College football expansion: New school enters ACC's zone of interest

The next phase of college football realignment could involve the ACC and it might include the conference moving into the state of Texas

After another major reshuffling of the college football conference landscape that includes the movement of five Pac-12 schools to other leagues, the ACC is looking to get in on the action, as officials are targeting SMU as a potential candidate to add to the league, according to multiple reports.

A meeting of ACC presidents on Tuesday included discussions of the financial considerations for making additions to the conference.

SMU has emerged as a possible expansion candidate for several conferences owing to its ideal location in Dallas, a major media market, and in a state that has always been ground zero for some of the most talented high school players and one of the most competitive recruiting centers in the nation.

SMU officials have discussed potential alignment with reps from the Big 12, Pac-12, and ACC recently, although the Big 12 notably did not extend an invitation to the school during its most recent expansion project.

News of the ACC's possible interest in the Texas based school follows reports that the conference's athletic directors and university presidents are also meeting to discuss adding current Pac-12 members Cal and Stanford.

Where the ACC sits

If the ACC wants to add the two Pac-12 schools, they could have some competition, mostly from the Big Ten, whose officials have considered inviting both to its expanding conference, and are now in another expansionist mood after adding Oregon and Washington.

Some ACC members could be suspicious of adding more members, in particular those who are already concerned about there not being enough revenue to go around, unless the league can convince ESPN to re-negotiate their media rights.

Florida State's brass went as far as to say publicly that the school may have to consider leaving the ACC, citing lower revenue compared to the SEC and Big Ten, and is reportedly looking at raising private equity money to fund a possible exit.

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