I get the feeling that this particular part of whatever chapter of college football realignment we’re in will end up looking slightly ridiculous in retrospect. Maybe not, but look at where we are now, apparently: the ACC and Pac-12 may, as part of a wider agreement, create a television network together?
The proposal, still in its infancy, heavily involves the ESPN-owned ACC Network. Under the plan, the ACC Network—or a renamed entity combining the two leagues—will have exclusive rights to broadcast Pac-12 games to West Coast households through ESPN cable providers. The agreement is not a merger or consolidation of the leagues but is instead built around a media rights agreement with the worldwide leader in sports—an effort to clap back at the Pac-12’s loss of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten.