UNC Soccer Coach Would Like to See Cal, Stanford 'Die on the Vine'

Tar Heels women’s coach Anson Dorrance says cross-country trips would cause Cal and Stanford athletes to flunk out if they joined the ACC. He offered a statement Wednesday to clarify those comments

Women’s soccer does not carry the weight of football or basketball in the debate about whether the Atlantic Coast Conference should add Cal and Stanford to its conference. But North Carolina has one of the best women’s soccer programs in the country, and it’s interesting to hear how vehemently Tar Heels women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance is against adding Cal and Stanford to the ACC.

He said recently he hopes Stanford and Cal “die on the vine” rather than be added to the ACC, and in another interview he claimed – perhaps facetiously – that the cross-country air travel would mean “They’ll all funk out after one semester.”

---Dorrance provided a statement to "clarify" his comments that appear in this story. That statement, issued Wednesday, appears at the end of this report---

There still has been no official word on whether the ACC will approve the bid of Stanford and Cal to join the ACC, and whether one of the four schools against adding Cal and Stanford – Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and North Carolina State – might change its mind, giving Stanford and Cal the one additional vote it needs for approval. Rumors have been flying that something could change, but the ACC presidents’ meeting scheduled for Tuesday reportedly has been canceled.

ACC presidents' regularly scheduled call today was canceled (not an unusual occurrence). Carry on.

— Brian Murphy (@murphsturph) August 22, 2023

Dorrance made several noteworthy statements in an interview below with WRAL Sports Fan.

First, his understanding is that ACC commissioner Jim Phillips is in favor of adding Stanford and Cal.

Second, he says adding Cal and Stanford would me “horrible for us.”

"No way I want to share the glory of our conference with two schools that could do a very good job of recruiting against us,” Dorrance said in the video above. “So basically I want Cal and Stanford to die on the vine.”

After No. 2-ranked North Carolina beat Cal 3-1 on August 20 in Chapel Hill, N.C., Dorrance was asked six minutes into the video below what he thought of the prospects of ACC expansion.

“We would hate it,” he said, “especially Stanford and Cal. They’re going to live on an airplane. They’ll all funk out of school after one semester, assuming they have certified academics. Of course, you never know. Maybe . .  the philosophy in the Ivy League is never flunk anyone out so their data looks really good, so who knows whether they’ll do it legitimately. But if you want to destroy someone’s academic progress have them fly across the country every weekend, and that’ll certainly compromise the academic standards for Stanford and Cal for their athletes.

“I don’t think it benefits them in any way, and we don’t need them. We’re the best women’s soccer conference in the country. Good luck to what remains of the Pac-12.” 

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Here is Dorrance's statement on Wednesday regarding his earlier comments:

"I have the utmost respect for Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. They are outstanding institutions with dedicated leaders, committed students and world-class soccer programs and coaches. I don’t think conference expansion is in the best interest of Carolina and the ACC at this time, and I trust and respect the decisions that Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips are making on behalf of Carolina and the ACC.”

Cover photo of Anson Dorrance by Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

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