Paul Finebaum believes the ACC falling apart would make SEC, Big Ten relationship 'really sticky'

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said if the ACC falls apart, things could get “sticky” between the SEC and Big Ten moving forward.

With lawsuits and questions of the future of the ACC, it’s basically “Who is going to get the top schools in the ACC?” It’s been a talking point since realignment went nuts over the last couple of years.

Finebaum said the college athletics world better brace for the possibility because it’ll continue to be an arms race.

“I think the real concern for everyone in this group is what happens if the ACC starts to implode even more than it currently is,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic. “And because I mean, there are certain schools that I don’t think either league really wants and then there are those who I think both covet. So I think that’s where it would get really sticky.” 

Finebaum doesn’t necessarily think the SEC and Big Ten would want to tear each other down, but the conferences certainly are going to help each other.

“I don’t think Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti would sit in a room and go ‘okay, you take that one, I’ll take that one.’ That’s just not the way this works,” Finebaum said. “I mean, this is still pretty serious competition at the highest level. But I think that’s the one area … I think it is mainly done from a legislative standpoint, let’s be aligned on the issues. It was done from a judicial standpoint. So you know, in court, let’s have the same ideas. I don’t know if that carries over to competition. 

“Frankly, the television deals are already done. The only thing that really is left to be determined in the next couple of years of college athletics is if the ACC implodes, who gets those schools and how do they get them?”

Clemson and Florida State are prime options for the SEC and Big Ten, in a hypothetical sense. The schools are no closer to leaving the ACC than they were yesterday.

It’s also no secret that the SEC and Big Ten were in an arms race when it came to expansion. The SEC has Oklahoma and Texas and the Big Ten got USC and UCLA.

When the Pac-12 fell apart, the SEC didn’t pounce like the Big Ten. The latter added Oregon and Washington to the mix.

If the ACC does fall apart, it’d be hard to believe the SEC and Big Ten would just sit on their hands.