2. North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina is a team that may surprise many on this list but it actually has a pretty decent chance to make the jump.
First and foremost, they are in the neighboring state to Clemson which makes their addition a geographical fit if both were to leave.
UNC football has been decent in the past few years since Mack Brown returned as head coach.
In his 3 seasons back, UNC has made a bowl game every year, most notably the Orange Bowl in 2020.
Having a big-time coach leading the way is a good sign for the program and would give the SEC some peace of mind knowing they wouldn’t be taking a program on a downward turn.
But the issue for UNC may not have anything to do with football. While they do have the geographical advantage, and their football program is progressing, will they sacrifice a basketball breakup with the ACC and Duke to go to the SEC?
Maybe. They’ll still have 15 non-conference games to schedule Duke during the college basketball season but a conference championship won’t be on the line anymore.
If you’re UNC, are you basing your whole decision on preserving your basketball program? No, because that’s not where the money is at.
And would you want to keep your basketball rivalry with Duke? Yea. And there are certainly ways to do that so it doesn’t become another casualty from conference realignment. But if it does fade away, it’s not the first and it certainly won’t be the last.
From the SEC’s perspective, adding the bluest of blue bloods in college basketball would be a no-brainer. And with their football program being decent, they would certainly be interested.
After all, the SEC has become a much better basketball conference in recent years so adding UNC just might work.