Five schools who could be Miami Hurricanes rivals if ND joins ACC
West Virginia
West Virginia is the best fit for the ACC. The Mountaineers have been a major college team with success the longest. The drawbacks for West Virginia will be prying them away from already being a member of a Power Five conference in the Big XII and they do not provide a major television market.
The pluses for the Mountaineers are their long time rivalries with several ACC schools and they are geographically desirable. Morgantown is 75 miles from Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers have a heated rivalry with the Panthers known as the backyard brawl in football. The Miami Hurricanes and WVU have played competitive games.
ACC’s top scheduling model is 10 league games plus 1 nonconference foe, sources told @Stadium. In this format if Notre Dame plays 10 ACC teams, results would count in ACC standings, sources said. Unknown if ND could earn ACC’s Orange Bowl bid. This needs ACC presidential approval
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 24, 2020
West Virginia has a stable basketball program led by Bob Huggins and a football program that should be on the rise led by Neal Brown. The Mountaineers have an all-time record of 667-445-41 in football. West Virginia’s basketball tradition nationally dates back to a 1959 Final Four appearance led by Jerry West.
West Virginia has not gone more than one season without making a bowl game since 1991 and 1992. The Mountaineers missed the 2019 NCAA Tournament but advanced to the regional semifinals in three of the previous four seasons. West Virginia might be hesitant to join the ACC after being spurned during the first expansion.