Pac-12 Has Two Schools Remaining After ACC Officially Expands

Sep 1, 2023, 10:02 AM

ACC expansion turned westward adding Cal and Stanford from the Pac-12 and SMU in the AAC. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)

(Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)

BY MITCH HARPER

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY – The Pac-12 Conference is now down to two members after Friday’s latest round of expansion. This time, it was the ACC making moves.

The ACC held a vote with their league Chancellors and Presidents at 8 a.m. (EDT) to add the Pac-12’s Stanford and Cal, along with SMU from the American Athletic Conference.

The ACC welcomes Cal, SMU and Stanford to the league in 2024!

Read more: https://t.co/9vhMMdDCq1 pic.twitter.com/N2ugGLAert

— The ACC (@theACC) September 1, 2023

By adding Stanford, Cal, and SMU, the ACC will be up to 17 football teams for the 2024-25 academic year. The ACC will have 18 in Olympic sports, as Notre Dame is a full member in everything except football.

ACC expansion adds Cal, Stanford and SMU

“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,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. in a statement on Friday morning. “Throughout the evaluation process, the ACC Board of Directors, led by President Ryan, was deliberate in prioritizing the best possible athletic and academic experience for our student-athletes and in ensuring that the three universities would strengthen the league in all possible ways. Cal, SMU and Stanford will be terrific members of the ACC and we are proud to welcome their student-athletes, coaches, staff and entire campus community, alumni and fans.”

Pac-12 is down to the Pac-2

Meanwhile, the Pac-12 Conference is down to two members. Those two institutions are Oregon State and Washington State.

The top option for Oregon State and Washington State now appears to be joining the Mountain West Conference. Another Group of Five league, the American Athletic Conference, no longer seems to be an option. AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco announced that his league investigated institutions in the Pacific time zone but concluded the AAC would not look westward.

It has been a summer of upheaval for the Pac-12. The dominoes began falling when USC and UCLA bolted for the Big Ten last summer. Then, the move of Colorado to the Big 12 kicked things into overdrive, followed by the crushing blow of Oregon and Washington leaving for the Big Ten as well. Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah shortly after that followed Colorado to the Big 12.

Not a unanimous vote in ACC expansion

Three of the ACC’s 15 member institutions voted no on adding Cal, Stanford, and SMU. Those current ACC universities were Florida State, Clemson, and North Carolina.

3 no votes on ACC expansion: Clemson, FSU, North Carolina https://t.co/nFerqlIjli

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 1, 2023

ESPN reports that Cal, Stanford, and SMU will enter the ACC at a “significant discount.”

SMU will reportedly not have a media rights revenue share for their first nine years in the ACC.

In a press release announcing the move to the ACC, Cal Berkeley stated, “The university will receive a full share of all revenues, including media revenue while contributing back a portion of its media revenue to support and strengthen the conference and its current member institutions.”

SMU joins the ACC on July 1, 2024, while Cal and Stanford will officially move over on August 2, 2024.

ACC membership for the 2024-25 academic year

Boston College

Clemson

Duke

Florida State

Georgia Tech

Louisville

Miami

North Carolina

NC State

Pitt

Syracuse

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Notre Dame* (Everything but football)

Cal* (Joining in 2024)

Stanford* (Joining in 2024)

SMU* (Joining in 2024)

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X (Twitter) and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.