With the most intense realignment period in the history of college sports going on right now, several conferences are in danger of ceasing to exist altogether, and the Atlantic Coast Conference is in that boat. The ACC doesn't have a strong long-term financial standing currently, and several of its marquee programs are actively exploring options to exit.
However, two legendary college hoops coaches might have the solution for the ACC to continue thriving, as Rick Pitino and Mike Krzyzewski agree that the ACC and Big East should merge to form a "mega conference."
Coach K talked about the idea earlier this year on his SiriusXM show, and Pitino agreed with Coach K recently after speaking with insider Jon Rothstein.
"I am in total agreement with Coach K," Pitino said. "See, when I started Jon, before you were born 51 years ago, college football and college basketball were on the same plane. The NFL and the NBA were on the same plane...So, in order for the Big East and the ACC to survive, there's football mania, because a bad college football game will surpass an NBA playoff game as far as viewership is concerned. So if we want to survive basketball-wise with the ACC and the Big East and still preserve the Duke's, the [North] Carolina's, the Louisville's of the world, and the Big East, combining it into a mega conference would be an awesome thing."
Now, earlier this year, the idea never gained a ton of ground. However, this could change after the Big East recently signed a six-year media rights deal with ESPN. ESPN picked up its option earlier in 2025 to continue broadcasting all ACC sporting events through at least 2036. With ESPN now committed to broadcasting over 300 Big East events annually, this could pay dividends. Although, the Big East also signed a deal with FOX, TNT, and NBC, which will air the majority of the in-conference men's basketball games.
With this, the merger becomes much more of a possibility from a viewership standpoint, which is where all of this talk stems from. Pitino noted that college football reels in many more eyes than college hoops, which is a big reason why the Big East could be in trouble and why some top ACC programs are looking to head to a more dominant football conference.
Even with those ACC teams looking to get out, current buy-outs are still extremely expensive. Considering these buy-outs decrease by $18 million per year until they flatten out at $75 million by 2030-31, there's a good chance these programs elect to wait to avoid the current exit fee of $165 million.
Will the ACC/Big East merger ever actually happen? Who's to say? But it could make sense as a final effort to save the ACC and Big East.