Getty Image / Bob Kupbens
Stanford and Cal had high hopes of finding a new home in the ACC, following the two schools being left in the PAC 12 in last week’s massive conference realignment. But, that looks less likely.
The ACC Presidents have been meeting in the last few days to explore potentially adding Stanford, Cal, and maybe even SMU. But, their meeting on Wednesday night could prove to be decisive against those efforts.
Sources: ACC Presidents met tonight and the pursuit of Stanford and Cal for conference membership has “hit significant roadblocks.” There’d always been long odds because there wasn’t ever a significant value add.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 10, 2023
Here is Pete Thamel and ESPN with more details .
After ACC presidents met Wednesday night, the pursuit of Cal and Stanford for conference membership “hit significant roadblocks,” sources told ESPN.
No vote was taken, but conversations about expansion among the league presidents are expected to continue as they wrestle with the best way to position the league into the future, sources said.
Talks about Cal and Stanford picked up after the Pac-12 broke apart last week, but there had always been long odds the schools would join the conference because there is not a significant financial value add. For a league that is staring at a looming revenue gap with the SEC and Big Ten that could reach $30 million annually, adding revenue must be a major factor for consideration.
It continued…
By Wednesday evening, however, it became clear there were not enough presidents willing to say yes to even take a vote. With 15 schools of various sizes and different interests, there was not enough to coalesce around one plan. The potential of programs leaving has the more entrenched schools within the league pondering what the next iteration of the ACC could look like, making unanimity nearly impossible to reach within the room. For the ACC to vote in Cal and Stanford, it would require the approval of three-fourths of the conference’s presidents/chancellors, which means 12 of the 15 schools.
Of course, the ACC not expanding could have repercussions for other teams, namely Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams are the other two teams that remain in the PAC 12 after the last two weeks saw six teams leave the conference for the Big Ten or Big 12.