CFB insider reveals the minimum strength required for ACC to keep its ESPN media rights alive amid rumors of Calford's Atlantic membership
The leadership of the ACC has been working closely over the last few weeks to add Stanford, Cal and SMU to the conference. Despite the initial failure to admit the three schools, the league has continued to work internally to ensure the deal is done.
College football insider Brett McMurphy revealed why the ACC appears desperate to add the three universities despite the substantial opposition within the conference. The motivation is more about the league keeping its long-term media contract with ESPN alive and in good shape.
McMurphy reported that if the league drops to less than 15 members, the contract with ESPN gives the network the right to call for renegotiation of the media deal. A reduction in the current media earnings of the member schools would mean disaster for the league.
In light of the potential future departures of Florida State, Clemson and a couple of others, the conference leadership is making a strategic move of adding Power Five schools at the moment rather than opting for Group of Five institutions at a later stage.
Florida State and Clemson continue to push for an exit
Florida State and Clemson have been working towards leaving the ACC for a while. The two universities are unhappy with the league's revenue-sharing model, and they believe staying much longer will keep them at a competitive disadvantage within college sports.
Seminoles officials have been more vocal about the need to leave unless there's a drastic change in the revenue-sharing model. Notably, the teams in the conference are tied to earning the same amount in media revenue for the next 13 years.
However, there are huge obstacles to face by both universities in leaving the league, and the process appears expensive and lengthy. They have to pay an exit fee worth a staggering $120 million and then go on to challenge the grant of rights in court.
Will the ACC expansion become a reality?
The move to expand by the ACC continues to face opposition from four schools, and they could stop it from becoming a reality. Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and North Carolina State reportedly voted against expansion.
Without a vote flip coming from one of the four teams, an expansion cannot proceed. A conference rule requires 75% of members to vote in favor of expansion before it can be ratified. At this stage, one more school is needed to reach the required percentage of support.