An ACC Team is Ready to Kick Off the Next Round of Conference Realignment

While we are just a few weeks away from the start of the 2025 college football season, the conference realignment conversation is back in the forefront after a report from Inside Carolina.

According to the report, the University of North Carolina is among a group of schools “interested in seeking a potential departure from the ACC” when the next round of realignment takes place, and it “even could be considered at the front of that pack, alongside Clemson”.

The Tar Heels are eyeing the SEC, especially come 2030, when the ACC is set to decrease exit fees from $93M to a flat $75M. Sources indicated that “would figure to become an important final line of demarcation, if the Tar Heels haven’t made their departure sooner.”

Smith wrote the settlement to the lawsuit filed by Clemson and Florida State against the ACC provides “substantial victory to member schools for exploring possible pathways toward leaving the conference and relocating to greener financial pastures.” Sources indicated that Roberts, who previously spent 30 years in finance, got involved “quietly” behind the scenes and “performed a key role in helping finalize” the ACC’s agreement with Clemson and FSU.

Also, in The Raleigh News & Observer, Dan Kane reports UNC “paid nearly $650,000″ to a prominent law firm over the past three years to “prepare for a rapidly shifting landscape in college sports.”

North Carolina is one of the few states in the south that does not have an SEC team in it. When combined with the quality of the institution, the Tar Heels bring a lot to the table for the SEC, if the interest is mutual.