ACC sets presidents meeting, AP source says, with potential Stanford, Cal, SMU expansion unresolved
Stanford wide receiver John Humphreys (5) is unable to catch a pass against Southern California defensive back Ceyair Wright (22), who was called for pass inference on the play, during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Stanford opens their season at Hawaii on Sept. 1. Credit: AP/Godofredo A. Vásquez
Atlantic Coast Conference university leaders are set to meet Friday morning as the league tries to come to a decision on expanding West with Stanford, California and SMU, a person with direct knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press.
It was unclear if the presidents will take a decisive vote on adding new members, said the person, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the conference and schools were not making internal discussions public.
The ACC has been weighing expansion for several weeks. The presidents and chancellors were scheduled to hold a call Monday night to delve into expansion, but the deadly shooting of a professor at the University of North Carolina led the conference to put its business on hold. ESPN first reported Friday's rescheduled call.
The presidents discussed adding schools three weeks ago but chose not to take a vote, knowing they likely didn't have 12 of the 15 votes necessary for approval. Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and North Carolina State have been against adding schools.
Since then, Commissioner Jim Phillips has been working on revenue distribution models that he hopes will bring consensus. Adding three schools would require ESPN to pay more in yearly media rights revenue to the ACC, but the new members would receive greatly reduced payments upon entry and slowly ramp up.
That means more revenue for current members, but how it is divvied up has been the sticking point.
The interest from the ACC — and the urgency from Stanford and Cal — increased after the Pac-12 was plundered by the Big Ten and Big 12 and left with just four schools committed beyond this year.
California head coach Justin Wilcox speaks at an NCAA college football Pac-12 media day Friday, July 21, 2023, in Las Vegas. California will have a completely new look in year seven under coach Justin Wilcox. With a new offensive coordinator who brought in a more wide-open, fast-paced scheme and about 50 new players from recruiting and the transfer portal, the Golden Bears will try to rebound following three straight losing seasons. Credit: AP/Lucas Peltier
The Northern California rivals have been scrambling to find a Power Five conference home for 2024-25 and beyond with the Pac-12 on the brink of extinction and only Washington State and Oregon State left to rebuild with.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com
