There’s been a lot of pushback to the ACC’s reported pursuit of Cal, SMU and Stanford in the next round of expansion. But as you might imagine, money appears to be keeping the talks alive.
According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, the ACC is in line to receive an additional $72 million in added revenue from ESPN if it adds three more schools.
The money would explain why talks have continued among the ACC powers that be rather than being dead on arrival as so many people within the ACC schools have hoped.
Dellenger noted that a timeline for the final decision is “murky.” However, he asserted that confidence in a deal remains “high” with one source expecting that the expansion will pass.
ACC stands to make $72M in additional revenue from ESPN if it expands by three, sources tell @YahooSports.
Given $$ concessions from Cal, Stanford & SMU, a large portion (~$55M) would be distributed annually, likely via athletic-performance incentiveshttps://t.co/JBSAB4DG8g
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 23, 2023
A timeline on a decision remains murky, but one could be made as early as early next week. Confidence is high, even from those who voted against the measure 2 weeks ago.
Says one: “I think it passes.”
Presidents & ADs meet separately Thursday.https://t.co/JBSAB4DG8g
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 23, 2023
Stanford and Cal are in pretty dire need of a home beyond the 2023-24 school year. The Pac-12 will be losing eight teams after this season.
Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA are going to the Big Ten Conference; Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah are going to the Big 12 Conference.
Meanwhile, SMU is part of an American Athletic Conference that they might feel that they’ve outgrown.
The realignment hasn’t stopped and may not stop for another couple of weeks.