The ACC is the latest conference to add new schools amid a major college sports shakeup.
ACC officials met on Friday morning and approved the addition of three new schools — Stanford, Cal and SMU. The three new members will join the conference for the 2024-25 school year, giving the ACC a total of 18 members.
In order to approve the expansion, the ACC needed votes from 12 of its 15 current members. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, four schools — Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and NC State — dissented in a stroll poll that was taken last month. NC State then flipped on Friday and voted to approve, resulting in the expansion passing 12-3.
The ACC has now officially joined the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC in adding new schools. The Big Ten will soon have 18 teams while the Big 12 and SEC each have 16.
There is likely one main reason most members of the ACC agreed that expansion was the best route for the conference.
With Cal and Stanford joining the ACC, Washington State and Oregon State are the only two teams remaining in the Pac-12. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are all leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12. USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will join the Big Ten.
