Social media was buzzing over Clemson, Florida State, UNC and Virginia allegedly fleeing the ACC for the SEC but the notion was quickly shot down.
The college football, college basketball, and college sports world at large have been turned on its head in recent weeks, starting with USC and UCLA bolting for the Big Ten. That launched a firestorm of subsequent rumors about other programs, from the Pac-12 and otherwise, that could be the next to switch conferences (or, in Notre Dame’s case, join a conference for football).
Due to that, it was only a matter of time before some bogus rumors or a joke taken seriously started to get out of hand. And that’s exactly what happened on Thursday, or so it seems.
Early on Thursday, a tweet started going viral that ACC stalwarts Clemson, Florida State, UNC and Virginia were “negotiating” a move to the SEC and that the TV deal with ESPN was possibly going to be voided.
Naturally, that sent social media into a bit of fervor.
Clemson, Florida State, UNC and Virginia aren’t joining the SEC
However, CBS Sports insider Barrett Sallee — seemingly annoyed that he even had to address this — shone some light on the situation by stating the obvious: This isn’t a real thing.
Given the current conference realignment climate, it’s understandable as to why fans of college sports would be quick to believe something like this when they see it. However, just an ounce of thought could’ve led you to the conclusion that this wasn’t going to happen.
Perhaps the biggest clue was that UNC and Duke were not included in the “rumor”. If either school were on the move in terms of a conference, they would almost surely be a package deal given the value that the rivalry between the programs in virtually every sport represents.
So let this be a lesson: Even in tumultuous times for college sports, don’t believe the first thing you see. And maybe, just maybe, think about something like this for a second before jumping to conclusions that it’s the truth.
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