The Atlantic Coast Conference had its eyes on adding Stanford and Cal, as well as SMU with conference realignment being at the forefront of college athletics again.
After talks earlier in the week, the decision was made NOT to add the two Pac-12 programs and it killed any momentum on adding SMU. And now, a few days later we have the details on what happened.
Per Matt Norlander, four ACC teams voted against expansion leaving the decision one vote shy of happening. North Carolina, NC State, Florida State and Clemson were the four teams that voted against it with others being a ‘soft’ yes.
Can confirm report from @ByPatForde and @RJ_cfb: the four schools firmly against expanding the ACC w/ invites to Cal + Stanford are UNC, NC State, Florida State and Clemson, sources told @CBSSports. Per sources, a couple other schools may be soft-yeses, as to not rock the boat.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) August 11, 2023
The ACC needed 75% vote which is 12 of the 15 teams (Notre Dame included) to add the programs. Now, things technically could change and one of these teams may switch their minds but that’s doubtful.
It’s interesting to see the programs that did vote against it including Florida State who has been vocal about leaving. Clemson is another big-time football program that would likely leave if they could as well. Then there’s North Carolina who is a traditional basketball power and NC State which has had some recent success in football over the years.
For now, the expansion isn’t happening but as we’ve learned, things can change in a hurry with realignment.
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