Atlantic Coast Conference adds Cal, SMU, and Stanford

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This was set into motion when UCLA and USC joined the Big 10. I recall hearing that the Regents of the University of California wouldn’t approve it without UCLA kicking a portion of their revenue to Cal.

https://theacc.com/news/2023/9/1/ge...y-and-stanford-university-as-new-members.aspx
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The ACC Board of Directors voted today to formally admit the University of California, Berkeley (Cal), Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Stanford University to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Cal, SMU and Stanford will join the ACC as full members with full voting participation effective July 1, 2024 (SMU) and August 2, 2024 (Stanford and Cal). The decision followed the submission of letters of application from all three institutions.

The additions of Cal, SMU and Stanford enhance and strengthen the ACC academically, athletically and financially as well as create a true national conference that spans coast to coast. The incoming universities enrich the league’s competitiveness in all sports and further demonstrate the ACC’s commitment to broad-based programs for both women and men. More than 2,200 student-athletes from Cal, SMU and Stanford will join the nearly 10,000 current ACC student-athletes competing at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics.

“This is a significant day for the ACC as we welcome Cal, SMU and Stanford to this incredible conference,” said University of Virginia President James E. Ryan, chair of the ACC Board of Directors. “This expansion will enhance and strengthen the league now and in the future. We greatly appreciate the tireless efforts of Commissioner Jim Phillips throughout this entire process, especially his focus on minimizing travel burdens for student-athletes, and we are excited about the ACC’s collective future.”

“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. “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.”

“We are very pleased with the outcome, which will support the best interests of our student-athletes and aligns with Berkeley’s values,” said University of California-Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ. “We are confident that the ACC and its constituent institutions are an excellent match for our university and will provide an elite competitive context for our student-athletes in this changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics. I want to thank UC president Michael Drake, Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton, and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, for the partnership, hard work, and leadership that made this agreement possible.”

“This is a transformational day for SMU,” said President R. Gerald Turner. "Becoming a member of the ACC will positively impact all aspects of the collegiate experience on the Hilltop and will raise SMU’s profile on a national level. We want to thank everyone who has helped position SMU for this important moment. Joining the ACC is an historic milestone in our institution’s history, and the start of a new chapter in SMU Athletics.”

“Stanford welcomes the invitation extended by the ACC member universities, and we are excited to join them beginning in 2024,” said Stanford University President Richard P. Saller. “Student-athletes come to Stanford to pursue their highest academic and athletic potential, and joining the ACC gives us the ability to continue offering them that opportunity at a national level. We appreciate the dedicated efforts of Commissioner Jim Phillips and the leaders of the ACC member institutions to create this promising path forward.”

Cal, SMU and Stanford will begin competing in the ACC across their respective sponsored sports beginning in the 2024-2025 academic year. The ACC leads all Autonomy 5 conferences with 15 women’s sports offerings and no conference offers more than the league’s 28 total sponsored sports.

About University of California, Berkeley:
The University of California, Berkeley, is consistently rated the world’s top public university. The flagship of the 10-campus University of California system, it was chartered in 1868 with a mission to excel in teaching, research and public service. Enrolling more than 42,000 undergraduate and graduate students, the campus has more than 1,500 full-time and 500 part-time faculty members in more than 130 academic departments that offer more than 350 degree programs. The faculty's outstanding research achievements and scholarship so far have led to 26 Nobel Prizes, and an additional 35 Nobel Prizes have been won by alumni.

Cal Athletics is a broad-based NCAA Division I athletic department that sponsors 30 varsity sports and includes over 900 student-athletes. The department has approximately 300 staff members. Cal Athletics has produced 103 team national championships and 223 Olympic medals. Notable alums include Aaron Rodgers, Jason Kidd, Natalie Coughlin, Marshawn Lynch, Jaylen Brown, Layshia Clarendon and more.

About Southern Methodist University:
SMU is the nationally ranked global research university in the dynamic city of Dallas. SMU’s alumni, faculty and more than 12,000 students in eight degree-granting schools demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit as they lead change in their professions, communities and the world.

In the classroom and on the field, SMU Athletics is driving excellence and growth to be among the best athletics programs in the country. SMU brings the highest level of collegiate competition to Dallas, which was recently named the No. 1 city for sports business by the Sports Business Journal, and continues to build on recent success, with all 17 programs reaching the postseason and 15 programs winning conference championships since 2013. SMU is the only NCAA FBS program in Dallas, and has claimed nine overall national championships, almost 200 team conference championships, over 100 individual national championships, more than 150 NCAA top-10 finishes, nearly 2,000 All-American honors and over 150 Olympic appearances. Since 2013, SMU has invested over $250 million to develop and enhance championship-caliber facilities.

About Stanford University:
Stanford University, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a place of discovery, creativity, and innovation that is recognized internationally for excellence in teaching, research, and medical care. Stanford’s campus is home to seven schools, a distinguished faculty that includes 20 living Nobel laureates, and more than 7,700 undergraduates and 9,500 graduate students. Stanford’s Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation leads the nation with 134 NCAA team championships, has won the Women’s Capital One Cup four of the last six years, and has achieved the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup for 26 of the 29 possible seasons. Nearly 900 Cardinal student-athletes compete as members of 36 intercollegiate athletics teams.

About the Atlantic Coast Conference:
The Atlantic Coast Conference, now in its 71st year of competition and 15 members strong, has long enjoyed the reputation as one of the strongest and most competitive intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest continue to build upon the cornerstones on which the league was founded in 1953 with a consistent balance of academics, athletics and integrity. The ACC currently sponsors 28 NCAA sports – 15 for women and 13 for men – with member institutions located in 10 states. In August 2019, ESPN and the ACC partnered to launch ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports and league-wide original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow @accsports on Instagram and @theACC on Twitter and on Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).
 
As the saying goes, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. On a positive note, this could give us more motivation to finally make it back to San Francisco.
 
It's becoming laughable at this point..... Next thing they're going to say is they're making a brand new Conference for everyone and calling it the NCAA
 

It's becoming laughable at this point..... Next thing they're going to say is they're making a brand new Conference for everyone and calling it the NCAA
College football is destroying college sports. At this point, the most likely scenario is the Big10, SEC & the most desirable schools in other conferences will break away from the NCAA altogether. The big question is what will that do to the other sports.
 
Just waiting for the Pacific-2 Conference to finally dissolve at the end of the season. Washington State and Oregon State clearly have the least amount of cache of any of the previous Pac-12 members.
 
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The Atlantic Coast requirement went out the window a long time ago. That's not really the issue. The long distance travel for non-revenue sports could result in a financial burden for some schools in a conference that is already grossly underpaid compared to the BIG 10 & SEC.

Adding more schools also made it harder to get enough votes to dismantle the ACC in order to moved to another conference or renegotiate their contract. Admittedly, this affects some schools much more than others. For those who are most affected, it's not a good thing.
 
I really don't think this does anything for Cal and Stanford or the ACC except slap a bandaid over a leg sliced clean through. The reality is the ACC is in the same boat it was. The better programs will eventually be poached when the timing is right and the conference will be stuck with the Leavins. In fact that's the only advantage the Big12 had over the Pac12 and has over the ACC. The last of their prime targets to be poached were in fact poached.
 
I really don't think this does anything for Cal and Stanford or the ACC except slap a bandaid over a leg sliced clean through. The reality is the ACC is in the same boat it was. The better programs will eventually be poached when the timing is right and the conference will be stuck with the Leavins. In fact that's the only advantage the Big12 had over the Pac12 and has over the ACC. The last of their prime targets to be poached were in fact poached.
Exactly! As usual, the ACC was a day late & a dollar short with expansion. They'll end up losing the top three schools eventually, which will leave them with an even weaker conference.
 
They need to split the country in quarters and have leagues in each quarter. Then you can have divisions in each league.

Winners of the divisions (in any sport), go to league championships, which winners then go on to National
 
Exactly! As usual, the ACC was a day late & a dollar short with expansion. They'll end up losing the top three schools eventually, which will leave them with an even weaker conference.
Kind of like the Pac12 err um 2 with their TV negotiations. LOL well at least Fresno St. can get what they always wanted.... An invite to the Pac12. That's if it even exists.
 
A legal fight has been settled with Washington State and Oregon State vs the other 10 members. The 10 members leaving will forfeit a share of the revenue but won't be liable for any future liabilities. There's talk that the Pac-12 is being sued along with the NCAA, and this will give WSU and OSU that money that they might need for the legal fight.

The amount forfeited was not disclosed but likely is based on the $420 million in revenue the conference is expected to generate in the current competition year. If divided equally, a full share would be $35 million per school.​
(Estimates during the course of the legal process had pegged a reasonable forfeiture amount between $5 million and $10 million per school.)​
The second piece of the agreement — “specific guarantees against potential future liabilities” — is equally significant given that the conference faces a series of lawsuits and has expenses looming.​
The most daunting liability is an antitrust case against the NCAA that could carry billions in damages and features the Pac-12 as a named defendant.​
WSU and OSU were concerned about being left holding a nine-figure bill after the 10 schools had left the conference.​
 



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