The Athletic's Stewart Mandel had an interesting proposition in his latest college football mailbag. A reader proposed a blockbuster trade between the ACC and Big 12 involving six schools switching places.
This week, a Mailbag reader suggested a six-team conference swap that almost makes too much sense.https://t.co/ThySch4edK pic.twitter.com/WNJavqgXxK
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) July 3, 2025
From a geographical standpoint, it made infinite amounts of sense when the ACC brought in Miami and Virginia Tech. Less so with Pitt, Boston College, and Syracuse, but at the time, television markets were king. With the pending defections of Florida State and Clemson following the continued expansions of the Big Ten and SEC, the ACC had to make the best additions from a bunch of bad choices.
Cal and Stanford are spectacular academic institutions and Olympic sports powerhouses. SMU is a great place to network in the petroleum industry. But none of these three additions to the Atlantic Coast Conference are natural fits. Hell, two of them touch the Pacific Ocean.
So in this hypothetical trade between the ACC and Big 12, nobody is trying to trade the family silver. But the schools moving have some historical rivalries they can step right into, and they'd lead to smoother logistics.
West Virginia is probably the biggest name coming to the ACC in this scenario. They have an established rivalry with Pitt (the Backyard Brawl), and would be closer to Virginia Tech than most of their closest neighbors.
Cincinnati is not a football powerhouse, but they have a rising athletic program and would bring former Tar Heel national champion Wes Miller back to the ACC. They are also a geographic rival to Louisville, so it would be nice to bring the Cardinals a friend.
Central Florida would bring the ACC's school headcount in the Sunshine State up to three. Scott Frost returns to UCF after a regrettable tenure at Nebraska, but don't forget that he led the Golden Knights to an undefeated season in 2017. That program is a sleeping giant and could actually raise the ACC's Q score.
The ACC is still too big, but its current form that stretches from sea to shining sea is unwieldy. This fan theory could be a boon to both conferences as they look to survive a college football landscape dominated by an insatiable Big Ten and SEC.