Ranking the ACC’s best expansion candidates to counter the Big 12
By John Scimeca
With a changing situation and the move of Colorado back to the Big 12, the ACC should look at the benefits of expansion. For a league that considers itself the third-best behind the SEC and the Big Ten, the ACC’s decisions have to reflect the stability and evolving strength of the Big 12. It’s highly likely, too, that the Big 12 will continue adding teams after hitting 13 with Colorado next fall.
The University of Colorado’s Board of Regents unanimously approved a move to return to the Big 12 Conference beginning with the 2024 football season. With this move, the Buffaloes will become the Big 12’s 13th member after OU and Texas officially depart to the SEC following the 2023-24 school year.
In light of Colorado’s planned move back to the Big 12, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips told ESPN that his league would continue weighing possibilities for expansion.
It’s time for the ACC to act now and expand in order to keep up with the Big 12 Conference with its newest expansion target, Colorado.
The ACC currently has its members locked in with a media rights deal and has a partnership with Notre Dame football, the nation’s preeminent independent program.
Without the growth of the league in light of the Big 12 confirming its move to 13 teams, the ACC would look stagnant and ripe for the picking. It’s commonly assumed that the league’s most largest and most prestigious programs, such as Florida State, Clemson, and Miami (Fla.) would look to the SEC if given the opportunity.
The ACC currently has 14 football members (excluding Notre Dame) and would be wise to consider expansion in order to improve. The league stretches from southern Florida through the Carolinas to the Northeast, picking up old Big East schools like Syracuse and Boston College. The league even added teams in the Midwest such as Louisville.
Given the most recent conference realignment movements, here are six of the ACC’s best expansion options: