SEC deemed better fit than Big Ten for school in Pennsylvania

A school from the state of Pennsylvania in the SEC?

That's what Tar Heels Wire's Zack Pearson believes is the best course of action for Pitt if the ACC implodes instead of joining the Big Ten due to the existing presence of Penn State in the B1G.

"There is a market with Pitt and they seem to draw some nationally televised games each year for the ACC," Pearson prefaced before saying, "But with Penn State already in the Big Ten, a move to the SEC seems like a more realistic option and a better fit."

Now this is something I'd take with a grain of salt. Pitt has AAU accreditation, making it a seamless fit in the Big Ten. And Penn State being in the conference shouldn't preclude the B1G from exploring expansion into the Pittsburgh market. Of course, the Big Ten Network is already present due to Penn State, the B1G would have even more market share with the Panthers in-conference.

While the city is definitely Steelers country first and foremost, Pitt does have a dedicated fanbase and a highly popular rivalry with West Virginia that would be tailor-made for the B1G.

And while one shouldn't expect WVU to get a Big Ten invite of its own, one would be reasonable in expecting a Pitt-Penn State in-state rivalry to be born out of such a move.

The SEC isn't going to expand footprint north of Mason-Dixon line

Sure, Notre Dame joining the "It Just Means More" conference would be a football fan's dream come true. But that doesn't mean it'd be practical to have a school within a two-hour drive from Chicago joining the Southeastern Conference. Ditto for a school two hours from the New York state line.

The SEC will never accept a school north of the Mason-Dixon line into its ranks. As the only conference with a regional tie-in, the SEC has tried to maintain some semblance of being "southeastern," though Missouri and Oklahoma are certainly stretches.

Pennsylvania is too much of a stretch. Pitt isn't SEC-bound anytime soon. Or ever.