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Louisville football: 5 schools ACC should add through expansion

By Presley Meyer

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 12: Desmond Ridder #9 of the Cincinnati Bearcats throws a pass in the first quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 12: Desmond Ridder #9 of the Cincinnati Bearcats throws a pass in the first quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – JANUARY 12: In this handout photo provided by Disney Parks, University of Central Florida football players wave to fans at the Magic Kingdom park during a gala parade in their honor January 12, 2014 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The UCF football team finished the 2013 season ranked 10th in national polls following a Cinderella-story victory over the Baylor Bears in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on January 1, 2014. The Magic Kingdom is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Kent Phillips/Disney Parks via Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – JANUARY 12: In this handout photo provided by Disney Parks, University of Central Florida football players wave to fans at the Magic Kingdom park during a gala parade in their honor January 12, 2014 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The UCF football team finished the 2013 season ranked 10th in national polls following a Cinderella-story victory over the Baylor Bears in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on January 1, 2014. The Magic Kingdom is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Kent Phillips/Disney Parks via Getty Images) /

Central Florida

Current conference: AAC 

Maybe the loudest group of fans to come out of absolutely nowhere over the last decade is that of the University of Central Florida.

The Orlando-based mega school has been reaping the benefits of being in a fertile recruiting territory over the last few years, staking its claim as the next Boise State type of group of five power.

UCF won the 2014 Fiesta Bowl over No. 6 Baylor and then completed a perfect season with a victory over Auburn in the Peach Bowl in 2018.

Take it as you will, but the Knights are listed officially (kind of) as a 2017 national champion.

Central Florida also has had recent basketball success, most recently coming about as close as physically possible to beating the Zion Williamson-led Duke squad in the NCAA Tournament.

The Knights are solid across the board in all major sports, boast the only indoor football-only practice facility in the state of Florida, and the school is building a solid brand and following all around.

UCF has one of the largest undergraduate student bodies in the country with nearly 60,000 students on a yearly basis and has the 18th-largest TV market share in the country.

The ACC is going to go where the money leads, and in this case, UCF feels like a no-brainer as an addition to the conference.

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