ACC fallout becomes real-time possibility as Big Ten expansion with SEC partnership likely intends to poach Atlantic teams in upcoming years

The Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) are the wealthiest conferences in college football. The former's expansion dominated the conference realignment and expansion agenda as new commissioner Tony Petitti went on a war of conquest after taking over in May 2023.

News broke on Wednesday that the SEC and the Big Ten will form a joint partnership comprising university presidents, athletic directors and chancellors.

This is a highly irregular move. It shows how the winds of change that have swept through college sports regarding conference realignment and expansion have started taking root.

One conference looking at the move with trepidation will be the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

The conference has faced internal dissent with specific elite programs like the Florida State Seminoles rearing to leave. However, they have been held back by the ironclad grant of rights agreement that specifies a heavy fee for leaving.

The Big Ten expansion agenda could lead to ACC fallout

The Pac-12 was gutted over a few weeks of furious bloodletting by the wealthier conferences with more lucrative media rights agreements. So, the ACC fallout could happen.

The Big Ten has been eyeing the Seminoles as the final piece in Commissioner Tony Petitti's conference expansion games. However, the matter being in court has put the brakes on any such move.

A clean break from the ACC could cost Florida State $572 million in exit fees and for breaking the grant of rights agreement. This estimate was provided to the Seminoles board during the extraordinary meeting in December.

The two wealthiest conferences are banding together to 'find solutions' to existing problems. And as per SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, a way to break out the Seminoles and programs like the Clemson Tigers wouldn't be out of place.

Greg Sankey explains the SEC-Big Ten partnership

The SEC commissioner, Greg Sankey, explained the intention of the SEC partnership with the Big Ten.

"What keeps me up at night is people thinking I have a set of magical answers," Sankey said.

"There are magical answers to our historic realities that have worked really well in college sports for decades, but now we're being challenged in different ways -- challenged within our own campus settings, challenged in courts, challenged in state legislatures and challenged in Congress."

Referencing Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, Sankey explained the agenda of the Big Ten and SEC partnership:

"We're going to try to take that responsibility of leadership and see if we can develop some ideas that can help us."

The Big Ten expansion games are far from over. The SEC-Big Ten partnership could trigger the ACC fallout if they can help break out 'The Magnificent Seven' from their ironclad grant of rights deal.