College football realignment: ACC looking at 3 schools again, per reports

The college football conference expansion rumor mill picks up again as insiders say the ACC is now considering the addition of three more schools

James Parks | Aug 23, 2023

College football realignment: ACC looking at 3 schools again, per reports /

Decision makers inside the ACC are now strongly considering the additions of Cal, Stanford, and SMU as possible members in the future in what could be the next major college football conference realignment move, according to multiple reports.

A group of ACC university presidents held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the potential financial ramifications of adding the three schools, including a plan to include considerable concessions from them that would be part of the move, meaning that any additions would likely not receive a full share of revenue right away.

That deal would include a plan that says SMU will not take any revenue from TV broadcasts for the first seven years of being members, while Cal and Stanford would receive a share smaller than other ACC members but equal to each other.

Expansion: What schools could move next?

ACC members carried out a straw poll in recent weeks about adding any new members with that vote falling one shy of the 75 percent threshold that would be required in a formal vote to make any additions to the conference.

More: Dubya, Condi Rice lobbying ACC in expansion diplomacy

Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina, and NC State were against the move. If one of those schools were to change their mind in an official decision, then the ACC would be able to go ahead with any prospective additions.

A move for Cal and Stanford would be a life-saver for both schools, which are looking for a solution in time for the 2024 season after watching the Pac-12 get decimated by the latest wave of conference realignment. Likewise for SMU, which has been looking for a way out of the Group of Five and into a major league.

No vote is expected to be called for unless the ACC is sure it has enough to approve. Whether they do remains to be seen, but the conference is looking into the matter once again with an apparent intention to expand at some point in the future.

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