It never has been. Clemson has won the ACC and gone to the CFP almost every year since 2015. They've been to the CFP eight times now, including this year, in the decade it's existed. Their beef is with the massive revenue gap that exists when Vanderbilt and Northwestern are making double what they are in media rights money, and that beef isn't going away.

Are coming to terms with the fact that their revenue will not continue even split with all in ACC… We’ve heard inferences of variations of this for months & now it’s coming at high levels… Not sure who else would be impacted & can only hope that a shuffling of share would also include media increases for The winners… do not know if it’s a done deal…info is from head (Pres) of one of the existing ACC lg schools to a relative who’s also Board member Something’s brewing but that’s all I could squeeze 🥴😎

who empties the waste baskets in the BC AD's office, told him that BC was leaving the ACC and going back to the BE. You just can't get any closer to a source than that!!

direct to me from board member & friend of many years referencing his lengthy meeting with their President. Yours was the same old tired play that gets repeated a few times a week for the last few years! Please refine your material so I can consider you for an upcoming program on The Howdy Doody Show!

Eventually, the only way for the Ohio States and Alabamas to get more money will be to squeeze the Northwesterns and Vanderbilts.

.....those thrilling days of yesteryear when the "noble virtue" of share and share alike was a bragging point and hallmark of conference membership and only football independent Notre Dame was "greedy". What happened to all of that bragged about conference nobility?

The ACC has been suffering from that for far too long. Now we are listening to TV execs and lawyers. I hope.

Man, I remember all of the outrage that ND wasn't like those virtuous "all for one, one for all", share alike conferences. Seems kinda quaint now. ** Edited by TerryD at 12/10/2024, 2:21:37 PM

If there are no penalties to leave a conference, then they will have no reason for the lawsuit.

The lawsuits. Too much money at stake.

It's not about getting into the playoffs, it's about having the money to buy the talent and depth to win it all.

SEC not wanting to add anymore decent programs into their conference? Do they really want to make it tougher to qualify for a National Championship run?

As long as someone will agree to pay extra money for the media rights, Sankey and the SEC will continue to add football brands in the contiguous conference footprint. Sankey is trying to build his own version of the EPL; his end game is to be the commissioner of the only league that really matters in college football outside the context of the CFP. Sankey's goal is to build a college football version of the EPL, where every team is a giant brand and every game is between two giant brands. FSU and Clemson are both giant brands in the contiguous conference footprint. And, he's basically 90% of the way there already. If/when he accomplishes this, everyone will start to perceive the Big 10 like they currently perceive LaLiga, League 1, Serie A, or the Bundesliga - there are only 2-3 big brands in those giant leagues, and none of the fans of those 2-3 giant brands really care at all about league play; all they care about is playing and winning in the European Championship. This, in turn, hurts the overall league brand. Another thing to consider is that the CFP format will change in 2026. Who knows what will happen, but I would wage the format will expand to 16 or more teams, and that field will either be made up of a set majority of SEC and Big 10 autobids, or otherwise a majority at-large bids based on the "best available team" eyeball test. At that juncture, they likely won't even be staging conference championship games anymore, and Sankey and the SEC will look to ensure during format negotiations that it's a given that a third or more of any given CFP field will be made up of SEC teams, all the while backed by Disney, who owns the exclusive media rights to both the SEC and the CFP.

Some interesting perspective here from pissed off Alabama fans - while the given title is somewhat misleading in that it's being facetious, multiple Alabama supporters are writing in to opine that the SEC has to poach the rest of the viable brands out of the ACC to prevent the ACC from being taken seriously and "stealing" bids from the SEC. This line of thinking is in alignment with what I believe to be Greg Sankey's end game, which is to make the SEC such a behemoth, where every member is a BIG BRAND, that the other leagues, including the Big 10, aren't taken seriously.

But to your question, yes. It makes it harder to win the SEC. The SEC might take them just so the B1G doesn't take them. And that's all. Side note: I think that many of the teams in the B1G and SEC will want to rethink the size of their conference. TBH, they are to the size now that each could split into to two conferences, and still make big money and yet, get one more champion each into the CFP.

attractive. But outside of ND, nobody really moves the needle. In fact, UNC is probably a bigger target than FSU or Clemson.

I can't really stand em but its the truth.

no chance at all of that happening. Clemson I can definitely see getting the shaft.

They will trim the fat. The question is where will Purdue and Messissippi St go?

I would think they would dump the small private school of northwestern first. Or maybe even Nebraska or Maryland or Rutgers (if they really cut back). But for SEC I think it is different and they would keep small private Vandy safe because the city of Nashville is a good destination for the schools/fans. Next up would be Missouri and Kentucky, maybe Arkansas if they cut deep. ** Edited by HokieAl at 12/9/2024, 2:52:30 PM

be right. I always thought they would go to 48, good grief 30, that’s less than the NFL!

As long as they are stuck in the ACC, they will fall behind their “peers” in the P2 for annual revenue. And that impacts everything for the athletic department. Plus Clemson is likely to lose in the first or second game of the playoff. They are in but they are not going to win it.

Plus, you make a good point about the other sports. We are already seeing the SEC become much better in basketball--it's not a coincidence.