Think the ACC's pending "grant of rights" kills conference realignment in its tracks? Think again, apparently.
Per a report filed Monday evening from Omaha.com's Lee Barfknecht, several of his sports business connections don't necessarily think that the ACC's "grant of rights" cause means the silly season that is college conference reshuffling is dead to rights. As just about all national columnists who dared to proclaim as much Monday afternoon on Twitter were quickly reminded, lawyer's gonna lawyer.
While J.D.'s from Twitter University don't exactly care the same weight as those who've passed actual state bar examinations, you have to think that *some* highly paid attorneys out there would be willing to take up such a cause on behalf of a school looking to better themselves by trading conference affiliation, particularly at a time when it may become less and less commonplace.
Barfknecht went on to add, perhaps most interestingly of all, this nugget about the future of Big Ten realignment musical chairs:
As a sidenote, two sources have told The World-Herald that the Big Ten has done prior "homework" on Oklahoma, Kansas and Vanderbilt among other schools who might some day be expansion targets. The Big 12 grant-of-rights deal didn't stop a look-see for OU and KU.
Besides a legal challenge, the potential future TV money available could still make it profitable for a school to move.
So what do you take from all this? When the most powerful people in college athletics want something, there are ways to do it, regardless of the contracts and paperwork in place.
Barfknecht isn't even a West Virginia blogger either. Honest.