Stanford and Cal are extremely close to becoming members of ACC after Pac-12's collapse

Stanford and Cal are trending in the right direction to join the ACC

When the dust settled following a mass exodus from the Pac-12, left standing were just four programs.

Of those four programs, Stanford and Cal were viewed as the most likely to end up in another Power 5, but the issue was no one was sure which one. They appeared to have no interests in the Big 12, the Big Ten who they seemed to be perfect candidates for wasn't looking to expand at the time, leaving the ACC who made sense but not as much.

There was momentum in their favor that fizzled out, and pushes made by Notre Dame but it still seemed to not be enough. They were reportedly short by one vote to join the conference, meaning they and the conference would have to get creative to flip some votes. It appears based on reports, that they along with SMU may be trending in that direction.

As reported by Sports Illustrated's Richard Johnson, despite four schools being against due to revenue discrepancies there is now an avenue to solve that issue. Johnson broke down the payment for the new schools, and how it could become more attractive to the old ones. 

Stanford and Cal would come in earning a reduced share of the ACC’s annual roughly $35-40 million average total distribution—perhaps as little as 25% initially, according to sources—escalating over multiple years, according to a source. SMU, according to sources, would forego their share of the media distribution portion of that pot for multiple years and essentially come into the league earning only from non-media rights distributions such as bowl distribution payouts, College Football Playoff distributions and NCAA tournament units. The money all three new entrants would be forfeiting would then go into a pool to be doled out as part of a so-called “success initiative” that will distribute payouts to all ACC schools based on teams’ performance in postseason play in revenue sports.

Johnson also dove into the positives for everyone involved as Stanford and Cal will now have adequate competition for their Olympic sports rather than dropping down to the Mountain West or American, it gives Florida State and Clemson a chance to earn more money, and also allows for ESPN to have a piece of the West Coast action.

The presidents and athletic directors are set to meet Thursday, and there is growing confidence that it will come to a vote and pass eventually in the future.