ACC Presidents are scheduling a meeting tonight to talk about, or maybe even vote on, the additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU to the conference, according to Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde.
This new report also lines up with news that the conference will determine this week if they will expand or not. If there is expansion, the ACC presidents will also figure out the new money distribution with the incomers arriving next season. The additions to the conference also will likely make all the other ACC schools more money, according to another report. The ACC Presidents also had a meeting scheduled last week on expansion that they cancelled, which isn’t an unusual occurrence.
Conference realignment has been a large part of the college football landscape this summer, as teams have left and moved around the major conferences.
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.
Former U.S. President George Bush and former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice have both been instrumental in conference realignment. Bush has pushed SMU and Rice has pushed Stanford to try and join the ACC.
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick also spoke on his desires to add both Cal and Stanford to the conference in an interview with Dan Patrick last week.
The conference did not have enough votes to add Cal and Stanford, as four schools opposed the expansion. Those schools are Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and North Carolina State.
The ACC 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.
Stanford and Cal have both been part of these conversations in joining the ACC. Stanford also, reportedly, would agree to receive low or no media rights payouts in order to join the conference.
Yes to adding all three. And I would give consideration to UCONN as it would be an Atlantic Coast team and really tie down the NYC- New England market for the ACC.