The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has made a decision regarding expansion after a month of discussions. The conference announced on Friday that Stanford, Cal, and SMU will become new members in the 2024-25 school year. The financial agreements played a crucial role in the approval, with SMU agreeing to accept no ACC media rights revenue for nine years and Stanford and Cal willing to join as partial members receiving reduced revenue initially. These terms convinced the current ACC members to vote in favor of the expansion.
With the addition of these three schools, the ACC now has members on both the East and West Coasts, joining the Big Ten as the only power conferences with such geographical diversity. This is the first time the ACC has added new members since Louisville joined in 2014. The invitations extended by the ACC are significant for Cal and Stanford, as their options were limited after six Pac-12 schools left the league this summer. Despite the uncertain nature of the process in recent weeks, the two schools maintained hope for joining the ACC.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips presented various financial models to achieve the necessary votes, engaging in conversations with the dissenters to address their concerns. However, a statement released by the chair and vice chair of the UNC Board of Trustees expressed opposition to expansion due to the significant travel distances and income disparity. Other administrators believed the statement was intended to pressure UNC chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz not to change his vote. Ultimately, UNC and NC State did not vote together, with NC State flipping to support expansion while UNC voted against it.
The financial agreements between the ACC and the new members accounted for the additional travel costs associated with adding schools in California and Texas. To ensure no decrease in revenue distributed to current ACC members, the ACC’s long-term deal with ESPN stipulates a full pro-rata share for any new members. SMU’s willingness to forego media rights revenue for nine years and Stanford and Cal taking reduced shares will create a pool of over $50 million in new money to be distributed among current members starting in 2024-25. Cal and Stanford’s shares will escalate annually until they reach full membership.
This new pool of money is expected to be used to reward schools for on-field performance, closing the financial gap with peer conferences like the SEC and Big Ten. Incentives tied to football, conference championships, and College Football Playoff participation may total $10 million for schools achieving all benchmarks in a year. Cal, Stanford, and SMU will sign the ACC’s grant of rights, securing their participation until 2036 while still receiving other league revenue tied to the CFP and NCAA tournament.
The expansion of the ACC to include Stanford, Cal, and SMU is a surprising move for a conference that originated in North Carolina. Multiple league sources believe the addition of these prestigious academic institutions strengthens the ACC’s position and creates a backup plan in case current members decide to leave in the future. Despite concerns about travel, Stanford expects minimal scheduling impacts for most of its sports, particularly on weekends. SMU President R. Gerald Turner called the move a historic milestone for the institution, signaling an exciting time for SMU Athletics.
The ACC’s decision to expand comes in the wake of other power conferences experiencing changes due to the recent departures of Pac-12 schools to other conferences. The ACC’s additions represent one of the final ripples from the chaos that ensued on August 4th.
