Last week, Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould reported the conference is adding four Mountain West schools: Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State.
The conference still needs two more programs to qualify for full FBS conference status.
While many believe additional programs will come from the AAC, there’s been some scuttlebutt about new ACC members Cal and Stanford.
ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said he thinks it’s time for Stanford and Cal to come home.
“I’m thrilled to see it happen,” Wilbon said of the Pac-12 expanding.
“College football is tribal. It’s as tribal as anything, any sport on earth, and people want to see their rivalries and their teams play teams they are familiar with,” added Wilbon.
While I agree totally with Wilbon, Cal and Stanford aren’t going anywhere, conference-wise.
At least not now.
And why?
First and most importantly Cal and Stanford both signed the same media grant of rights that the current members of the ACC signed.
The GOR that runs through 2036.
That’s right, the exact GOR that Florida State and Clemson are suing to escape from.
Barring an unexpected court ruling in favor of FSU and Clemson, Cal and Stanford face the same exit fee as well as give up a sizable portion of their media rights to leave.
The cost wouldn’t be as much as the other two, since both Cal and Stanford agreed to receive a much smaller share of revenue the other ACC schools are getting.
But the exit fee is still extremely expensive.
The new Pac-? won’t be that much
The new Pac-? won’t be a reincarnation of the old “Pac-12 After Dark” come 2026, regardless of how many schools join the conference.
To start with, you have the old Pac-12 leftovers Washington State and Oregon State.
Adding the four Mountain West programs won’t be creating must-see TV, thus, not moving television ratings in the right direction.
Simply, the current Pac-? is the two schools no one wanted and the four members of the Mountain West most marketable.
Cal and Stanford have no reason to move
Despite receiving a smaller slice of pie, Cal and Stanford will earn significantly more from the ACC’s television deal than anything the new conference can hope for.
Initial thoughts are that the new Pac-? may go to a streaming platform.
Ugh.
Think Amazon NFL Thursday Night Football.
Both Cal and Stanford supporters are happy with early life in the ACC.
And the ACC, presently, should be giddy.
Cal has already scored one of the biggest football wins of the season for the conference, beating SEC foe Auburn 21-14 on Sept. 7.
Academically, the ACC is the better fit
As hard as this may be to believe, some schools still want to align with academic-like programs.
Cal and Stanford fit the academic profiles with those of Duke, Virginia and Georgia Tech, among others, than what’s being created out west.
The original intent of conference affiliations was to share academic resources and talent from each member school.
No one is kidding anyone; we know what’s it’s all about now.
But it’s nice to pretend.
Overall, the ACC offers a higher level of competition
In the three major sports, football, basketball and baseball, the ACC will provide a much greater level of competition.
That’s primarily the reason Cal and Stanford pounced on the opportunity the ACC provided upon the ending of the original Pac-12.
The talent-rich state of California provides recruits the opportunity to stay close to home, while playing against high-profile competitors in all three sports.
The old Pac-12 is history
While the Pac-12 and the Conference of Champions are history, and geography means nothing, the ACC is still a force.
The addition of Cal and Stanford is far more valuable to the ACC than the four Mountain West additions are to the Pac-12.
The ESPN deal is lagging for the conference, but the ACC Network is a money-maker for ESPN.
ESPN is not walking away from the ACC anytime soon.
Neither are Cal and Stanford.
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