The presidents and chancellors of schools in the ACC voted Friday (September 1) to admit Stanford, Cal, and SMU to the conference in 2024. This brings the east coast powerhouse to 18 full members, with 17 participating in football. However, the move also officially kills any hope that the Pac-12 brand would live on. Stanford and Cal were two of the four remaining Pac-12 members following a mass exodus earlier in the summer. While some discussions were had about rebuilding the Pac-12, it appears that the two prestigious colleges had other ideas. Previous votes had failed. However, NC State flipped their vote to support the move.
“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. Throughout the evaluation process, the ACC Board of Directors, led by [University of Virginia] President [James] 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,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement.
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Pac-12 Dies As ACC Grows
As mentioned, the move leaves the Pac-12 as the Pac-2 heading into 2024. The only teams left in the conference at the time of writing are Oregon State and Washington State. Those schools had been in talks with the AAC, also known as The American. However, per ESPN‘s Pete Thamel, those talks have broken down as a result of the news coming out of the ACC.
It’s the latest move towards collegiate football adopting a superconference model. The Big 10 and ACC will have 18 schools apiece in 2024. Meanwhile, the SEC and Big 12 will each have 16 schools from next year. If the two remaining Pac-12 schools join the nearest conference, the Mountain West, they will push league membership. All this comes as the collegiate football season kicks off in earnest over the next few days.
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