Forecasting anything five years from now is foolhardy, especially so in college athletics. Four years and 51 weeks ago, the entire world shut down and took March Madness with it, a traumatic turn that was widely predicted would force a new era of fiscal restraint in athletic departments. Since then, media-rights deals and salaries have continued to skyrocket, with conferences torn asunder for fun and profit—and even the athletes are now drinking from the money firehose. Restraint is for suckers, then and now.
So picturing what the Atlantic Coast Conference, or any other league, will look like five years hence is guesswork. But it sure seems like the ACC simultaneously kept itself together and signaled its 2030 breakup date Tuesday.
