Husker Corner's Oliver Vandervoort does not like the writing on the wall regarding conference realignment; mainly, the idea that ESPN will likely be brokering a deal to get FSU and Clemson from the ACC to the SEC to keep the southern powerhouses under the network's broadcasting umbrella and maintain the profits both generate.
"If this rumor is true, it would mark what appears to be the next evolution of the sport in general," Vandervoort prefaced before saying, "The money and broadcast rights have always been at the forefront of why a team moved to the SEC or the Big Ten or anywhere else.
"But if this deal comes to fruition, a network is directly involved in brokering the realignment. That’s not a good thing."
Vandervoort was referencing the rumor from Big 12 Insider's C.W. Lambert that laid out somewhat of a mob-like maneuver from ESPN that'd only allow FSU and Clemson to leave the ACC if the SEC was their end destination.
ESPN predicted to kill ACC television contract entirely
While Lambert sees a world where the ACC can maintain a television rights deal without FSU and Clemson, longtime college football radio host Greg Swaim does not. Swaim predicts ESPN will cancel the conference's TV deal completely.
"Others reporting various legal suits being filed by both current ACC members and the conference itself, but in a nutshell here is what's going on...and what's going to happen," Swaim prefaced before saying, "FSU and Clemson want out for more money, and UNC and soon UVA will jump to a higher paying conference, either the Big Ten or SEC.
"The rest will then try to leave, as at that point ESPN will cancel the contract and those schools remaining that get a Big 12 offer will take it, as the ACC will basically be dead in the water as a P4 at that time."
ESPN has become the most powerful entity in college football, essentially powering the College Football Playoff and owning the rights to the SEC and the ACC. While they can kill off the latter's current broadcasting contract, they will likely backfill their schedule with whatever the replacement is. If not for ESPN+, many of the nation's FCS games wouldn't be broadcasted at all.
Do we think the remaining ACC schools won't have a broadcast home? ESPN knows too well how important football is to most of the country to let this issue have any tangible effect on viewership and profits.