Stanford and California’s move to the ACC is apparently on life support after they came up one vote short of the required 12 on Wednesday night. Four of the 15 conference member schools voted against them.
During the president’s meeting, Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and North Carolina State all reportedly opposed the two-program expansion. That should come as little surprise as both Clemson and FSU have been very public about wanting a larger revenue share from the conference.
The four ACC schools that opposed the additions of Stanford and Cal at the Wed. night presidents’ meeting were Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and North Carolina State, source confirms to @TheAthletic. Would need to flip one of the four to get to 12 yes votes out of 15.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) August 11, 2023
But Stanford and Cal haven’t met their official demise quite yet.
Although the odds are long, if they can flip one of the four opposing programs, the conference could put the two-team expansion to a formal vote. Currently, there is no reported deadline for that to occur.
Still, that end seems unlikely.
“I would imagine that there’s not much more for them to discuss. I would think that the next item on the agenda is to make a decision,” a source told ESPN.
Unless one of the four opposing programs has a change of heart, Stanford and Cal will have to join fellow Pac-12 members Oregon State and Washington State in evaluating other alternatives. The American Athletic Conference and Mountain West could be options for all four schools in some combination. The Pac-12 could also attempt to add four new programs, returning them to FBS certification (minimum of eight programs).
Ultimately, the future remains uncertain for Stanford, California, the Pac-12 and even the ACC.
