The realignment wheel will keep spinning for awhile.
What started with Colorado’s departure for the Big 12 is going to continue for several more shuffles until the full chessboard has been significantly reshaped. The latest possibility: Stanford and Cal to the ACC.
Pete Thamel of ESPN reported on Monday afternoon the ACC will have exploratory conversations about possibly inviting Stanford and Cal. These are just explorations, not negotiations, a distinction we always have to make when discussing realignment news, rumors and machinations. Any two entities can talk; negotiating is a different and advanced step in the sequence. We’re not yet there with the ACC and the Bay Area schools that are left from the Pac-12.
Nevertheless, this is definitely a significant story we have to keep our eyes on. There are obvious reasons why the ACC would do this, and there are obvious implications for the other conferences involved in realignment. There’s also a lot to say about Stanford, the Mountain West, Oregon State, Washington State and more.
Here we go: