7 ACC teams to potentially depart in the latest wave of conference realignment after Stanford, Cal and SMU find new home away from the Pac-12: Reports

The ACC became the latest Power Five conference to feel the effects of conference realignment. While they were seemingly late to the party compared to the other four conferences, Atlantic Coast Conference officials were able to land the California Golden Bears, Stanford Cardinal and SMU Mustangs.

Although the total number of teams in the conference will jump to 18 in 2024, it is unclear how long that will remain. Back in May, Brett McMurphy of The Action Network reported that seven programs, dubbed 'The Magnificent 7' were looking to break the ACC's grant of rights agreement, tweeting:

"Clemson, FSU, Miami, UNC, NC State, Virginia & Virginia Tech are 'The Magnificent 7' ACC schools, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. These schools, @RossDellenger reported, have met in past several months, w/lawyers examining grant-of-rights to determine just how unbreakable it is. ACC deal runs thru 2036."

College football analyst Greg Swaim recently reported that those programs are still looking to leave, while adding that the Clemson Tigers, Florida State Seminoles, North Carolina Tar Heels and Virginia Cavaliers could all wind up in the same conference.

"It's no secret whatsoever that there are seven (and very likely several more) #ACC teams who want out sooner than later, and now several very solid #SEC sources telling us that #FSU, #Clemson, #UNC and #UVA could be a "block of four" who leave together for either the SEC or #B1G."

It is unclear when a potential move would take place, however, disbanding the conference would not be as easy as it was for Pac-12 programs. While the Pac-12's media rights deal is set to expire following the 2023 season, the ACC's deal runs through the 2036 season, meaning that schools would likely be forced to pay a hefty exit fee in order to depart.

Paul Finebaum previously predicted ACC expansion gave programs a 'ticket out'

Paul Finebaum is one of the most well-known voices in college football. Following the ACC voting to expand, the television and radio personality shared that conference officials gave their three biggest programs a way out:

"There is such a fissure right now in the ACC. ... I just want to congratulate the ACC for essentially voting out Clemson, North Carolina and Florida State because after what happened Friday with the admission of SMU, Cal and Stanford, they have essentially given those three a ticket out. That league, which was already teetering towards irrelevancy, has just taken on three schools that devalue an already discounted product even more, and that league is just heading towards the iceberg."

Check out Paul Finebaum's comments on the Atlantic Coast Conference below (starting at the 21:50 mark):

The Clemson Tigers, Florida State Seminoles and North Carolina Tar Heels were the three teams that did not vote in favor of expansion. It is unclear how long they will remain in the conference.