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Clemson Football: 5 Schools we’d like to kick out of the ACC

Clemson Football wants to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference because there are a few athletic programs dragging down its value. It is a shame we can't just kick a few out.

By John Chancey

Sep 3, 2015; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; The ACC logo is painted on the field at BB&T Field home of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2015; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; The ACC logo is painted on the field at BB&T Field home of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports / Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
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Wake Forest Demon Deacons

I am going to admit that this one hurts. Wake Forest was the first place I saw a college football game. It was the first place I saw Clemson play football. Wake has a place in my heart.

I also like the underdogs, and the Deacons are a classic underdog. That is the root of the problem. Wake Forest is one of the smallest Power universities in NCAA Division 1. They have a small enrollment, which leads to a small alumni base.

Wake is an excellent school. Based on this study from 2022, they are the 11th best among the Power schools of the FBS. Their graduates are often well compensated for what they do, but that hasn’t translated into a school that can generate enough booster funds to catch up to the bigger schools of the ACC (which aren’t that big compared to the size of some of the schools in the Big Ten).

Academics just don’t bring much value when it comes to sports programs. Wake is 66th in attendance and 58th in viewership. Those numbers hurt the value of the athletics program and make Wake Forest one of the schools dragging down the value of the conference as a whole.

NEXT: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

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