This prediction is basically what I have mentioned several times....I think the ACC is dead. My guess is, we will be in the B1G.
5. Whether more realignment happens at the highest level will depend on a court in North Carolina. The schools at the Big East/Conference USA/Mountain West level will continue to play musical chairs because that's what they do, but we're talking about the big-money leagues here. The ACC sued Maryland in court in Guilford County to ensure the school will pay all of the league-mandated $50 million buyout before it leaves for the Big Ten. These liquidated damages clauses are notoriously difficult to enforce because the aggrieved party (the ACC) must prove it was actually damaged. (And considering ACC officials sang the praises of new 14th member Louisville less than a week after Maryland announced its move, proving that might be tough.)
This is why the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12 have Grant of Rights agreements that bind them together. Schools must pledge their television rights to the league for the length of their media deal. If a school leaves, the league retains the ability to sell the television rights for that school's home games. One former conference bigwig described the Grant of Rights this way recently: "It's like telling someone they can marry my wife, but I'm the only one allowed to sleep with her." Why didn't the ACC do that? Because all the schools wouldn't agree to it. In fact, Maryland and Florida State voted against the $50 million buyout. If that buyout isn't upheld or Maryland is allowed to negotiate it down to a much smaller number, then Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany will essentially have a green light to try to poach two more schools in large, untapped-by-the-Big Ten television markets. The fate of the ACC would be in Delany's hands. If he grabbed two ACC schools, the SEC likely would follow suit. If the Big 12 felt insecure about only having 10 members, it might also join the fray. If the buyout holds at $50 million, then the incentive for anyone else to leave drops considerably.
9. Florida State will be ... Nope. I promised I'd never say that again. The Seminoles still look to be the best in the ACC, but until they prove they can get through a season without choking against a lightly regarded conference foe, I've sworn that I won't tout them as contenders of any kind.