Former U.S. President George Bush and former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice are working to try and get both SMU and Stanford into the ACC, according to Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated.
The collapse of the Pac-12 started with both USC and UCLA announcing their decision to leave for the Big Ten in July 2022. Colorado started the leave this summer by announcing their decision to return to the Big 12, with Arizona, Arizona State and Utah choosing to join them shortly after. Oregon and Washington also decided to join the Big Ten with USC and UCLA, albeit, with a worse deal than than them.
Washington State, Oregon State, Cal and Stanford are the only four teams remaining in the Pac-12. This 2023-24 academic year is the last that the conference will have 12 members.
The ACC is the only Power 5 conference to not add or lose any teams, as the SEC will add Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 in 2024. There has been discussions of expansion with Cal and Stanford both heavily a part of them. SMU is also willing to put up a lot of money to join the ACC from the American conference.
“Those schools and a third aspiring member, SMU, have been enlisting “big guns” to lobby on their behalf,” Forde wrote. “Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been making calls on behalf of Stanford, as has internet innovator Jerry Yang. SMU, meanwhile, has enlisted former President George W. Bush, one source says.”
The ACC did not have enough votes to add Cal and Stanford into the ACC, as four schools opposed the expansion. Those schools are Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and North Carolina State.
The conference needs 12 of its 15 members to vote yes on bringing teams on. Without the 12 schools needed for support of the move, it is unlikely that there will be a formal vote on whether or not to expand the conference.
Pitt is reportedly in favor of bringing in both Cal and Stanford into the conference, with athletic director Heather Lyke largely in favor.
Time will tell whether bringing in George Bush and Rice will change the ACC schools view on opposing to expand, but it appears as if ACC and the potential for realignment has just begun.
ACC should tell Notre Dame if you want Stanford so bad then it’s time to make the full commitment.
Valid point made,if Notre Dame wants most sports in ACC then Football should join also.Most of their other sports bring nothing to ACC but football money would help solve some problems. Their football games would be missed ( they do bring in fans) but if they go to big 2020??? will not be missed as much people think
Bush and Rice are 2 corrupt uni-party members. If they’re pushing to get those schools in, then they have some deal made that benefits themselves as well. They’re not doing it because they like those schools. Force Notre Dame’s hand and make them fully join. If they won’t, then don’t allow any schools to schedule them. Same with the other conference schools, don’t add them to the schedule. Once they can only play Mac and sun belt teams maybe they’ll not be so greedy.