Another round of conference realignment could be on the horizon.
According to a report this week from Inside Carolina, the next team to jump ship could be North Carolina. The report, from Inside Carolina’s Adam Smith, says UNC’s leadership trust of chancellor Lee Roberts and incoming athletic director Steve Newmark are shooting for an SEC invite longterm.
As part of settlement between the ACC and some of its top programs, exit fees to leave the conference are set to decrease to $75 million prior to the 2030-31 academic year. Conference realignment decisions often happen years in advance, so potential moves for programs like Carolina, Clemson, Florida State, Miami and others could start to develop sooner rather than later.
Here’s an excerpt from Inside Carolina’s story on UNC’s interest in the SEC:
But make no mistake, now, multiple sources told IC, the SEC is where the Tar Heels are aiming under the leadership of Roberts and Newmark, should UNC move to leave the ACC for another league, perhaps in the near future. Sources said the 2030-31 school year, when the ACC’s decreasing exit fees dip from $93 million to the flat $75 million threshold, would figure to become an important final line of demarcation, if the Tar Heels haven’t made their departure sooner.
It remains to be seen whether or not the SEC would be interested in adding North Carolina or any other ACC power. The league already has 16 members and hasn’t seemed interested in adding to its ledger since luring Texas and Oklahoma away from the Big 12 several years ago.
Still, with the ACC’s exit fees set to descend in the coming years, this will be a topic for SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to consider in the near future.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
