The North Carolina Tar Heels’ decision to bring eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick to Chapel Hill signaled to the world of college football their intent to become a powerhouse in the sport. It now appears that the plan also includes North Carolina leaving the ACC for the more powerful SEC.
REPORT: North Carolina is exploring a potential move from the ACC to the SEC, per @InsideCarolina😮https://t.co/acGuw7hhUY pic.twitter.com/MbwyHGqxJK
— On3 (@On3sports) July 24, 2025
Reports from this week indicate that the Tar Heels would be interested in leaving the ACC whenever the next round of realignment starts. The move would make more sense after 2030, when the fees drop from $93 million to $75 million. The feeling around Chapel Hill is that the program has taken a significant risk by bringing Bill Belichick into the fold, and that with the expansion of the SEC and the Big Ten, the ACC could lose its status as a conference where a team can be competitive at a national level.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips is confident of keeping Florida State, Clemson, and North Carolina in the conference
Speaking on Tuesday at a press conference during the ACC media days, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips explained that, contrary to popular belief, he thinks that the conference is in a strong position going forward and that he’s confident of key programs staying on it:
“I knew what the Clemson and Florida State people were saying because they communicated it to the entire group about their desire to be in the ACC,” Phillips said Tuesday. “And I believe them, I really do. I have a responsibility to make sure that our ACC schools want to be in this league, not just have to be in this league, and I think that’s important. … Since we’ve had that take place in March, I’ve not felt stronger about this league than I have in the last five months, and I mean that. I’m not just saying that. It’s not hyperbole and the rest of that stuff. I really believe it.”
“…the sport of football getting better and we want to take another step this year. The league is situated nicely right now.”
To be fair to Phillips, the ACC was the conference, not being the SEC and the Big Ten, that best withstood the latest round of college football realignment, keeping its two most important programs in Clemson and Florida State, while also grabbing some programs from the Pac-12 and other places.
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