First Super League?
November 9, 2026 - Over the summer a storm appeared on the horizon. It is called the “Protect College Sports Act.” The United States Congress is considering voting this act into law. However, this act has two provisions that are highly controversial.
The act would put a cap on the size of conferences at twenty schools. Proponents say this provision would stabilize college athletics and give it stability for many years. Opponents say it restricts fair trade for the conferences. Conferences would not be allow to better their situation by this restriction.
The second controversial provision will require any current Power Four conference member that wants to move to anther Power Four conference must first serve three years as an independent. This provision is designed to severely limit the number of schools that could financially afford to move to another conference.
Last month, University of Miami president Joe Echevarria came out publicly against the bill in a media interview. Mr. Echeriaria said Miami would seriously consider going independent, if needed. Echevarria was a clearly sending a message to congress and the NCAA power brokers that Miami would not be blocked out. Mr. Echevarria is the first university president to say this out loud.
That got us to thinking… how would independence happen?
Financial Impact…
There is the financial impact of leaving their current conference due to exit fees. financial impact will be tough for any university especially private schools like Miami. However, Miami has a very affluent alumni and thousands of fans all across the country. And there is our president, a former CEO of Deloitte, one of the worlds biggest accounting firms. We image Mr Echeria has many powerful financial ties able to work a solution for Miami and any other independent. For example, this may be a good use of equity capital.
Scheduling…
Then there is the scheduling issue, especially for the Olympic sports. However, the are rumors of discussions taking place with the Big East Conference, largely a basketball centric conference. If the number of independents grows, a scheduling agreement between the Big East and the independents could materialize for basketball and other sports.
Notre Dame and Connecticut are already there and successful. Schools considering independence could follow the Notre Dame model. Notre Dame is a member of the ACC Conference in all sports but football. The Irish and the ACC have a schedule agreement for five football games each year. That’s five schools on the football schedule every year. Miami and other independents could attempt to set up a similar scheduling agreement.
The ACC Seven…
A couple of years ago, there were reports that seven ACC schools were about to leave the conference over the media rights deal with ESPN and the exit fees that amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. That palace revolt resulted in a graduated exit fee structure. Who were those schools? It’s apparent FSU, Clemson, Miami and North Carolina were among this group. Another three ACC were said to be in that group. With Notre Dame and Connecticut, that would bring the number to nine potential schools.
Who are the other three ACC schools in the ACC Seven?
We do not have verifiable knowledge but we decided to take a guess. We feel the three MIGHT come from Duke, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Pittsburgh and SMU.
Are there other schools dissatisfied with their current conferences?
We think so. Here is our guess.
SMU…
The Mustangs are one of the newest members of the ACC and agreed to a smaller share of the pie for seven years as a condition of membership. How much loyalty does SMU have? They also have the financial ability (deep pockets) to deal with any ACC exit fees.
Texas Tech…
The first school on our board is Texas Tech. The Red Raiders recently clashed horns with the NCAA and the Big-12 recently. There is major bad blood with the Big-12. Texas Tech also has a major booster that is ready to financially support a move to independence.
LSU…
Like Texas Tech, the Tigers are still in a legal battle with their conference (SEC) and the NCAA. They have plenty of oil money. Would they consider independence? We suspect they would at least consider the route to independence.
Notre Dame
Connecticut
Florida State
Clemson
Miami
North Carolina
Duke
Virginia Tech/Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech/Louisville
SMU
Texas Tech
LSU
Major Football Brands:
Notre Dame
Miami
FSU
Clemson
LSU
Major Basketball Brands:
Duke
North Carolina
UConn
Major TV Markets:
New York
Chicago
Atlanta
Dallas
Miami
New Orleans
Research Triangle, NC
Timeline…
The above independence movement only begins if the PCSA is passed by the U.S. Congress. Schools would announce their conference departures before the Act becomes law and goes into effect.
If so, these schools form a new conference of twelve schools, if desired. Or they could remain independent if a profitable media rights deal materializes. Can you say NBC/Peacock or Amazon Prime or Fox/ FS-1?
BOTTOM LINE:
NCAA power conferences could become dinosaurs within the next ten years. The above schools could be the foundation of a new Super League, growing to as many as forty schools quickly.
If the NCAA, power brokers put pressure on these schools, then these schools could withdraw from the NCAA and form a new college athletic association.
A new Super League.
GO CANES!
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