Conference preview- ACC

If the ACC were to be a television show, it would have to be a day-time soap opera. With schools threatening to leave or schools from other regions of the nation joining, the ACC has been a drama filled organization the past few years.

Established on June 14, 1953, the ACC was originally made up of seven members- Clemson, Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Viginia, Maryland, and South Carolina. Since its founding, eleven more schools have since joined the conference (South Carolina joined the SEC in ’92). So, this tells me there is stability in Greensboro, North Carolina, home of the ACC.

However, there seems to be some cracks in the foundation. In 2024, Florida State and Clemson both claimed that the revenue share in the ACC was not up to par, collectively. The ACC Grant of Rights is basically an agreement where member schools transfer their media rights to the conference (ACC) for a specific period- 2036. Meaning, the ACC has leverage to allocate money to each member institution. The issue FSU and Clemson have is that other schools are receiving the same amount or more and they both feel it’s not fair because they bring in more money than the other schools in the conference, specifically from football.

I write this because, yes, the ACC does need to figure out a way to keep both Clemson and FSU from leaving the conference, after all, they traditionally have been the two power houses for the ACC. Likewise, it would be very beneficial if Miami and Virginia Tech, both who joined the ACC in 2004, would finally bring their A game (no pun attended) to the conference!

Alas, here’s the reality- the conference in whole needs to start winning against other power five schools. To change conference perception, this needs to change before other member schools cry about revenue share. And in week 1, the ACC has a great opportunity to make this change-

Georgia Tech vs. Colorado

LSU vs. Clemson

East Carolina vs. NC State

Syracuse vs. Tennessee

Alabama vs. FSU

Cal vs. Oregon St

Virginia Tech vs. South Carolina

Notre Dame vs. Miami

UNC vs. TCU

If you can win the majority of these games, you’re off to a great start to right the ship and change the national perception of the conference.

Here is the 2025 full ACC schedule: