ACC Kickoff reveals potential UNC plans to leave for another conference
It's extremely difficult to imagine an ACC without UNC, one of the conference's original, seven founding members back in May 1953.
With continued conference realignment talks, which include the ideas of "super-conferences" and dissolution of smaller ones, North Carolina leaving the ACC continues to gain traction.
Steve Newmark is set to take over as the Tar Heels' athletic director in 2026, replacing longtime AD Bubba Cunningham. According to Inside Carolina, UNC to the SEC could be expedited under Newmark's future leadership.
But make no mistake, now, the SEC is where the Tar Heels are aiming under the leadership of Roberts and Newmark, should UNC move to leave the ACC for another league, perhaps in the near future," InsideCarolina's Adam Smith wrote. "Sources said the 2030-31 school year, when the ACC's decreasing exit fees dip from $93 million to the flat $75 million threshold, would figure to become an important final line of demarcation, if the Tar Heels haven't made their departure sooner. Seven decades ago, UNC was one of the original member schools in the 1953 founding of the ACC."
The ACC, once arguably the premier conference across collegiate athletics, is giving way to the money-loaded SEC in recent seasons. Look at the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament alone: North Carolina, Duke, Clemson and Louisville were the only four ACC teams to make it, whereas the SEC had 14 bids.
Transitioning to football, the SEC is a powerhouse compared to the ACC, which is essentially Clemson and everybody else. Florida State is typically a strong program, but the Seminoles suffered through a 2-10 season in 2024, with one of their losses coming against the Tar Heels.
It's no secret the ACC needs to have a monster football season, with UNC particular a team of focus. Not everyone will finish over .500, but ACC football needs to re-establish itself this fall.
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