If Coach Mike Krzyzewski had his way, the ACC would try to combine with another power basketball conference to really help the conference thrive. On his weekly SiriusXM show, Basketball and Beyond, Coach K suggested that the ACC should consider combining with the Big East to form a basketball megaconference centered around basketball.

The show featured a conversation with ESPN broadcast analyst (and Coach K’s son-in-law) Chris Spatola, and it centered around ways to help the ACC continue to thrive as a conference in the era of football-focused conference realignment. The ACC, which has traditionally focused on men’s basketball, is now in a position where they need to adapt to the changing college sports climate. Coach K thinks that a merger with the Big East would help increase the basketball profile for all involved:

The Big East currently has 11 teams: Butler, Connecticut, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova, and Xavier. Of those teams, only UConn plays football in the FBS subdivision (they are independent in football). Coach K even thinks a merger would help UConn on the football side by giving them a conference to participate in while also increasing the profile on the basketball side.

The question would be how it would work with the number of teams, with the ACC currently at 18 teams (in basketball) along with the Big East’s 11 schools. The ACC is figuring out how to remain a top tier conference and increase the TV revenue payouts, and they would have to figure out how merging with the Big East would increase the amount of money coming in. While a merger would add some big cities to the ACC’s footprint – New York City, DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati among them – the TV money is still centered around football and adding just UConn won’t move the needle there.

It’s a fascinating thought for the ACC, who has always hung its hat on being the best basketball conference. Would it add to the conference’s revenues in a significant way? That’s the debate.