How a Super League Concept Would Impact Tar Heels

If columnist Joe DePaolo was asked to figure out what to do with the Atlantic Coast Conference debacle with Clemson and Florida State, he just might have an answer that makes sense.

In a column published Tuesday, DePaulo details a two-conference Super League which would take the North Carolina Tar Heels out of the ACC and put them in the Southeastern Conference. The SEC and the Big Ten would comprise the Super League and the teams would play each other and have a national champion.

This all arises out of the recent settlement between the ACC and the two referenced schools that would give them an escape clause if a "super league" was established and then six schools could leave the conference for a serious realignment.

The column is pretty complex, as is the DePaulo plan, so it should be read in its entirety. The high-level details are as follows:

The system would be like British soccer. There would be five competitive tiers and the positions would be won and slotted every year. Teams would be promoted if they do well and demoted if they do not do well. The better teams would be in conferences that would be playing for a bigger prize and have a chance at a national title.

DePaulo has the Tier 1 "Super League" including the SEC and the Big Ten. Each conference would have two ten-team divisions, which would be called East and West. North Carolina, he proposes, would be in the SEC East with Clemson, Florida State and Miami. Notre Dame would finally be in a conference and it would be the Big Ten West.

North Carolina only makes the Super League, according to DePaulo, because of the fact Bill Belichick is their coach.

The schedule only includes games against teams in your tier, and the top four teams in each Super League Division play in a 16-team national championship. There are also playoffs for the Tier 2 teams, but they would not compete for a national title. The best they could do is with the title of their tier.

That was the Super League. Now, DePaulo refers to another league, called "The Elite League". They would be considered Tier 2 teams.

This league is comprised of the ACC and the Big 12. It would have two eight team divisions. Boston College, Cincinnati, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia are in the ACC North. The ACC South includes Central Florida, Duke, Georgia Tech, Houston, Memphis, N.C. State, SMU and Wake Forest.

There would be an eight-team playoff format with the top two teams being elevated to Tier 1 status.

It sounds pretty complicated, because it is. For more details, check out DePaulo's column and read all the nuances of what his proposal would look like.

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