The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) saw a massive expansion on Friday, as they added Stanford, California and SMU into the fold. That gives the conference 18 athletic departments and 17 football programs (Notre Dame is part of the conference for non-football teams).
The expansion also increases the ACC territory. They now stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and all the way down into Texas.
While that sort of range is good in principle, it does come with some potential pitfalls. Among the biggest concerns is the increased travel and impact such distances will have on student-athletes and staff. Specifically, how it will affect their mental and physical well-being. But the ACC may have an idea in mind to alleviate some of the travel and prevent member schools from having to go all the way to the Bay Area to face Cal and Stanford.
“The ACC is really interested in using Dallas as a place where teams may come together to minimize the travel,” Cal Chancellor Carol Christ said Friday when talking about the conference moves, via Pete Thamel of ESPN.
Playing at a neutral site in Dallas would obviously cut down on coast-to-coast travel for some of the teams, but it would also eliminate homefield advantage and the atmosphere that comes with home crowds.
That’s a price the ACC will likely have to pay for expanding across the country.
