Report: ACC Considering Adding SMU

The Pitt Panthers' home conference is considering another western expansion candidate.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers could soon have a new, far-west-reaching neighbor in the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

According to a report from Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellinger, Pitt's conference home for nearly a decade, is considering SMU alongside Stanford and Cal as candidates for expansion as conference realignment continues to threaten the long-term viability of the ACC. 

The expansion conversation in the ACC goes beyond Stanford & Cal. A third school, SMU, is in consideration, sources tell @YahooSports.

Administrators are expected to review financial models of all scenarios: adding all three or only the Pac-12 two.https://t.co/MuCOc0wbmt

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 8, 2023

Dellinger reports that conference officials are exploring either adding all three schools or just two at meetings this week with league presidents. 

"For more than a year now, SMU has held various degrees of dialogue with several leagues in its pursuit to join a power league, including the Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC," Dellinger wrote. "A small private school, SMU resides in one of America’s most populous metro areas, Dallas, and in the heart of a talent-rich football state."

One of the key details that make SMU an attractive candidate is their openness to forgoing conference payouts for it's first several years in whatever new league they join - whether it be the Pac-12 or ACC. This would help avoid reducing the current ACC payouts to member schools, which is said to be a "non-starter" in expansion talks. 

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