North Carolina Tar Heels: Potential ACC expansion on the horizon?

With the Pac-12 seemingly on the verge of dissolving, could the ACC (and the North Carolina Tar Heels) see some new teams joining the conference?

There’s been plenty of action (and speculation) in regard to conference re-alignment, as the Pac-12 now currently has only four teams remaining after this school year comes to a close.

With conferences such as the Big Ten and Big 12 adding teams to the mix, other conferences are weighing their options as well. The ACC is among those conferences, as some rather big news surfaced regarding a potential future expansion.

Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that there are two calls scheduled over the next 24 hours regarding the potential addition of two current Pac-12 teams: California and Stanford. The first call is for the current athletic directors within the conference, while the other is for the league’s presidents and chancellors.

For ACC schools, such as the North Carolina Tar Heels, the option to leave the conference is essentially off the table due to the conference’s grant of rights, which runs through 2036. In order for a current program to leave, a hefty fee would be due, as it’s unlikely that programs would be able to just dish out the money in order to make the move.

Of course, schools like California and Standford wouldn’t necessarily fit geographically for the ACC. However, adding these two programs would add some west coast exposure for the conference while also expanding in an effort to keep up with the Joneses.

The remaining Pac-12 schools are looking at every option at this point, but it looks like the ACC could be an enticing landing spot for one (or both) of these programs moving forward.

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