By: Jonathan K. Martin | WV Sports Chat
As the college football landscape continues to shift in the ever-evolving world of conference realignment, a peculiar idea has surfaced on social media.
A post from Heartland College Sports highlights a suggestion in The Athletic’s mailbag: a potential trade of teams between the Big 12 and the ACC.
The proposal? Swap Stanford, Cal, and SMU from the ACC to the Big 12, while sending West Virginia, UCF, and Cincinnati in the opposite direction.
- Big 12 would receive: Stanford, Cal, and SMU
- ACC would receive: West Virginia, UCF, and Cincinnati
Is this a viable option, or merely a fanciful notion in the chaotic world of of realignment?
We took to social media to ask Mountaineer Nation – would you prefer to remain in the Big 12 or be traded to the ACC?
Traded to the ACC, in a heartbeat—if, and only if, when the ACC falls apart in 2030-31, West Virginia gains admission back into the Big 12 w/the others that get added.
— Carson 🦊 (@Carson_Fox27) July 5, 2025
Been in this position for 5 years now 🙄 Only avenue better would be the SEC.
We’d have traditional rivals but would we be respected like in the Big 12? Personally I’d choose the Big 12 since the ACC never wanted us to begin with and it would feel like we are the most hated of the conference.
— Dakota DeWitt (@realDakotaD12) July 5, 2025
Personally for me, the ACC revives a ton of rivalries. It is the only reason I'd love to be in that conference.
— Blizzy (@Blizzyboyo) July 6, 2025
I’d take a trade to the ACC. We need to play traditional rivals every year. Common sense.
— Justus (@wvjustus) July 5, 2025
Big 12 and without hesitation. Better football, basketball, and most years baseball. And more money. It would absolutely be a stupid move to the ACC with their unequal revenue sharing with Clemson and FSU.
— Arthur Strahin (@ArthurStrahin) July 5, 2025
You can see WV Sports Chat’s own Justin Walker give his take on this hypothetical trade. He talked about it on a recent episode of his YouTube channel, Couz’s Corner.