Quite frankly the other scenario is that the ACC can't get a network started anytime soon because FOX, YES, and Raycom refuse to sell the material they purchased for 7 years back in time to make one count. 2017 could easily become 2021. Tick Tock.

Let's assume that the SEC is able to make 40 million per team by 2017 and the ACCN is still 4 years away and the Big 10 is in the second year of new contract that pays them 42 million per school. How long before an ACC bumped up to maybe 24 million a year by 2017 crumbles under the pressure.

Pitt, Boston College, Syracuse, Virginia, Duke, and North Carolina would fill out the Big 10 in a wonderful fashion. They get a New York school, add Massachusetts to their footprint, gain a bigger portion of Pennsylvania and add North Carolina and Virginia to their footprint. If N.D. makes a tough choice to join them because of the company traveling with them then perhaps Duke gets left out.

That means the SEC becomes rock solid in the South. Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and either Louisville, Miami, or Duke round it out to 20.

Wake is out and at that point I have to believe the PACN caves into ESPN or FOX or both and picks up 8 of the Big 12 schools (everyone but T.C.U. and West Virginia). The P5 becomes the P4 and 65 shrinks to a very solid 60.

The tough luck for West Virginia is that it takes 12 to dissolve the ACC. With six going to the Big 10 and six going to the SEC they are odd man out. It takes 8 to dissolve the Big 12. Last in would be the first out there.

Why would the SEC take those schools now? 1.40 per subscription within their footprint. Now the profit becomes how much of your footprint can you saturate. F.S.U. Clemson, and Louisville would help saturate their states. N.C. State and Virginia Tech are new large markets at 1.40 per household. The question then becomes does Duke add enough in hoops, and whether Georgia Tech's viewership for football would add up to enough. Miami carries households outside of the footprint but not a great deal more of Florida than F.S.U. and the Gators can claim already.

West Virginia or a second Texas school would be nice, but I doubt we would move past 20, although if there was a conference that could justify it with some quality teams remaining it would be the SEC. (Miami, West Virginia, Duke, Georgia Tech would make for a nice 24.)