Report: Condoleezza Rice and George W. Bush lobbying for Stanford and SMU to get an ACC invite

Could the ACC expand and add more schools?

Jackson Caudell | Aug 16, 2023

Report: Condoleezza Rice and George W. Bush lobbying for Stanford and SMU to get an ACC invite /

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Conference realignment just got an unexpected twist this evening. According to a report from Ross Dellenger at Yahoo Sports, former President of the United States George W. Bush, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are "on a campaign to encourage ACC leaders to rethink their position on acquiring both Stanford and SMU, as well as Cal". Dellenger also reports that both Rice and Bush have communicated with ACC officials in pursuit of a membership invitation for the schools in which they are vested.

How are Condoleezza Rice & George Bush involved in the latest realignment?

Inside a last-minute lobbying effort for ACC leaders to expand, with details on the gridlock: the distribution of revenue.

“Hell, if I had Condi Rice in my camp, I’d use her too."https://t.co/q7kg33cAYX
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 16, 2023

Rice is a professor at Stanford, who also serves as the director of the school's Hoover Institute. Bush's wife, Laura, attended SMU and Bush is the former Governor of Texas.

It is unclear if these efforts by both Rice and Bush are going to have any effect on whether the schools can get the votes in order to be added.

According to a Sports Illustrated report from Pat Forde and Richard Johnson, the vote to add Cal and Stanford had stalled "one vote short" last week, and while league members have stopped short of declaring both school's addition to the league is off the table "it does not appear that will change".

Condoleezza Rice and George W. Bush are reportedly lobbying for Stanford and SMU to get an ACC invite :: Sanford Myers / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

To get into the conference, Cal and Stanford would need 12 of the 15 members to vote yes, and according to the report, the schools that remain opposed to adding them are Florida State, Clemson, NC State, and North Carolina. This would indicate that Georgia Tech is on board with adding both West Coast Schools, something that ESPN's Andrea Adelson mentioned in her latest report:

"What was certain was there were votes in favor of expansion (Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Louisville, Miami, Georgia Tech) and votes opposed (Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina) and swing votes in between. Another administrator thought enough of the 15 voting presidents would swing to yes and get the required 12 to approve expansion."

Notre Dame, despite not being a member in the conference in football, has been pushing for the conference to add Cal and Stanford and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick talked about why last week:

“The notion that two of the very best academic institutions in the world who also play D1 sports could be abandoned in this latest chapter of realignment is an indictment of college athletics.”

Last week, Dellenger broke the news about the conference looking to possibly add SMU. Dellenger says that scenarios where all three schools join the conference or just SMU are being considered.

I would assume that if those three schools (Cal, Stanford, and SMU) are added, a fourth would be to make it an even number of programs. Who that could be is anyone's guess but names could start to surface soon. I doubt it would be Notre Dame, as ACC commissioner Jim Phillips talked about adding the Fighting Irish to the conference in football at the ACC Media Days and he did not sound optimistic about that being a scenario:

"We've had a lot of conversations, let me put it bluntly, with Notre Dame, and they've been very clear. They value their independence, and I think they feel strongly that that will continue well into the future. If they ever have the desire of joining the conference, they know that we would welcome them with open arms, but I think -- I can't speak for Jack right now and Pete in the future or Father John, but I think it's been a healthy relationship both ways for the ACC and for Notre Dame. Their sports, other than football, I think have thrived in the ACC. I think they really enjoy the academic prowess that the ACC brings as well, but they've been pretty clear about their desire to stay independent. So I don't see that changing any time soon.

As of today, no ACC coaches have commented on the talks of potentially adding both schools specifically, but Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key did give his thoughts on realignment after practice earlier this month:

"To be honest, Mike told me at lunch, seriously. He said you might get a question about conference realignment and I said, what is going on? I had no clue. I was as shocked as anybody when he told me at lunch today. I don't know, ask me on Saturday, I might have time to think about it by then. I have not thought about it one bit. I am worried about Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech, and the ACC and that is really all I care about right now."

Here is what AllYellowJackets writer Matthew Kistner wrote last week when discussing Georgia Tech's options in the midst of conference realignment and who the ACC could add through expansion:

"With the primary members threatening to leave on the basis of poor revenue deals, the conference could strive for adding new teams to bolster better commercial interest and thus generate more revenue. Teams such as Notre Dame, West Virginia, Tulane, South Florida, East Carolina, Liberty, Ohio, Marshall, Appalachian State, Troy, or Memphis could make good additions in a geographical sense. Perhaps the ACC could even reach out to the remaining teams of the Pac-12 (or should I say Pac-4) to establish a western presence: California, Washington State, Oregon State, and Stanford.

The western move or poaching West Virginia from the Big 12 would garner the most revenue in my opinion as it would activate a new audience in the West for ACC football that could bring companies calling for television rights. West Virginia also brings its passionate fan base and rivalry with Pittsburgh that would spark interest of all fans. Unfortunately, all of these situations are a stretch for the ACC and more likely than not will not happen. Facing reality, the ACC is in a difficult bind and I am not too optimistic on the future of the conference."

Rice and Bush are influential voices, but will it be enough to sway the decision-makers in the ACC? I doubt it, but nothing in conference realignment should shock anyone anymore.

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