However, I think WVU was off the table because of how the ACC burned that bridge with its position on academics. Plus, I am not sure a Big XII school could leave the conference in the middle of the contract. Also, for the record I have always believed that if the ACC wanted to have a member in Texas and SMU was at the top of the list of available, then it should have held off on adding them until TCU became available. In terms of potential available rivalries, SMU-TCU probably has a higher ceiling than Houston-Rice or Texas State-UT-San Antonio. You probably could say that Houston-Rice is another version of the UNC-Duke rivalry which the ACC really doesn't help improve the football brand. While Baylor and Texas Tech don't really have a clear #1 rivalry to give the ACC a foundation for marketing purposes. At this point, I am not as concern about ratings because the ACC's top priority should be figuring out a plan to get its fans more passionate about football. Hence why I am looking at the G6 schools out there who are passionate about football and identifying their "big rival" who may also be passionate about football too. If the ACC gets more of those schools, then eventually it should help offset the BC, Syracuse, or Wake-like schools who still put basketball first even though football is driving the bus. Unfortunately, the ACC needs to learn how to walk (aka be passionate about football) before it can run (aka chase have a bigger pay day).