Report: ACC's pursuit of Cal, Stanford, SMU hits 'significant roadblocks'

As conference realignment dominated the college sports space once again, rumors and reports swirled about what the ACC might do to counter the Big Ten and Big 12. The Pac-12 was down to four teams, and two of them — Cal and Stanford — came up as potential targets for ACC expansion, as did SMU.

However, it appears those talks have stalled.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the ACC’s pursuit of Cal and Stanford “hit significant roadblocks” after the conference’s presidents met Wednesday night. The lack of value of the two programs was a potential reason for the breakdown, Thamel said.

In addition, the talks of SMU also “aren’t headed anywhere either,” according to Thamel. Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger also reported the presidents put off a vote as four schools pushed back. With 15 schools in the league, 12 votes are needed to approve expansion.

Why Cal and Stanford additions ‘did not make sense’ for the ACC

Cal and Stanford are caught in conference limbo amid the latest round of realignment. They are two of the so-called “Pac-4” teams that will remain from the Pac-12 after the 2023-24 school year. Eight teams are on their way out the door, six of which announced their departures in the last couple weeks.

That left Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State to figure out what to do. The ACC emerged as a potential destination for the Golden Bears and Cardinal earlier in the week, but Thamel said the value wasn’t there.

That lines up with what On3’s Eric Prisbell reported Wednesday morning as one TV source questioned how the ACC would benefit from such a move.

“Does not make sense to me,” the source said. “ESPN controls ACC. Why does ESPN want to ante up more money to make that happen? If they were to ante up more money, existing schools like Florida State would want more first. It makes sense for Stanford and Cal to have – or give the appearance of having – the conversation [with the ACC] because the alternatives don’t look great.”

How Cal, Stanford fit in to the conference realignment picture

The Pac-12’s nearly 14-month long media rights negotiations are at the eye of the realignment hurricane. Talks of a deal fell through last week after George Kliavkoff presented a streaming deal with Apple, and the Big Ten and Big 12 were waiting in the wings.

USC and UCLA were already on their way to the Big Ten in 2024 — they announced that last July. But Oregon and Washington announced their decisions to join them, making it an 18-team league after this year.

In late July, Colorado announced its return to the Big 12 as realignment picked up once again. Commissioner Brett Yormark acted quickly, immediately showing interest in Arizona, Prisbell previously reported. He not only got the Wildcats, but he also got Arizona State and Utah to leave the Pac-12 and take the Big 12 to 16 teams.

The Big 12 has 14 teams in 2023, but will lose Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC in 2024. The league already added BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to help offset those losses, but will now add four more Power 5 schools, as well.