The future of conferences in college athletics continues to be a hot topic here in 2023 a year after schools like USC and UCLA made the decision to join the Big Ten and Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC. It’s clear that expansion likely isn’t done and with recent talks of schools looking to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference, things could pick up even more.
But where will those teams land? That’s going to be the talk for several months until it either happens or they can’t get out of the deal.
One SEC analyst offered his take in late May about realignment, including a favorite to eventually join the conference. Here is what Paul Finebaum said about the SEC and North Carolina:
“I would go for North Carolina first, because they really hit a lot of different boxes. Number one, they’re the dominant university in one of the 10 or 11 largest states in the country. That doesn’t matter as much as it used to from a television footprint, but they do cover a lot there,” Finebaum said. “They have a respectable football program. They have an elite basketball program, which I don’t think is driving anyone other than maybe a few out West [to watch]. But they just bring a lot to the table overall. After that, I think it’s a debate between Miami, Florida State and Clemson.”
It’s interesting to hear Finebaum’s thoughts on UNC being the favorite to join the SEC and he brings up valid points.
North Carolina’s football program is respectable and with a good season this year could be on the rise. Basketball is elite despite struggles last season and the brand is huge. It does make sense for UNC to join the SEC geographically as well.
But as we know, we could be a long ways away from this even happening.
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