SEC expansion?

There are also interesting questions in this expansion matter for the SEC. Despite their tremendous success in football, huge payouts from the BCS, and lucrative TV deal, they've been blown off thus far by schools in favor of the Big 10 and Pac 10 because of their low academic reputation. After the Texas schools (A&M is the only one that's shown any interest), their most obvious targets for expansion to a 16 team format similar to the coming Big and Pac behemoths are the Florida contingent of the ACC, Miami and Florida State, as well as North Carolina, Duke, UVA, and VA Tech. NC, Duke and UVA are likely not part of SEC for a reason, the same reason, in fact, that likely explains why Texas is uninterested in the SEC's overtures -- North Carolina, Virginia and Texas are the three most academically esteemed public universities in the Old South. Like the Texas 3, the Tar Heels and Blue Devils are likely a package deal as well as UVA and VA Tech.

It's an interesting point of the current state of conferences that none of the schools in Virginia and North Carolina belong to the SEC. In fact, every school in the ACC except Boston College is located in the South. Yet so far there is no discussion that I know of involving a mass flight from the ACC to the SEC. It seems more likely, in fact, that the ACC will become the 4 major conference by absorbing the Big East!

It's an interesting mimicry of political culture, where Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida have gradually become better educated and more alienated from the rest of the South.