Report: ACC Restarts Expansion Talks

The home conference of the Pitt Panthers is considering expansion again.

PITTSBURGH -- The home conference of the Pitt Panthers is considering expansion again after talks that have started and stalled all summer. 

The ACC adding Stanford, Cal and SMU as distant neighbors to the Panthers in the league is "again under serious consideration," according to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel, who claims "a small group of ACC presidents" met to discuss financial models. 

Sources: The potential additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU to the ACC are again under serious consideration by the ACC. A small group of ACC presidents met Wednesday morning to discuss financial models that would come with the additions.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 23, 2023

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Michael Silver later reported that adding Cal and Stanford would be for football and basketball only, with "economic survival" as the goal. 

Long-time rivals Cal and Stanford would come as a package deal from the rubble of the Pac-12 after Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State opted to follow in USC and UCLA's footsteps and exit for either the Big 12 or Big 10 this summer. 

SMU, currently a member of the American Athletic Conference, has been a late addition to these talks. Some reports from earlier this summer claimed the Mustangs would be willing to forgo revenue from the conference from several years if they join, with donors lined up ready to make up the difference. 

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