It sounds like expansion in the Atlantic Coast Conference is happening.
Just a few weeks after the conference fell one vote short of adding Stanford and Cal in expansion, with four teams voting no, multiple reports on Wednesday suggest that a deal is being finalized to add those programs as well as SMU.
Mike Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the ACC is in the process of adding Cal, Stanford, and SMU to join in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. The report comes minutes after Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported that the conference is closer than it has been at any point in adding three schools with a deal potentially coming before the weekend:
Sources told @TheAthletic today they believe the ACC is closer to adding the three schools than it has been at any point this month, and that a final decision could be made by the weekend.
Here's where things stand with the ACC and Stanford/Cal/SMU: https://t.co/qbZVNERpEv
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) August 23, 2023
I'm told Cal, Stanford and SMU are in the process of finalizing a deal to join the ACC in football, men's basketball and women's basketball… @sfchronicle @SportingGreenSF
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) August 23, 2023
With things moving fast, it could be announced at any time as the college football season is set to kick off on Saturday.
The ACC has stood pat so far watching the Big Ten land Oregon and Washington this year while the Big 12 added Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. The plan for the ACC was to expand and not see members leave as they try to challenge other conferences in terms of revenue.
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