UNC System president, board could stop UNC, NC State from changing conferences

North Carolina or NC State won't be able to leave the ACC without approval from the UNC System president and its board of governors under a proposal to be considered by the board next week.

2024-01-19

The policy change would allow either the president or the board of governors to stop a conference change. It comes at a time when Florida State is challenging the conference in court and the biggest brands in college athletics are concentrating in two major conferences — the SEC and the Big Ten.

An initial draft of the policy change was first considered in October. It would have given the president "the opportunity to weigh in."

The current version gives the president and board explicit power to approve or thwart a move.

The proposal — a change to the "Policy on Intercollegiate Athletics" — is on the agenda for next week's Board of Governors' meeting in Raleigh. It will first be considered by the university governance committee.

Chancellors must give the UNC System president "advance notice prior to executing any agreement which would result in the constituent institution’s transfer, removal, or joining of an athletic conference association. The notice to the president shall include for the president’s approval or disapproval a financial plan related to the proposed action."

If the president approves the financial plan, the board would then get a chance to weigh in and could vote no.

"If the Board of Governors votes down the financial plan, the chancellor may not proceed with the proposed action unless the chancellor presents a new financial plan for the president’s approval or disapproval," according to the proposal.

What is the UNC System?

Peter Hans is the president of the UNC System, which oversees 16 public schools including ACC members UNC Chapel Hill and NC State. Current FBS schools App State, East Carolina and UNC Charlotte are also in the UNC System.

Charlotte changed conferences in July, moving from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference. App State and East Carolina changed conferences in 2014.

UNC and NC State are charter members of the ACC, which formed in 1953. In September, the ACC voted to add California, Stanford and SMU for the 2024-25 academic year as protection against defections.

The Board of Governors has 24 members, appointed by the NC House and Senate to staggered four-year terms. The Republican leaders of those chambers told WRAL in August that UNC and NC State should be conference foes.

"I really think Carolina and State ought to be in the same conference," said House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland. "I really think they ought to do that. And I think you’d have a lot of resistance to seeing them split off in different conferences."

Said Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham: "There is something about the rivalries that exist that i think would be damaged if we have the larger schools within North Carolina in different conferences. I would not like to see that happen. Whether or not that’s something that would be appropriate for the legislature to step in or not, I have not really thought about it that way."

The proposed changes to the policy would also require schools to provide grant of rights agreements, TV rights agreements and name, image and likeness contracts to the board if such agreements are "accessible to the constituent institution." Until recently, the ACC kept its grant of rights agreement in its office in Greensboro and member schools did not have a copy of it.