The Green Wave is a team to watch if the college sports bill's 20-team cap is put into law.
There's lots of uncertainty surrounding the future of college athletics, and the Tulane Green Wave has been lumped into realignment discussions for quite some time.
In the latest projection by On3 college sports reporter Wilson Alexander, the Green Wave is slated as a possible addition to the Power Four ACC. This would be a massive boost for Tulane, if it actually came to fruition.
Of course, this all hinges on an amendment within the Protect College Sports Act that proposes a 20-team cap for conference realignment. The US Senate passed the bill on September 28th by a vote of 77-22, and the House of Representatives is set to vote on it soon. The House could choose to pass the bill as it is currently written and send it towards the executive branch, or it could add some amendments of its own that require more voting and discussions to ensure that both chambers agree with the final act. Either way, the bill is far from a done deal.
The Green Wave is not the only American Conference team that Alexander projects to make the move to the ACC: the Army Black Knights, Navy Midshipmen, Memphis Tigers and South Florida Bulls are all fellow teams to watch.
This is far from the first time that Tulane has been linked to a potential Power Four realignment, with many suggesting that the ACC could be a great fit. Though the Olive Green and Sky Blue has had a tough start to its football season and struggled tremendously in basketball and baseball this past year, the university would be a valuable addition to the conference from an academic standpoint, and many of its athletic programs are historically successful. The ACC would look far beyond just the "big three" sports when making such a monumental decision to bring in new members, and the university's growing brand, academic reputation and prime location are all things that decision-makers will keep in mind.
On the other hand, it's ultimately a high-risk, high-reward scenario for the Green Wave... if it even happens. The level of competition would be significantly tougher in the ACC, and if things started going south for any programs within Tulane's athletic department, there would be no room for complacency. The department would have to be aggressive in improving programs when necessary, whether that be by moving on from struggling coaches, boosting NIL campaigns or revamping the culture surrounding teams.
The benefits of joining a Power Four conference, however, would undoubtedly be worth it for Tulane, as the realignment would bring in more national exposure and revenue to a private university with limited athletics funding. It's hard to turn down something like that to stay in a smaller conference that is often overlooked.
Once again, will any of this actually happen? Only time will tell, but the Green Wave repeatedly being mentioned in realignment talks is a good sign.
