Miami Hurricanes could get Utah as ACC rival per national report

Hall of Fame sportswriter Dick Weiss reported on X there is discussion about Utah moving to the ACC despite joining the Big XII with Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado on June 1. Utah was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1962-1998, the Mountain West from 1999-2010 and Pac 12 since 2010.

Miami and Utah have never met in football for the battle of the U. The Hurricanes lead the all-time series in basketball 2-0 versus the Utes. Miami beat Utah 88-87 in 1966 and 90-66 in 2015. The Hurricanes have not played the Utes in baseball. Miami's women's basketball team has not played Utah.

The addition of Utah would make the ACC the second conference nationally with a team in each of the four time zones in the continental United States. California, SMU and Stanford joining the ACC this summer provide the conference a presence in the Central and Pacific time zones and two major media markets.

The addition of SMU provides the ACC with the fifth largest media market nationally in the Dallas Metroplex and California and Stanford bring the 10th largest media market and two large fan bases in the Bay Area. Salt Lake City is the 27th largest media market nationally and growing.

Per Eric Olson of the Associated Press on Friday "The ACC saw the most significant increase, going from $617 million in 2021-22 to $707 million...The Big 12 was fifth at $510.7 million." which ranked third among Power Five conferences in the 2022-23 school year.

Per Olson "Each ACC school received between $43.3 million and $46.9 million...Big 12 schools received distributions ranging from $43.8 million to $48.2 million." The Pac 12 was fourth with revenue at $603.9 million. Pac 12 members received $33.6 in revenue down from $36 million in 2021-22 per Olson.

Any agreement between the ACC and Utah would likely be based on several contingencies. Cal, SMU and Stanford agreed to waive a hefty portion of their television revenue generated by adding teams. SMU will not take TV revenue for nine years per ESPN. Cal and Stanford will initially receive 30 percent shares of TV revenue.

The expansion of the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams after the 2023 season will provide the Big 10 and SEC with a 29 percent payout. The ACC will receive 17 percent of the CFP revenue and the Big XII 15 percent. Utah will have to consider the stability of the ACC versus the Big XII in the future.

With Clemson and Florida State suing the ACC, their long-term future in the conference seems unlikely. Utah could not replace the interest in the ACC generated by Clemson or Florida State. The Utes are a competitive athletic department across the board and would be a good addition to the ACC.