Does Stanford and California Make Sense for ACC?
![Does Stanford and California Make Sense for ACC? Does Stanford and California Make Sense for ACC?](https://www.si.com/.image/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/MjAwMDAzMzQzNDQ2NzEzNDUy/acc-football-56.png)
When one discusses college football realignment, and specifically the Atlantic Coast Conference's porous options moving forward, finding teams that match geographical sense can be hard.
West Virginia, perhaps? That’s a stretch, but at least the Mountaineers are a Power 5 school. Connecticut at least makes some sense, especially for hoops.
Still, neither would be an ideal candidate. The money factor would not exactly explode for the always important folks that work at the major television networks like ESPN, CBS, etc. The lack of options places the ACC in a difficult position.
There are other schools that are already under consideration despite that point, assuming one believes what’s being reported regarding the ACC and conference commisioner Jim Phillips, amidst several people that are a part of discussions. That does not mean it's a good idea to just grab other schools across the United States either.
Numerous rumors on college site message boards and articles released from journalists across the country, Stanford and California are under consideration. Yes, two teams from the great San Francisco area – all the way across the United States – are allegedly being vetted as viable options for the ACC.
To be clear, the folks making the final decisions about these schools generally look at the cash. That being said, how in the world would adding the two schools in California make complete sense, or anything close to it?
The travel expenses for teams that are not men’s basketball and football, are they going to be profitable? Negative.
That same travel, is it going to be good for the student-athletes from an academic standpoint as they are worn out from constant flights? Definitely not. The list of awkward scenarios is pretty long actually. Here’s another key point, among several other options.
How many coaches are going to be happy adding even more travel to their schedules and seeing even less of their families?
Regardless of sport, college coaching holds extreme time demands anyway. Adding even more away time from loved ones, that point alone could keep at least some coaches from wanting to be at either of those San Francisco area schools.
Another way to think about stems from a mathematical point. If the Cardinal or Bears go play a girls volleyball game, a flight from San Francisco to Charlotte takes five hours. It’s 2,296 miles, one way. No ACC team resides in Charlotte, but it's a hub for numerous connecting flights that ACC teams sometimes use. Thus, that would not even be the end of the first leg of the overall trip.
For Stanford or California to go play a college football game, a flight from San Francisco down to Miami-Dade International Airport to play the Miami Hurricanes, that's 5.5 hours and 2,585 miles.
Before all these meetings continue, could someone please use some common sense? All the spreadsheets and data points among the talking heads to keep the ACC together via expansion, it’s just a logistical nightmare that causes other problems with finances, academics, and coaches.
Stanford and California to the ACC would be a poor decision by all parties involved.
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