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Paul Finebaum believes some ACC schools would be in limbo if conference imploded

By Andrew Hughes

Paul Finebaum of SEC Nation on set before the Alabama, LSU game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Nov. 9, 2019. Sec Nation
Paul Finebaum of SEC Nation on set before the Alabama, LSU game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Nov. 9, 2019. Sec Nation / Kirsten Fiscus/Advertiser via Imagn
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Paul Finebaum doesn't believe every ACC school would get an invite to one of the surviving Power conferences, the SEC, Big Ten, or Big 12, if it were to implode and see its existing members scatter across the rest of the college football landscape.

“I think the real concern for everyone in this group is what happens if the ACC starts to implode even more than it currently is," Finebaum said (h/t Sportskeeda). "And because, I mean, there are certain schools that I don’t think either league really wants and then there are those who I think both covet. So, I think that’s where it would get really sticky.”

What schools might Finebaum be referring to?

Wake Forest has least value to other conferences in realignment

Wake Forest immediately comes to mind as a school that might have a tough time generating interest from other conferences. Located furthest from Raleigh and Charlotte, the state's major cities, of any Tobacco Road rival, the Demon Deacons possess little market value and marginal historical success. Winston Salem is a nice enough city, but it isn't attracting interest like Durham and Chapel Hill, situated right outside Raleigh.

North Carolina lawmakers know there's about to be losses from the ACC, but as WRAL's Brian Murphy writes, only two schools are going to be required, by law, to play each other in football: UNC and NC State.

"North Carolina lawmakers want to require the state's two biggest and richest athletic programs – UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State – to regularly play football and basketball games against other in-state public schools," Murphy wrote.

"Under a bill filed by prominent Republican House members, UNC and NC State would be required to play at least one of East Carolina, Appalachian State and Charlotte every year and would have to play each school home and away every six years."

Duke basketball will keep the door open for the Blue Devils to enter whichever Power conference extends them an invite. Wake Forest doesn't have the same clout in any sport and would be one of the teams Finebaum is referring to that leagues won't really want.

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