Louisville football: 5 schools ACC should add through expansion

Kentucky

Current Conference: SEC

Yes, I know. It’s never going to happen. It’s far-fetched. I get it.

But, just appease me for a moment. Egos aside, is Kentucky moving to the ACC that bad of an idea? Is it truly that outlandish?

I 100 percent understand the money side of things. Playing in the SEC guarantees the Wildcats $10 million-plus a year more than the ACC can in TV contract rights alone.

Outside of the money side of things, playing in the best football conference year-in and year-out is a big-time plus for Kentucky. They get to keep coaches who can rest on their laurels while winning 6-8 games a year while reaping in the benefits of being part of the cool kids’ club. There’s the culture piece of this too. Kentucky is a founding member of the SEC, and to leave would be treasonous to some.

Money is everything. But contracts are negotiable. History aside, it makes WAY more sense for Kentucky to be in a conference like the ACC.

Kentucky is a name brand basketball school in a basketball state. It has built a reputation of having one of the better traditions in college basketball and having a ravenous, sometimes overzealous fanbase that is often obnoxious but always entertaining.

To Kentucky, football is a distant second. When the Cats have a good season every once in a while, fans will show up and be enthusiastic, but nationally they fail to move the needle. They always have been, and will, for the foreseeable future, be overshadowed by college football juggernauts in their conference.

In Lexington, it’s basketball first, everything else second.

That’s exactly what the ACC is building its brand off of. Yes, Clemson and Florida State hold three of the last seven national titles, but the rest of the conference has failed to move the needle over the last two decades. Louisville, Virginia Tech, and Miami have had their moments but ultimately have been middle of the pack power five squads.

With Kentucky in the mix, the conference could land its final brand that could help negotiate a new, more lucrative TV contract.

Save me the SEC tradition talks. Kentucky is one of the name brands in college basketball. By adding the Wildcats, the conference would boast Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Louisville. That’s four of the top six or seven programs in college basketball. Factor in Syracuse, Virginia, NC State, and Florida State, and you have a college basketball super conference.

No longer would Kentucky have to hear talk about weak non-conference schedules. No longer would their fans be subjected to 9 PM tips against Arkansas and Mississippi State and feel forced to care about insignificant basketball programs.

You’re not going to find me saying many nice things about Kentucky, so listen up. Here we go:

Kentucky deserves better than the SEC. Kentucky makes way more sense in the ACC.

Plus, as a Louisville fan, it’s time to consider the ramifications of having Kentucky on the schedule twice a year. You want to compete with Duke and North Carolina as the best rivalry in the country? If Kentucky heads to the ACC, the draw would be there to make that happen.

I understand the drawbacks, but a move to the ACC is more sensible than you might think. Kentucky knows it. They just don’t have the nerve to do it.