SMU was among three programs that joined the expanding ACC on Friday. The Mustangs’ official switch from the AAC to the ACC will come on July 1, 2024.
“This is a transformational day for SMU. Becoming a member of the ACC will positively impact all aspects of the collegiate experience on the Hilltop and will raise SMU’s profile on a national level,” SMU president R. Gerald Turner said, via CNN.
With SMU now headed to the ACC, their head coach, Rhett Lashlee, couldn’t resist taking a shot at their long-time rivals, TCU.
“We’re the only school in the DFW Metroplex that’s in a top-3 conference in the country starting next year,” Lashlee said, via Matt Fortuna of The Inside Zone.
Lashlee’s comments came just hours after Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark made a bold statement of his own, calling the Big 12 the third-best conference.
“We are cemented at No. 3, and moving up,” Yormark said, via David Ubben of The Athletic.
Yormark didn’t appear to be taking a jab at anyone, but Lashlee most certainly was when he stated that the ACC was the third-best conference, behind the SEC and Big Ten, but ahead of the Big 12.
SMU will visit TCU on September 23.
