Duke AD Nina King shares damning quote on the state of ACC at spring meetings

Duke AD Nina King shared a damning quote at the ACC's annual spring meetings that put it in perspective just how much of a shaky ship the conference has become in recent years.

Basically, the drama that Clemson and FSU are embroiled in with the conference is par for the ACC course.

“Well the good news is we’re experienced” in matters of uncertainty, said Nina King, the Duke athletics director (h/t The News & Observer). “Because last year when we sat here, we were talking about the Magnificent Seven. And I feel like each spring meeting (the question will be) what are we going to deal with — what disruption?”

Duke basketball is one of the ACC's pillar programs and without it, the conference will fall apart

FSU and Clemson leaving the conference would drastically alter football's revenue, but the ACC would collapse if it were to lose the Duke basketball teams. Per MVPIndex, Duke, Virginia, Miami, and Clemson combined to generate $814.7K worth of brand value in 2022, with the Blue Devils accounting for 76.3% of that total.

Football will always drive decision-making in the college sports world, but the Blue Devils have a seat at the table. Jon Scheyer has kept Duke at the level they were at under Coach K, so the brand isn't going anywhere, either.

If/when Clemson and FSU leave, and UNC inevitably looks for its own exit, it'll be on Duke to be a pivotal pillar capable of keeping the entire conference from crumbling. It's not an easy task, and the SEC and Big Ten may make that hard to do given Duke hoops' value, but the Blue Devils can lead the conference into its next era if it can make the right moves in realignment next.

Or if other teams in the conference start stepping up and becoming more relevant nationally like FSU and Clemson have in football, and what UNC and UVA have in basketball.