ACC to have early discussions on potential addition of Cal, Stanford: Sources
By
Nicole Auerbach
20m ago
35
The ACC is in early stages of exploring the idea of adding
Stanford and Cal as league members, two league sources confirmed to
The Athletic. The sources stressed that they are in an information-gathering stage and that they couldn’t predict where it would end up.
ACC athletic directors, as well as the league’s presidents, are scheduled to meet in the next 24 hours.
As of now, it is not yet clear how the potential additions would work or what their share of ACC revenue would be. The league currently splits its revenue equally among all members.
Florida State and
Clemson have been among those asking for an unequal revenue model, believing that they bring in more value and deserve more than their peers.
Two weeks ago, after
Colorado left the Pac-12 for the Big 12, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told ESPN that he was open to expansion. The two league sources told
The Athletic that the ACC had conversations about potentially adding then-Pac-12 members last week before
Oregon and
Washington bolted to the Big Ten. No offers were made, one source said.
Though there are some within the ACC that are open to exploring these potential additions, others don’t think the two schools would bring enough value to the league to make it work. Even if they were to come in with reduced shares, is that enough to offset the increased travel costs for all? These are questions that would need to be answered.