Written by Brian Murphy, WRAL Sports’ investigative journalist.

Under a policy change approved by a board committee on Wednesday, any university within the UNC System, including UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State University, must obtain permission from the system president and board before making any changes to their athletic conferences.

Before it can take effect, the full 24-member Board of Governors must approve the change. On Wednesday, the University Governance committee gave their approval for the change.

The decision is a result of the ACC, headquartered in North Carolina and consisting of UNC, NC State, Duke, and Wake Forest, lagging behind other sports conferences in terms of earnings from media rights. The SEC and Big Ten have acquired the most prominent college football teams, leading some of the ACC’s top teams to consider joining one of these leagues for protection.

The integration of programs into different leagues will result in the Pac-12 having only two members.

UNC and NC State are charter members of the ACC, which was founded in 1953 in Greensboro. The league is now headquartered in Charlotte and hosts many of its championship events in North Carolina, including its annual football championship game in Charlotte. State lawmakers approved $15 million in incentives for the league in an effort to keep its headquarters in the state.

The Tar Heels are considered a strong contender for expansion in both the SEC and Midwest-based Big Ten conferences. These conferences will soon include schools from California, Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, and Maryland.

If UNC were to depart from the conference – potentially as a result of a larger departure – it could greatly impact the athletic income of NC State. Football powerhouse Florida State has taken legal action against the ACC, aiming to leave the conference without incurring significant financial penalties.

The proposal was not commented on by the athletic directors at UNC and NC State earlier this week. WRAL also contacted the chancellors of both universities.

The proposed process

According to the proposed revisions in the UNC System’s policy manual, chancellors are required to inform the UNC System president beforehand if they plan to enter into an agreement that would lead to a constituent institution leaving or joining an athletic conference association. The notification to the president must also include a financial plan for their approval or disapproval.

If the financial plan is approved by the president, the board would have an opportunity to give their input and potentially vote against it, preventing any changes in conference affiliation.

According to the proposal, if the Board of Governors rejects the financial plan, the chancellor cannot move forward with the proposed action unless they present a new financial plan for the president to approve or reject.

On Wednesday, the general counsel for the UNC System stated that the term “financial plan” is intended to be a broad term.

Andrew Tripp, the system’s senior vice president and general counsel, stated that the board may exercise discretion in determining the extent of funding for the change.

A previous iteration of the proposed change, which was covered by WRAL in October, granted the board and president increased oversight but did not allow them to veto conference decisions.

The Board of Governors consists of 24 individuals who are selected by the NC House and Senate to serve four-year terms that are staggered. Since 2011, the Republican party has held the majority in both chambers. In August, the leaders of the Republican party in each chamber expressed to WRAL that they believe UNC and NC State should continue to compete in the same conference.

The University of North Carolina (UNC) System consists of 16 public schools, such as App State, East Carolina, and Charlotte. These three schools, which compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), have switched conferences since 2014. Peter Hans holds the position of president within the UNC System.

Source: wralsportsfan.com