Report: ACC reconsidering Cal, Stanford, SMU additions in conference expansion

The ACC is reportedly considering adding Cal, Stanford, and SMU yet again, per The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach. In the aftermath of conference realignment that is sending Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA to the Big Ten and Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Arizona State to the Big 12, the four remaining Pac-12 schools have been scrambling.

The ACC is also likely trying to head off a potential departure by Florida State, which has expressed interest in departing to join the SEC, by filling up a few extra slots. With new mega-conferences getting big TV deals, the ACC will also be looking to fill TV slots with plenty of games and markets to remain competitive.

The powers that be in the ACC had previously discussed adding Cal and Stanford to the conference, but a straw poll on conference expansion came up one vote short. Per Auerbach, SMU would not draw in media rights revenue if they joined the conference, and Cal and Stanford would have partial revenue, which would open up a bigger pool of money for the existing ACC programs.