If the SEC expands to 20 teams. What 4 other schools should they add? Excluding Notre Dame, the Big 10 & Pac 12 teams

[ArtLaibsGhost]

Nobody is leaving the ACC for at least 7 years. Look up what happens contractually if someone tries to leave before the contract runs out, nobody is going to face those type of penalties. Outside of the ACC I can’t see anybody worth adding at least from a financial standpoint.

 

[AGEE11]

ACC will be the next conference to disappear if leagues go from 16-20

In Order:

1. Clemson - football super power, SC rival, no brainer
2. UNC - basketball tradition, history, makes us the top basketball conference as well
3. Florida St - great football tradition and would quickly reemerge as a football power with SEC recruiting
4. Virginia / Duke / WVa - Good basketball / decent football. Take your pick of who wants to come and who gets sent as leftovers to the Big East

 

[RondoBaller21]

Football wise you add Ohio State, Clemson, Florida State and Michigan. You add those plus Oklahoma and Texas, then no other conference matters. You could pick a national champion from who wins the SEC.

 

[topps coach]

Don’t see why Clemson would leave the ACC.They just about have a guaranteed road to the National Championship series.They are awash with money and want no part of an SEC football schedule

 

[clevenger32]

First right of refusal to rejoin the SEC, Georgia Tech and Tulane.

Next Clemson and Florida State

Next Virginia Tech and NC State

 

[ok-cats-computer]

Florida State, Virginia Tech, NC State, and Miami.

The future of revenue for college sports will be through online streaming. Cable is dying. The ability of a conference to create compelling football matchups that attract online streaming purchases will drive conference expansion. The SEC should look for schools that are popular on a nationwide basis.

Really, there isn’t any school left in the Big XII that would add enough value to increase the per school payouts. The only viable options are the most nationally popular brands in the ACC, which I believe are Florida State and Miami. If you have to take two more schools after getting Florida State and Miami, then take Virginia Tech and NC State to expand the geographic footprint of the conference. In reality, UNC and NC State are a package deal because the legal organization of the North Carolina public university system makes UNC and NC State inextricably intertwined, but I’d try to get NC State by itself just to make the smug Tarholes squirm.

Thinking outside the box, BYU is another interesting possibility. BYU genuinely has a nationwide fan base. However, I think the cultural conflict between the SEC schools and BYU would be too large to overcome.

 

[JonathanW]

Vote summary, as best I can:
17.5 Clemson
14.5 FSU
14.5 WV
10 NC St

9 UNC
9 UVA
8.5 Va Tech

4.5 Maryland
3 Ga. Tech
2.5 Miami
2 Tulane
2 Central Florida
1 Cincy
1 Ohio St
1 Michigan
0.5 Houston
0.5 Duke

Most think it should be a NC school, a VA school, Clemson and then WV or FSU.

 

[wildcatglenn]

FSU, Clemson, UNC and VT

 

[rabbitTown]

UCLA
North Carolina
Kansas
Indiana or Michigan or Duke

Would love to be guaranteed to play these teams every year and see them again in the conference tourney.
Football may be the driving force but there are several basketball programs that generate more revenue for their schools than most but the top 20 of football programs.
And... the end-of-season tournament (hard for me to give the NCAA any credit) is the greatest event in all of sports.

 

[Cefiro]

Why do people want to add WVU?

 

[BigRedMachineBigBlueNation]

I hope it doesn’t. Four confrences of 16 is a nice round 64 teams.

 

[billCgmx]

Expansion is fueled by television networks so adding more teams from Georgia, Florida and South Carolina doesn't really help the conference gain more viewers.

 

[billCgmx]

I hope it doesn’t. Four confrences of 16 is a nice round 64 teams.

I agree. More teams in the SEC will likely improve revenue but it doesn't really help our football program if we have to compete against tougher competition week in and week out.

Do fans want our athletic programs to bring in more $$$ while at the same time fielding just mediocre teams? That's one reason I think Clemson and FSU would be hesitant about joining the SEC.

 

[Blueworld_3.0]

Those who keep mentioning NC without also including NC State (and vice versa) really need to become more familiar with politics in NC. There is NO WAY that those two schools aren't a package deal in any possible future movements. The state legislature won't allow it and seeing as how both depend on public funding from the State...
That leaves two more spots. Clemson is a no-brainer. Their national brand is on par with Georgia or Florida. Add Clemson and both Carolina's are sewed up.
Florida State is most likely the 4th team because of brand awareness and a sizeable fanbase means increased revenue for the SEC. Florida is such a populous state, bringing in FSU would add several more eyeballs to the SEC footprint.

There is also a school of thought that the SEC adds Clemson and FSU and stops short of 20 programs. That actually makes more sense than anything IMO.

 

[Blueworld_3.0]

Expansion is fueled by television networks so adding more teams from Georgia, Florida and South Carolina doesn't really help the conference gain more viewers.

It does if the fans of the schools you want to add aren't watching the SEC teams from those states.

 

[bucsrule8872]

I really just want the SEC to stay at 16 teams. It’s the perfect number. I would like to see the SEC go to 4 divisions in football and have a 4 team playoff with the winners of each division making the playoffs. That would be really fun for SEC fans.

Splitting into 4 divisions and keeping traditional rivalries would be the toughest part, but I think this would work:

North- UK, UT, Vandy, USC
West- OU, Texas, A&M, Mizzou
Central- LSU, Ark, Ole Miss, Miss St.
East- Bama, Aub, UF, UGA

Bama/Aub have to be together.

UF/UGA have to be together.

UK/UT have to be together.

Texas/A&M have to be together.

Texas/OU have to be together.

UT/Vandy have to be together.

Ole Miss/Miss St. have to be together.

LSU/Ark have to be together.

This preserves every key rivalry in the conference.

Also, does not split same state schools.

The East is loaded. The North is weak. The Central has one dominant team. The West has all the newest teams.

UF and UGA would not be happy being stuck with Bama. Can you imagine UK making the playoffs most years while UF and UGA never make it because they are stuck with Bama?

 

[megablue]

Clemson
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Oklahoma State

 

[NC Weasel]

If we add more teams, its a business decision. Just like the Tex/Oklahoma decision was a business decision. We didn't NEED them, but including them with increase everyone's payout so you take them.

I don't see a lot of schools out there that can bring enough value that the per school payout goes UP just with their presence. We got 2 of just a handful of school that can drive that kind of money. Most of the others are pretty solid where they are (Ohio St, Mich, Penn St, Clemson). ND and BYU could both decide conference play is needed, but why should they as long as the CFP provides them a way into the playoff? They forfeit conference money but do their own thing and keep what they earn. Plus their Alumni Base takes care of the rest and they answer to no one.
So until the gap between conference money and their perception of the benefits is much greater ...... I'm not sure anymore teams are moving except out of the former Big 12 as it dies a slow, agonizing death. Finally.

 

[JonathanW]

Those who keep mentioning NC without also including NC State (and vice versa) really need to become more familiar with politics in NC. There is NO WAY that those two schools aren't a package deal in any possible future movements. The state legislature won't allow it and seeing as how both depend on public funding from the State...

I have lived in NC for 25 years, so yes I understand how UNC-CH and NC St are part of the UNC system that includes all 17 state schools including NC St, UNC-CHeat, Charlotte, Wilmington, Central, App St, ECU and others most never heard of.
I know many legislators come from NC St and UNC-CHeat, especially the later since it has a law school.
But I think enough NC St alum would see the financial benefit to leaving to make it possible that they would approve, but certainly not a guarantee they would. And every UNC alum I’ve met these 25 years, from in 20’s to in 70’s, is so incredibly arrogant about UNC (not just basketball, but academics and anything else UNC related) that they believe UNC and the ACC would be just fine without NC St.

 

[MasonCoBlue]

Is it possible that we’ve missed the BIG FAT MOUSE sitting quietly in the corner of the room? I think we all agree FSU & Clemson make perfect sense. But ladies and gentlemen, I present to you for discussion the University of Houston.

Very reputable basketball program with a solid & rich history. I believe they were Top 5 in our most recent year. Football program always finds a way to rebuild within a few years of coaching staff being “gutted” by a Power Conference…this wouldn’t happen if they were in the SEC. And let us not forget that Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. They have 1 million, yes 1 million, more residents than Dallas.

Now with that said…we’re talking oil country. The NIL number, if in the SEC, could become staggering. They could, and probably would, be a program to be reckoned with.

I live in San Antonio...so of course I'm a little biased.

Thoughts???

 

[Sawnee Cat]

Florida St.
Central Florida
Clemson
Miami

 

[Mulder14]

Wyoming,Montana,Colorado, and Hawaii. I’m thinking road trips

 

[Blueworld_3.0]

Is it possible that we’ve missed the BIG FAT MOUSE sitting quietly in the corner of the room? I think we all agree FSU & Clemson make perfect sense. But ladies and gentlemen, I present to you for discussion the University of Houston.

Very reputable basketball program with a solid & rich history. I believe they were Top 5 in our most recent year. Football program always finds a way to rebuild within a few years of coaching staff being “gutted” by a Power Conference…this wouldn’t happen if they were in the SEC. And let us not forget that Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. They have 1 million, yes 1 million, more residents than Dallas.

Now with that said…we’re talking oil country. The NIL number, if in the SEC, could become staggering. They could, and probably would, be a program to be reckoned with.

I live in San Antonio...so of course I'm a little biased.

Thoughts???

IMO, Houston would be a nice candidate to fill part of the void left in the Big12 by Texas and OU's departure. But, adding tat school to the SEC doesn't increase the conference footprint. You'd kinda be going over plowed ground in as much as Texas and TAMU already bring the bulk of football fans from that state to the table.
Like I said, if the Big 12 wants to try to continue, Houston would be a very solid choice.

 

[Blueworld_3.0]

Florida St.
Central Florida
Clemson
Miami

The CFU choice is "out of the box" but, would pay huge dividends down the road. I actually like the idea of adding them. But, Miami doesn't bring anything you wouldn't already have with Florida and FSU (plus CFU). Four teams from one state...even though it is a very populous one, won't get much support I'm afraid.

 

[EclipsingYou]

NC State (Screw UNC and all the legislature BS)
Virginia Tech (A natural fit IMO)
Kansas St (Decent program, expands the footprint, makes geographical sense)
Central Florida (Rapidly growing and a very attractive school to add)

Let Clemson and FSU stay in the ACC. We already have a school from South Carolina and Florida would do anything to prevent FSU from joining. They might not have an issue with UCF though.

 

[bradscats]

Arizona, USC, New Mexico, Colorado

sorry. Realized I didn’t follow the rules. I still say that is as likely as going to the ACC schools.