SEC Football: 3 conference expansion candidates to poach from ACC

Miami

Another school in Florida that the SEC should be theoretically chomping at the bit to get in the mix in the near future is the Miami Hurricanes. Miami could finally be going through a revival phase for the entire athletic department in the 2020s.

Starting with the football program, former Oregon Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal will be looking to steer the ship in the right direction after the Canes saw mixed results on the gridiron over the last decade or so. Cristobal did get off to a rocky start at his alma mater last fall, missing out on bowl eligibility with just five wins during the regular season.

But Cristobal has Miami recruiting at a level necessary at the high school ranks and in the NCAA Transfer Portal to get the program back to the status of a title contender year in and year out.

Miami should be trending up on the gridiron starting this fall.

Moreover, the Miami basketball program also looks to be in a good spot to find sustained success heading into the future. Veteran head coach Jim Larranaga just led Miami to the Final Four appearance in program history. It’s also worth noting that Miami men’s hoops has made it to the NCAA Tournament 11 times since 1998.

Prior to 1998, Miami made it to the Big Dance just once over the course of roughly 50 years.

The combination of a strong and holistic athletic program with an attractive TV market in the Miami-Dade area in Florida makes Miami a pretty appealing target in this hypothetical round of conference expansion for the SEC.