The Pac-12 is now down to two remaining teams. After weeks of rumors, Cal and Stanford were finally voted into joining the ACC this morning.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!It’s final: ACC presidents have approved expansion to add Stanford, Cal and SMU, sources tell @YahooSports, ending a month-long saga into an issue that divided the league.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 1, 2023
The ACC will now be at 18 teams starting in 2024 with SMU also being voted in by the conference presidents to join the league today.The ACC becomes the latest super conference (based on quantity of teams).
“We are thrilled to welcome three world class institutions to the ACC, and we look forward to having them compete as part of our amazing league,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said.
The conference failed to vote in the schools last week after only getting 11 of the 12 needed votes (out of 15 schools including Notre Dame). However, multiple reports say that NC State flipped its vote to give them the necessary amount this morning.
Stanford and Cal will be taking reduced media rights revenue shares of around 30% in the ACC, according to Yahoo Sports.
This move is particularly big for Cal, who had a bleak athletic future if it could not find a new conference because of the over $400 million in debt the school has, mostly relating to stadium renovations.
Only Washington State and Oregon State remain in the Pac-12 now. The question stands: Do the schools look to add more teams to the Pac or bail for a non-Power Five conference such as the Mountain West?
The Pac-12 was already done as everyone knows it, but this move solidifies the conference’s demise even more.
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Brendan Mau is a college sports insider and general assignment reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
