In this wild era of college athletics, where conference realignment has taken over, we are seeing program after program take themselves to new conferences in hopes of a better long-term future. In terms of the health of the Atlantic Coast Conference, legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski continues to preach the idea of the ACC and Big East merging to form a mega conference. Obviously, this idea has so many moving pieces and would need to be absolutely perfect to ever work out. However, Krzyzewski has mentioned this exact idea before, and it probably won't be the last time he ever does. Although, it's definitely a long shot.
Mike Krzyzewski continues to implore ACC to merge with Big East and form a mega conference
Coach K recently made an appearance on the Inside College Basketball Now Podcast with Jon Rothstein, and once again preached his idea for the ACC and Big East to merge and form a mega conference.
"I just think it's something to look at," Krzyzewski said. "I think people would be naive to think that five years from now, all the conferences are going to look the same. I don't think that that's going to happen.
"The ACC is a heck of a conference. Football wise, it may not be in the top three. If it is it's the third."
Firstly, the idea makes sense as it would truly be the "Atlantic Coast Conference." But on top of that, that new ACC would likely be the best conference in the sport: Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Marquette, St. John's, UConn, just to name a few. All of these schools are basketball powerhouses, and it could create a mega conference that actually prioritizes basketball, an idea that's been left by the wayside with college football dominating money talks.
Now, it's probably impossible to get so many different people and groups to buy into the same idea, but it makes sense in theory for the long-term betterment of the ACC, as several ACC programs have expressed interest in leaving for football. As of now, current buyouts have halted those discussions.
The current buyout for a school to exit the ACC during the 2025-26 academic year is $165 million. This number decreases by $18 million each year until it flattens out at $75 million by the 2030-31 academic year.
Both the ACC and Big East have fallen off in terms of basketball dominance over the past few seasons. Across the last four NCAA Tournaments, neither conference has had more than five teams make the field.
Considering football drives the majority of revenue, this likely will never happen unless the ACC is in complete desperation mode. Still, Coach K continues to be a major advocate of this merger.