Rumor: ESPN is fine letting the ACC die like the Pac-12 did

ESPN is reportedly "fine" with letting the ACC go the way of the Pac-12 according to longtime college football radio host Greg Swaim; who revealed that the ailing conference, like the Pac-12, would see its members disperse around the country for their next moves.

"It's now definitely appearing that ESPN is just fine with the ACC meeting the fate of the Pac-12 last year, with the various ACC membership schools going various directions," Swaim wrote.

In addition to reiterating that FSU and Clemson won't have a choice because the SEC and Big Ten don't want them, Swaim relayed the longstanding notion that UNC and UVA will have a home in the SEC because of their coveted TV markets.

"According to one of our Atlanta sources, the SEC would rather get into two states they don't presently have with UNC and UVA, and those two schools are also AAU accredited, which the SEC wouldn't mind adding as well," Swaim wrote.

ESPN, FOX, and CBS trying to elevate Big 12 to same level as SEC and Big Ten

The ACC having no backing from its broadcast rights carrier, ESPN, isn't shocking if Swaim's report about ESPN, FOX Sports, and CBS all hoping that the Big 12 becomes a Power 3 counterpart to the SEC and Big Ten is true.

"ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS and other CFB media partners are getting a lot of this realignment done behind the scenes, since they pay the bills," Swaim wrote. "From their actions it certainly appears they want three strong P3 conferences...instead of two, for now anyway."

The Big 12 built more momentum during the latest round of realignment by snagging a contender like Utah, a powerhouse brand like Colorado, and two sleeping giants in Arizona and ASU. It makes sense that they'd be getting preference over a conference that made desparate additions like Cal and Stanford just to not get left out of the realignment musical chairs.