There are numerous reports of ACC stalwart North Carolina looking to make the jump to the SEC. The Tar Heels were a founding member of the ACC in 1953, when the league was founded. But after 72 seasons in the league, Carolina could be up for a new challenge. But the SEC might be more challenging than Carolina expects. Here are five reasons that the move to the SEC could backfire for UNC.
5 reasons the SEC move could backfire on UNC
1. It’s probably the nasty for the ACC.
The ACC is clearly running a third to the SEC and Big Ten in the power conference arms race. The league’s football race increasingly resembles Clemson and the seven dwarves, while the basketball race is turning into Duke and the seven dwarves. Down the league, teams don’t seem to be keeping up in the NIL footrace, and the conference’s overall prestige has taken a hit.
Losing North Carolina would be massive. Along with Duke, Clemson, and Florida State, the Tar Heels are one of the most significant programs in the league, and as noted above, have been a lifetime ACC member. If Carolina goes, the other powers likely wouldn’t be far behind.
2. Football-wise, the SEC could be difficult for Carolina.
Even with Bill Belichick, North Carolina would have its work cut out in the grind of SEC football. A season ago, Carolina’s race to the top of the ACC would have involved Clemson, Miami, and likely SMU. A move to the top of the SEC would have to climb over Texas, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and many, many more. Beating Tennessee and Texas A&M and South Carolina sounds harder than beating Virginia Tech and NC State, for instance.
3. Basketball-wise, it really might not be much different.
Once upon a time, not only was North Carolina a massive basketball power, by the ACC would have absolutely dragged the SEC in the dirt. The SEC was often Kentucky and the seven dwarves, and the ACC was sending NC State and Wake Forest to the Final Four. But here’s the thing – even in basketball, things have powerfully changed.
UNC was a bubble team last year in the ACC. Clemson was good, Duke was great, and the rest of the league played like a massive NIT play-in league. On the other hand, the SEC had national champion Florida, Final Four team Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. Carolina might well fall to the middle of the pack in SEC hoops.
4. The SEC would halt any momentum on women’s basketball.
North Carolina has a proud women’s hoops tradition, but it hasn’t been on top of the world in the ACC. The Tar Heels haven’t been to the Final Four since 2007 or the Elite Eight since 2014. With four straight seasons with at least one NCAA Tournament win and two Sweet 16 runs in the batch, UNC is on an uptick.
But joining a league with South Carolina, LSU, Texas, and others sounds like a great way to take a massive step backwards. In the ACC, UNC women’s hoops is one of the better programs. In the SEC, it would be middle of the pack at best.
5. North Carolina could be the first domino in the end of conferences.
But the biggest issue is the most direct. Conference realignment has already survived some odd moves. Washington and Oregon play conference games at Wisconsin and Rutgers. Stanford has a conference foe in NC State. But much of the movement has been programs that have dropped a step from glory days, like UCLA or USC, or up-and-comers like Oregon. If North Carolina can move, the ACC is in deep trouble, and so might be conferences.
Can we be far from a world in which the power conference teams form their own governing board, playing their own CFP and their own NCAA Tournament? If North Carolina can move, there’s an argument that maybe nothing in college sports is sacred… and everything might be near the time of re-configuration.
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