What college sports fans once knew as the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12 – all look significantly different now and are in danger of dissolving completely.
Talks of teams changing conferences ramped up a few years ago, but never came to fruition until recently.
We saw the greatest exodus from the Pac-12, with 10 of its 12 teams leaving. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah left for the Big 12, UCLA, Oregon, USC and Washington are now members of the Big 10, while Cal and Stanford are in the ACC – despite not being remotely close to the Atlantic Coast. I think the newly-formed Big 12 and Big 10 are going to be strong basketball conferences – maybe not at the ACC’s level, but close to it.
Texas and Oklahoma are joining the SEC, giving the nation’s top football conference two more historic powers. They both come from the Big 12, which is not as strong a football conference, so year one in the SEC could be an adjustment.
The North Carolina Tar Heels, a flagship member of the ACC, have been able to avoid conference realignment – for now. It’s only a matter of time before UNC likely joins a “mega-conference,” which will likely be anchored by the Big 10, Big 12 or SEC.
I would hate to see North Carolina leave the conference where it has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success, but that’s just the nature of college sports these days.
With the inevitable coming, let’s take a deeper dive into the Tar Heels’ best fits for conference realignment:
SEC
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 28: Armando Bacot #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels and Nick Pringle #23 of the Alabama Crimson Tide jump for the opening tip during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional at Crypto.com Arena on March 28, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Does UNC to the SEC make a lot of sense?
Technically, Chapel Hill is in the southeast, so this potential move could be seen as a geographical one.
The SEC is best known for football success, particularly with Georgia and Alabama in recent years. If you’ve watched Tar Heel football in the past decade, you might think our team would get destroyed in the SEC.
I think that’s a fair assumption to make, though North Carolina did beat South Carolina last year. UNC would fit better into the SEC because of its basketball program, as UNC could compete atop its possible new conference with the likes of Alabama and Kentucky.
The SEC is a basketball conference on the rise, so the Tar Heels wouldn’t be guaranteed immediate success.
Big 10
Sep 16, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels running back Omarion Hampton (28) with the ball as Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Darius Green (12) defends in the fourth quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
I like the Big 10 a lot better as a potential fit for UNC, based on the success of its football and basketball programs being in line with current Big 10 schools.
The Tar Heels would compete atop the conference in basketball with Purdue and Illinois, assuming Hubert Davis is still able to recruit strong talent. Outside of Purdue, Illinois and Michigan State, the rest of the Big 10 is up for grabs.
Big 10 football also reminds me a lot of the ACC – a couple strong teams (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State) atop the conference, then unpredictability from the rest.
Last year, North Carolina beat Minnesota 31-13 in the inaugural football clash between both programs, showing it can compete with the Big 10. The Tar Heels also dominated Michigan in the former ACC-Big 10 basketball challenge.
Big 12
Mar 28, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Zayden High (1) and forward Jalen Washington (13) react on the bench in the first half against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Big 12 gives me a lot of ACC vibes – having basketball programs that can compete with anyone, plus a football conference which has everyone vying for the championship.
Eight Big 12 schools made the NCAA Tournament last year, with Houston and Iowa State going the furthest. Texas made the College Football Playoff, but it’s now in the SEC.
I could see UNC in a logjam atop the Big 12 basketball standings, though I think football would perform much better – compared to the SEC and Big 10.
Stay in ACC
Nov 11, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels running back Omarion Hampton (28) with the ball as Duke Blue Devils linebacker Nick Morris Jr. (36) defends in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Being one of the ACC’s original seven programs, it wouldn’t make sense for North Carolina to leave and join a new super-conference, despite that being the trend amongst other conferences.
While UNC’s success in the ACC is largely tied to its men’s basketball program – six national championships, 18 ACC Tournament titles and 31 ACC Regular Season titles (since joining the ACC), football enjoyed its fair share of past successes.
The Tar Heels won five ACC Football Championships (1963, 1971, 1972, 1977, 1980) and two Atlantic Division Championship (2015, 2022). In recent years, despite the lack of postseason success, North Carolina brought in the likes of highly-touted quarterbacks Sam Howell and Drake Maye.
I’m making my case for UNC to stay in the ACC. Maybe other teams can look at the Tar Heels’ success and say, “hey, we’d like to be a part of that.”
Could UNC form a new conference?
Dec 20, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard RJ Davis (4) reacts to his three point shot against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
UNC has a strong enough following that, if it wanted to form its own conference, plenty of schools would follow.
Would North Carolina try to create an original ACC, re-adding the likes of Maryland and South Carolina? How about a conference with in-state schools only – Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, East Carolina – or one with just Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina programs?
This scenario is the most intriguing to me. There’s a million directions the Tar Heel could go here, including the likes of forming a new ACC – with schools that are actually on the Atlantic Coast.
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Publish date : 2024-07-15 09:00:00
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