College football realignment: North Carolina trustee wants out of ACC

North Carolina could kick off the next phase of college football conference realignment, if one of the school's trustees can get his message across.

Nov 4, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels running back Omarion Hampton / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

A trustee at North Carolina has suggested the school should consider leaving the ACC unless there is a dramatic change to the way the league distributes its revenue, a move that could kick off another phase of college football conference realignment, according to WRAL's Brian Murphy.

UNC's Board of Trustees approved an audit of the school's athletic department recently, amid concerns of what trustee Dave Boliek called an "imbalance in the budget" that will require moving money from other sources to cover the cost of sports.

So much of an imbalance that he recommends North Carolina walk away from the ACC entirely.

"I'm advocating for that," Boliek said, via WRAL.

"That's what we need to do. We need to do everything we can to get there. Or the alternative is the ACC is going to have to reconstruct itself. I think all options are on the table."

Currently, the ACC hands out roughly $40 million per school every year, but that number has fallen well behind the $70 million that SEC and Big Ten members will get after their recent expansions that radically reset the national market.

That's in addition to the extra piece of College Football Playoff revenue those schools will get, still more than what ACC members are expected to receive.

North Carolina was among the so-called "Magnificent Seven" schools that rebelled against the ACC last offseason amid other conference realignments, asking the league for a bigger share of the pie.

The conference responded with a proposed plan to pay out larger sums to more prominent schools, but that doesn't strike those members as a good-enough long-term plan.

Florida State and Clemson have sued the ACC in an effort to challenge the enormous exit fee the conference charges to members who want to leave before 2036, when the league's current grant of rights agreement is set to expire.

"It's not something you can change with the snap of a finger," Boliek said.

"It's something we've got to be cognizant of. We can't sit back and cross our fingers and pray for pennies from heaven and thinking everything is going to work out. We have to actively pursue what's in the best interests of Carolina athletics."

(WRAL)

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