I am surprised. Why? Because brand is more important than market. So essentially SMU can buy their way into the league?
SMU isn’t worth it. And the fact the ACC would destroy their conference, and make no mistake, an SMU add is terrible for the conference, is stunning in its shortsightedness.
Tulane, that school was the reason the original big east left. The markets for ACC carriage is a silly, declining area of revenue that is not a growth area. Linear TV is in secular decline. Any move, as a business, by the ACC to add a team for carriage is foolish. That diminishes over time.
Growth is in brands and in excellence and intense fanbase. Location does matter, but I suspect the usual suspects don’t want another New England team, let alone a hoops power.
Big 12 the better spot, as long as football is taken care of in some way (I am not against as 2 year Indy window or something).
When you look at conferences trying to be the next big thing, or conferences acting reactively for the short term, where you wanna be?