College football realignment: ACC will explore adding 2 Pac-12 schools, per report

Where things stand in the ACC amid the latest phase of college football realignment

The aftermath of having five schools announce their intention to leave the Pac-12 leaves four remaining members scrambling to find a solution in time for next season and it looks like one option could now be on the table amid the ongoing college football realignment landscape.

ACC members will consider exploring the addition of both Stanford and Cal and will have two meetings on the subject over the next 24 hours, according to ESPN insider Pete Thamel. The first meeting will be hosted by ACC athletic directors, and the second by university presidents and chancellors across the conference. These meetings are considered "early exploratory discussions" on the subject.

Where the ACC sits

If the ACC wants to add the two 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.

There has been some credible talk in recent months that the ACC could merge or somehow partner with what's left of the Pac-12, although what that move would look like in detail is an open question now, since the mass exodus from the Pac.

What's left out west

The question of the four remaining Pac-12 members, the other two being Oregon State and Washington State, has been a hot topic around the sport since the historic defections of Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten and of Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah to the Big 12, with all five scheduled to leave next summer.

Of the four, Cal and Stanford appear to be the ones getting the most interest from around the country, as both reside in what remains a highly valuable media market in the San Francisco Bay Area, and play each other in a historic football rivalry, the Big Game, that has been played since 1892.

Stanford also consistently ranks at or near the top of annual athletic department evaluations and boasts an internationally prestigious alumni base. Before its decline in football in recent years, the Cardinal won three Pac-12 football championships (2012, 2013, 2015) and five of its last seven bowl games, including two Rose Bowls.

Cal ranks in the top 20 of US News and World Report's list of the best universities in the nation. Stanford is 4th, after Harvard and ahead of Yale.

(Thamel)

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