The world of college athletics is amid its biggest realignment period in history, but this move might be the wildest yet. It's been reported that North Carolina is reportedly eyeing a move out of the ACC into the SEC in the future.
REPORT: North Carolina is exploring a potential move from the ACC to the SEC, per @InsideCarolina😮https://t.co/acGuw7hhUY pic.twitter.com/MbwyHGqxJK
— On3 (@On3sports) July 24, 2025
Per Adam Smith of Inside Carolina, "And any such group interested in seeking a potential departure from the ACC includes North Carolina, multiple sources told Inside Carolina. The Tar Heels even could be considered at the front of that pack, alongside Clemson, sources said about the next round of realignment that's brewing."
The ACC as a whole is in a fine financial place in the short term, but several schools in the conference could be looking for a way out in the future. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips touched on the situations with Clemson and Florida State, noting the endings of those lawsuits. But the ACC is in danger of no longer being in existence in the coming years.
The current 18-team membership of the league after it added Stanford, California, and SMU, will remain intact until at least June of 2027, per the new parameters of leaving the league, Smith later stated.
However, it isn't just as simple as leaving the conference. A school must file an official notice to leave the league on June 1st of that year to leave the conference on June 30th of the following year. The exit costs that come with leaving the league make things a lot more difficult for ACC programs.
Per the new ACC settlement, exit fees for a 2025-2026 exit are $165 million. This number drops by $18 million per year until 2030-31, where the price flattens out at $75 million after that.
So UNC, and any other programs looking to get out of the ACC, could leave now and pay substantially more than it would have to if it waited until at least 2030.
"Sources said the 2030-31 school year, when the ACC's decreasing exit fees dip from $93 million to the flat $75 million threshold, would figure to become an important final line of demarcation, if the Tar Heels haven't made their departure sooner," Smith said.
The Tar Heels are heavily investing in their football program, which showed after the hire of Bill Belichick. A move to the SEC would obviously put UNC in a much better financial situation in terms of football, but where does the Duke/UNC rivalry go from there?