Clemson football: The best case-scenario for the ACC in expansion

Clemson football fans have had discussions ad nauseum over the course of the last couple of weeks pertaining to conference realignment and expansion.

Some Tiger fans believe that Clemson needs to leave the ACC at soon as humanly possible and join up with the SEC. Others believe the Tigers should stay in the ACC and that the conference doesn’t need to make any moves. Many others have opinions on what schools the ACC should add or what moves the conference could make to get better.

There are now numbers coming out from ESPN and other trusted outlets that estimate the SEC could be bringing in more than $70 million per year per school by the year 2026.

If that’s the case and the ACC remains around its current average, you would be talking about a financial hole of nearly $40 million dollars for Clemson football- and the entire athletic department- to overcome on a yearly basis.

We took a look at the worst case-scenarios for the ACC earlier and now we’re going to continue that discussion today by looking at the best case-scenarios.

The best case-scenarios for Clemson football and the ACC in conference realignment

1. Notre Dame joins the ACC

Notre Dame joining the ACC is where every single one of these discussions begin and its for a simple reason: The Irish bring in money and brand power.

The problem here is that Notre Dame has no incentive to join the ACC.

The Irish could make a little more money- an estimated $10 million to $20 million extra per year- but it would come at a cost of them swallowing their pride and joining a conference. They’re not hurting for money and they’ve got their own television network deal, so why would they do that?

Maybe the ACC has a way of coercing them into the league. Perhaps it involves ‘sweetening the pot’ in terms of revenue– and that might not be a good thing for Clemson football– or maybe a new CFB Playoff system finally changes the Irish’s mind.

Right now, though, all the best case-scenarios begin with the ACC finding a way to add Notre Dame.