Pete Thamel updates next step in ACC realignment discussions involving Cal, Stanford and SMU

ACC school presidents were set to meet Monday night to discuss potentially adding Cal, Stanford and SMU to the league. However, that meeting was put on hold after an on-campus shooting at North Carolina on Monday.

That meeting remains on hold, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The college football insider shared the latest on the ACC possibly expanding on College Football Live Tuesday afternoon.

“The tragic shooting at the University of North Carolina has muted those conversations a bit in the ACC and put any decision in a bit of a holding pattern out of respect for the leadership at North Carolina,” Thamel said.

It has seemed over the past week that momentum is growing for SMU, Cal and Stanford to join the ACC. However, Thamel said Tuesday that he is uncertain which way the votes will go.

“Things are about where they were mid Monday afternoon when the vote was scheduled. There are still four dissenting votes from the earlier straw poll a few weeks back, and there’s no clear view… heading into Monday there wasn’t, anyway, of whether one of those four votes would flip and allow the three teams – Cal, Stanford and SMU – to enter the league,” Thamel said.

In order for the ACC to add the three teams, it needs 12 of the 15 votes. Thus far, only 11 schools have said yes, with Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and NC State voting no.

The ACC season gets underway Thursday night with Wake Forest hosting Elon and NC State facing off against UConn. The ACC football season may start later this week before this is all settled.

“Commissioner Jim Phillips is going to go to Dallas for the CFP meetings Wednesday,” Thamel said. “The goal of the league heading into the week was a decision early in the week before football. That appears to be a bit muddled now, obviously, in the wake of the tragedy. And so we will continue to wait for the ACC.”

More on conference realignment and the ACC

The latest talk of conference realignment in college football has revolved around the ACC. While the Big Ten and SEC seem to be set heading into the 2024 season, three move teams could be on the move in the near future.

Cal and Stanford would be added from the soon-to-be non-existent Pac-12. If the ACC were to bring the two California-based schools into the equation, just Oregon State and Washington State would remain in the conference. The ACC is attracted to Cal and Stanford for multiple different reasons but the academic side is a huge bonus. Of course, finances play a role, as well.