5. Duke/North Carolina
First, let me say that getting the Blue Devils and Tar Heels in the Big Ten wouldn’t be a horrible thing, and having their basketball teams would make the conference ridiculous. But that doesn’t mean they should go after them.
Let’s face it, these two would never leave the ACC. And even if they did consider it, there is no way they are going to leave without each other. Getting one of them and not the other would be splitting up Michigan and Ohio State. It just isn’t going to happen.
Rivals are usually great because they are in the same division. There are some that aren’t, like Iowa/Iowa State, Colorado/Colorado State, and Clemson/South Carolina. All of them are somewhat of rivals but it loses its luster because it doesn’t have conference implications around it.
The only rivalry that is about as good is Florida and Florida State, but even then if they were in the same conference it would make it even more intense.
So to get one you would have to get both and it would undoubtedly make it the best conference in the country in basketball. That is a good thing and a bad thing. I don’t think any team will shy away from a challenge, but the conference schedule would be a nightmare. Is it possible to make it too good? Because that is what would happen.
Again getting both of them would be a home run, but one that is so unrealistic it isn’t even worth going after.