF—all teams that recently moved into the Power 5. Those schools will not like it, but it is what it is. After that—the last elimination is probably Kansas—off to the Big East in hoops, Jayhawks.

The remaining 16 teams would form the 4th and final league (Big Pac), thus giving us 64 teams playing football at the highest level in college athletics. 

Currently, the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors authorized the conference "to explore all expansion options," which could include trying to add teams from the Big 12 or the ACC. Yesterday reports surfaced that the Atlantic Coast Conference and PAC-12 could have a loose partnership between the leagues with a championship game in Las Vegas. This is a scenario I called the "All Coastal Conference," with both the east and west coasts covered.

In that situation, there would now be two 16-team leagues (Big Ten, SEC) and a 24-team "All Coastal Conference" along with the remaining Big 12 teams.

But I'll propose an even better merger that would allow the Big Ten to encroach on the SEC's territory-- merging with the current Atlantic Coast Conference, West Virginia, and Notre Dame. (If the league wants to advance further into SEC Territory, invite Oklahoma State instead of WVU and put the Cowboys in the new Big Ten West and adjust the divisions accordingly.) 

Additionally, ACC teams would now be in THE most powerful football conference helping improve their ability to recruit top talent against the SEC.

And finally-- and most significantly if the entire league merged it might even cancel the grant of rights which runs through 2036. Seeing select member schools leave with the grant of rights in place doesn’t seem logical-- but a full-on merger would be better than a “loose agreement” with the Pac-12.

It's a win-win.

The new Big Ten could have four eight-team divisions. Any geographical issues would be minimized for everyone while giving the league seven of the Top 10 TV markets: New York (#1), Los Angeles (#2), Chicago (#3), Philadelphia (#4), Atlanta (#7), Washington, D.C. (Hagerstown) (#9), Boston (Manchester) (#10).

The newly formed conference would also have a heavy following in the Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota) (#13), Minneapolis-St. Paul (#14), Detroit (#15), Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne (#17), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (#18), and Cleveland-Akron (Canton) (#19) markets as well.

Everyone always wonders, "How do we compete with the SEC?" With this newly formed league, the question becomes, "How would the SEC compete with the New Big Ten?" The new Big Ten would have a dominant reach that would swamp anything the SEC muster with any additions.

TV ad dollars are the driving force, and an expanded Big Ten would become a behemoth we've never seen in college sports. Buckle up, folks. As far-fetched as it might seem today, this scenario would be the gut punch that SEC fanboys never saw coming.