The Atlantic Coastal Conference is one of the most traditionally successful conferences in all of college sports. As one of the leading Power Five conferences in college athletics, the ACC has been a cornerstone for college football, basketball and baseball.
With the era of Name, Image, Likeness upon us, the big two (Southeastern Conference and Big 10) are once again looking to poach schools from the ACC to fill their own conferences with the best of the best.
Should the ACC realign (as seems to be the recent trend with conferences), here are five teams that are the best fits to plug the conference’s gaps and five teams that are likely to exit.
OUT THE DOOR: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
UNC Chapel Hill has one of the most dominant college basketball programs of all time and hoists a significant number of college championships in every era it has competed in. Along with basketball, the Tarheels have had a good amount of success in the ACC as of late in football under head coach Mack Brown. Academics also play a big part in alignment, and this blue blood school is one of the best schools academically to join any conference.
IN THE DOOR: East Carolina University
The ACC is an inherently North Carolina conference. Should UNC and Duke find their way to the Big 10 or SEC, ECU is the easiest answer to fill that void. Regionally, Greenville, NC is within spitting distance of UNC and Duke which just makes sense in filling the void. The school is coming off back-to-back bowl game bids and a bowl game victory against Coastal Carolina University. The school’s basketball program, through its entire existence, has never been great (though the women’s team just won their first conference title last season). This is made up for when you consider ECU has one of the best baseball programs in the nation, and the best of any G5 school.
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The Pirates also have existing rivalries with teams in conference, should UNC or NC State decide to stick around, and a history with SMU who’s joining the ACC from the AAC. Academically, ECU is a school on the upswing, out ranking several P5 schools academically.
OUT THE DOOR: Duke University
Where one blue blood goes, the other is sure to follow. There are few rivalries in all of sports more well known and tightly contested than that of Duke-UNC. From the north west coast to the deep south, everyone knows the Duke-UNC rivalry. Like UNC, Duke has one of the best basketball programs in the nation year in and year out. The Blue Devils’ baseball and football programs are also looking up in recent years. As it stands, Duke is ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time in forever. In terms of academics, Duke is on par with Ivy League schools, making it a key school academically for any conference recruiting for realignment.
IN THE DOOR: Appalachian State University
Pulling the Mountaineers away from the Sun Belt would be a tall task, but one the ACC is poised to do should they want the school badly enough. App State, like ECU, is regionally relevant to the North Carolina market. With a stellar football program in the 21st century, App State would be a fun inclusion into a conference losing its top dogs. App State’s inclusion would be largely based on football and its success as a G5 program, as its baseball and basketball programs lack. Regardless, the Mountaineers would be a fun bid to replace their biggest rival — UNC.
OUT THE DOOR: Clemson University
There was a stretch in the mid-late 2010’s where Clemson ran football in the ACC. After producing a number of notable NFL stars, such as quarterback Trevor Lawrence, wide receivers Tee Higgins and Mike Williams, and running back Travis Etienne Jr., Clemson has fallen behind as a powerhouse due to head coach Dabo Swinney’s refusal to dip into the transfer portal for talent. Clemson also boasts traditionally successful secondary sports programs and is in the upper echelon of recruitable schools academically.
IN THE DOOR: Tulane University
Tulane fits the same shoes as Florida State, being in the right place at the right time. Athletically, the Green Wave is on a hot streak across the board. It’s one dark spot is in baseball, but after narrowly defeating Caleb Williams and the University of Southern California in the 2022 Cotton Bowl, it’d be hard to leave the big market out of expansion talks. Tulane is a school with a lot of history and bringing that history to the ACC would make for some fun, strong rivalries in conference in coming years. Paired with other teams from the American, Tulane would bring strong competition and rivalries with it while creating new ones.
OUT THE DOOR: Florida State University
FSU is such a fun school and other conferences recognize that just as much as anyone. The school’s been a conference powerhouse recently, contending for conference titles in football, basketball, and baseball. The Seminoles are likely to be the best team in the ACC this season for college football, making their inclusion based on being at the right place at the right time.
IN THE DOOR: University of Memphis
While the Tigers sit atop the American Athletic Conference for now in terms of football, their inclusion on this list is based on basketball. Memphis, led by head coach Penny Hardaway, has been a basketball contender year in and year out in the AAC and in the nation. The school has recently created several top recruiting classes on their way to vying for a national championship. The school has produced lots of talent at the NBA level, from future Hall of Famer Derrick Rose to former #2 overall pick James Wiseman, and most recently Cleveland Cavalier Emoni Bates. Putting Hardaway’s program in the ACC would keep the conference a top tier basketball program should UNC and Duke sail away for the Big 10 or SEC.
OUT THE DOOR: North Carolina State University
The Wolfpack ride the coattails of Duke and UNC quite often as the third little brother as it does its best to muster that it does in fact have rivalries with the two schools. In reality, NC State has had little success since the Cardiac Pack won the national title in basketball way back in 1983. The school has been a good program in terms of football, but has never been able to cross that hump to bring it into the same conversation as Clemson or Florida State despite the fact the school has produced a number of NFL talent (including quarterbacks Phillip Rivers and Russell Wilson). The school has also been to the college world series a number of times in recent years and is frequently ranked in the AP poll for baseball.
Where Duke and UNC go, NC State is sure to try to go, but it’s really a matter of if conferences want to pick up the little brother school. Academically, NC State is a top tier school for engineering and agriculture in the south, so it has that going for it.
IN THE DOOR: University of South Florida
USF’s inclusion in the ACC would be based on one thing and one thing only — market. The Bulls’ football program in the 21st century has been all but disastrous, meanwhile basketball and baseball haven’t been far behind. The school’s women’s basketball program has been elite recently, but in the first round of the conference tournament this year paving the way for a last place ranked ECU team to hoist the title. Given its market in Florida, it’s hard to talk about realignment without talking about USF despite its athletic woes. Academically, the school passes the litmus test, making it a contender for the ACC should it decide to expand.
