Miami president says ACC is in college football's 'second tier,' discusses moving to SEC, Big Ten — SkimNews
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- Joe Echevarria said the Hurricanes “sit in the second tier” despite winning about every game available last year, maxing out the ACC’s revenue-sharing model and earning the same money as Big Ten and SEC programs with different spending and performance levels.
- University of Miami says it wants to join either the SEC or Big Ten, rejecting the idea that this reflects dissatisfaction with the ACC; it cites its AAU research profile for the Big Ten and geography for the SEC.
- Protect College Sports Act contains an ACC expansion cap that Miami, Florida State, Clemson and North Carolina want raised from 20 to 22 teams, making it easier for elite members to leave.
- ACC elite programs have sued the conference over its exit-fee structure as spending gaps widen between top and bottom teams in football and basketball.
- Big Ten already stretches coast to coast and lacks a Southeast footprint, while the SEC already has a Florida presence; Echevarria identified academics as the Big Ten’s advantage and geography as the SEC’s.
- University of Miami is also considering independence as Plan B, citing its national brand, but Echevarria said scheduling non-football teams such as track, volleyball and golf makes that option difficult.
Why it matters: For Miami and other leading ACC members, raising the expansion cap from 20 to 22 is the decisive issue: the change would ease exits to the SEC or Big Ten, whose revenue advantages already complicate retention. The Protect College Sports Act’s fate therefore determines whether the conference can retain its top programs.
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