There are good reasons why the ACC would welcome Texas and why the Longhorns would consider joining the ACC.
What's in it for the ACC:
Attendance: Assuming in-league football schedules remain at the current eight games, four ACC teams would get visits from the Longhorns each season. For those four, the gate take would be a regular windfall.
Television revenue: Although Texas would keep its Longhorn Network ($15 million per year through the 2031-32 school year), the ACC would be able to use the addition of the school as leverage for getting more money from ESPN, which already has a 12-year deal with the league, reportedly worth $1.86 billion.
Bowl loot: The odds are solidly against the ACC landing a second big postseason bowl purse each season with its current lineup, but Texas would change that. At 10-2 - even 9-3 in some seasons - the Longhorns would be a popular choice for the top-dollar games.
Basketball: Not that the folks making decisions care a great deal, but Texas basketball is a long shot better than Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech, the past three ACC annexations.
Buzz: Texas football is always a hot topic. That was even the case last season, when Mack Brown's team finished with the school's first losing season since 1997.
Why Texas might want the ACC:
Image: For all of its missteps of late, the ACC still has a reasonably clean public image and would be an attractive academic partner for Texas.
TV markets: At least in theory, the ACC has direct access to television markets in Boston, Baltimore-D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Tampa-St. Petersburg and all of north Florida in addition to the Carolinas and Virginia.
Location: If it comes down to a decision between the ACC or the Pac-12 for Texas, the travel distances would essentially be a push. At one extreme, there's a potential flight to Boston but at the other, there's Seattle and Pullman, Wash.