...simply crown the B1G champion NC?

I think it didn't get noticed by a lot of people because the focus is always on specific schools, or playoff size, or money. Petitti has clearly said that he is interested in making the regular season more interesting, having more meaningful games, and keeping conference records relevant. His position is actually very friendly for both fans and media because he is pushing for more P4 vs P4 games in the regular season. Basically, if a conference is guaranteed 4 spots, then the conference teams can all be comfortable in scheduling tough/interesting OOC games. There would be no fear of getting knocked out of the playoff race because of OOC losses, which should encourage more of those "meaningful" games in the regular season. They could even do what UVA and NCSU did last year and schedule other BIG teams as OOC games. The BIG is being strategic and they have full momentum right now with three straight titles and still the biggest pot of media money each year.

Petitti probably didn’t expect such a strong opposition from the public and ACC/B12. Sankey was originally receptive to it but ESPN didn’t like that idea and so did many SEC coaches.

The SEC strategy is to use heavily biased rankings, weak OOC schedules, mismatched OOC P4 matchups (ex: #2 Alabama playing Duke in a kickoff classic game in 2019), and heavy ESPN promotion (who also own the playoffs). When given a choice of options, I will always give preference to the BIG over the SEC. The SEC does not care about the sport at all beyond their fenced in yard.

Models benefit different conferences, and why?

The 5-11 is better for the SEC, and auto multi-bid is better for the B10. Remember, Fox lies in bed with the B10, and ESPN’s best college property is the SEC (the ACC is a distant second). ESPN also has a CFP contract. The SEC is very good, but ESPN continually promotes the SEC, which had and will help them get many at-large bids. Would the B10 want to receive a smaller number of bids than the SEC potentially year in and year out? On the other hand, the 4-4-2-2-1 (or any other auto multi-bid format) assumes that the B10 and the SEC are on equal footing. Not only that, it’s likely that Fox will broadcast the Big Ten’s play-in games during the current CCG week. This would be a potential boon for Fox and the Big Ten. Think about this: ESPN opposed the idea of 4-4-2-2-1, while Fox mouthpiece Joel Klatt endorsed it. It’s clear which conference/network prefers which model. Look at my posting history. I have been saying this. ** Edited by RandomAsianGuy at 1/25/2026, 3:18:02 PM ** Edited by RandomAsianGuy at 1/26/2026, 8:33:10 AM

position of the corporate overlords than the conferences themselves.

I was a little surprised as all other traffic favored the SEC.

to get into the P2. Let's say that we go along with the status quo thinking of realignment forecasters for just one moment. UNC is highly coveted by the SEC, but let's say the SEC loses out on them to the B1G. UVa would probably go along with UNC to the B1G then. This would probably increase the likelihood that the SEC would come calling for VT. As the B1G becomes more national, the SEC will at least feel the pressure to grow its footprint. Also, now that the SEC has been shutout of the last three CFP finals, they might just feel the need to reinforce their football chops. And VT might very well be the best football candidate outside the P2 and the current SEC footprint. All that being said, I think UVa wants to save the ACC, and I think VT will go along with that. Perhaps this is a lost cause, but nevertheless, it might be true. ** Edited by Maroon Baboon at 1/25/2026, 12:36:58 PM

...UVA not UNC are cultural fits for either the B1G or SEC, both football conferences and besides, no natural rivalries in either. Look at Maryland, a basketball school w/no natural rivalries other than PSU. Total misfit.

UNC comes along. And if you are looking for rivalries, UMd and UVa was a great series on football and basketball. And like I said earlier, I think UVa would like to make the ACC work.

took both North Carolina and Virginia schools. UVA and UNC Olympic sports would go even higher in the B1G. They get a lot of Athletes and students from up north. ** Edited by Stech at 1/24/2026, 6:37:34 PM

AAU check. Flagship schools check. Very good academic standings check. Fit the Big Ten’s desire to invade southward - check. Lots of checks but their footballs fans are traditionally horrible. It’s a shame Tech doesn’t have AAU status, because we would check the same boxes (except we’re the big land grant instead of flagship) but we actually have tremendous fans that feel more Big Ten like. Lots of Tech fans think we have the SEC mentality, but we don’t wear polo shirts and sundresses (we mostly wear jeans and t-shirts like normal fans), we don’t wave Pom poms, we beat to our own drum which SEC fans are are similarly zombie-like and our fans IMO align better with most Big Ten schools. If the ACC truly self-destructs, I hope we can find a home in the Big Ten or SEC but my first preference would be Big Ten. I don’t know if they’d have us though.

Enrollment numbers can be found for every school. But the trick is finding consistent numbers. Some schools include secondary campus info. Some include online class enrollment. So I tried to only capture the main campus enrollment in my charts below. Alumni data is much worse. There is no standard. And most of what I have found is a general number included in an article or alumni relations website. It’s not good or consistent data.

That UNC has 367,000, NC State 300,000+, Tech 250,000+ and UVa 230,000+. Not sure I’m trusting AI that much on this because Tech has the largest student numbers (12K more than UVa but only 20,000 more living alumni; and slightly larger than NC State). Unless Tech has crappy graduation rates, we should have more living alumni than those other 3 schools. But leave it to Tech to modest and not work the numbers like most other universities.

Many of their land grants double as flagships. They like both flagships and land grants just like the SEC. The main thing is that the Big Ten wants large universities with large living alumni numbers. Tech is actually a better candidate for the Big Ten than UVa in that respect. We just don’t have AAU membership but UVa does.

won't agree what university fills that made-up role. Neither it nor land grant really matters for conference membership. "Large" does, but only to the extent it facilitates good athletics better than small...B1G would take a smaller school if it had strong athletics. AAU shouldn't matter, but for some reason seems to continue to for the B1G (or it's just been coincidental that schools they want have it)...valuing it for conference membership is idiotic.

right, wrong or indifferent. I agree that a large school (which typically means a state school) is what the Big 18 and SEC look for. Outside of Vandy, Northwestern and USC, all of the Big 18 and SEC schools are either large land grants or large flagships (in some cases both like tOSU and LSU). 15 of the 16 SEC schools are either land grant or flagship with Vandy being the oddball. 15 of the 18 Big 18 schools are land grant or flagship. USC is a national brand like ND and UCLA is a very large public university similar to FSU in that it is neither land grant nor flagship. Northwestern is really the only oddball in the Big 18. As for the term flagship, I know some people dislike the term, but every state has a flagship. Technically W&M could be Virginia’s flagship since it s the oldest and a public school. But it’s a smaller public school and is still tied to a royal charter. This is why UVa assumes it. Tech alumni can contend that Tech is the flagship, but most outside of the state of VA see UVa as the flagship. Don’t worry, we’re still better than them😂.

school/program/brand/market ... etc. brings more money to the Big 10 or SEC? There are not many that increase the payouts of those media contracts - actually, only one. There are a few that hold their own, and would not decrease the payouts - but I think it ends there. The Big 10 has now won 3 football national championships in a row, and clearly has the largest media deal. They are currently holding up the playoff expansion for more automatic qualifiers. Why expand? It would be easier for the SEC to expand, but again, which schools rise to the level of Texas and Oklahoma? Again, some that could certainly hold their own, and probably deserve to be in that group, but how many actually bring MORE value tot he SEC schools? Not a single program in the BIG or SEC will vote to take less media money, not a one. ** Edited by Big12 guy at 1/25/2026, 10:28:10 AM

If one or the other thinks they are falling behind the other, I could see them raiding the ACC to try to generate some buzz. IMO, this is what the B10 did by adding USC and UCLA. The SEC added Texas and OK and the B10 felt they had to react or fall behind. The B10 thinks they are the best right now, so I doubt they see much benefit to adding UNC and UVa. Maybe Miami and FSU is attractive enough for them to go after, a nice pair in Fla. And I also don't see anyone that helps the SEC catch up to the B10, if they are even behind at all, which I doubt, maybe Miami and Arizona State could work for them. But I think both with take a few years to let things settle before they look around. I think TV would pony up a normal share for any of those to the new B10 to SEC teams. Those confs would then offer a temporary reduced rate to the invitee, of course, making it work out. But that is only temporary, so it would be worth it to FSU, or whoever, as well. ** Edited by Truthahn at 1/25/2026, 6:01:55 PM