It's like taking a hooker to your prom. She might be pretty but WTF are you thinking?
FSU and Clemson to the XII would be the natural progression of consolidation. Maryland made a lateral move but had the extreme good fortune of doing it sooner rather than later, and a lot cheaper. Perhaps ACC programs see the XII as the more likely P3 survivor and if that is the case, it is not a lateral move at all, but a giant step up. Depends on the cost.
I was searching and happened to find this article about Maryland from 2012. How much things change in just over a decade.
"Maryland is broke. Everyone knows this by now. The financial straits are dire. The debt is towering."
"The Big Ten, by contrast, is the collegiate equivalent of Scrooge McDuck's money bath. They paid out about $24 million to each of their teams last season, first in the country, comfortably above the ACC's paltry $16 million generated from their new TV deal"
"With the conference securing a merely average TV deal despite giving away third-tier rights, the likes of FSU and Clemson never bought into the idea entirely, as either fanbase will tell you. FSU in particular never stopped looking longingly at the Big 12. If Maryland was willing to make a run at leaving the conference, despite the hefty exit fee, would you put it past one of those two to do the same in the future? And were either to leave - or, Juan forbid, both - the ACC's brand and financial clout would be hugely, cripplingly undercut."
This is great:
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Objection #5: It's a worse basketball conference."
"If that conference (Big 10) doesn't match or exceed the ACC's UNC, Duke, State,
Syracuse, and Pitt power base it comes darn close." Pffft
It's not official, but Maryland's move to the Big Ten has gained serious traction in the last few days, leading many fans to question the move. We explain the motivation.
www.testudotimes.com