ACC adds three schools in act of desperation as college football changes

SMU, Cal and Stanford come to the ACC in 2024, the league announced on Friday.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Sep 01 13:24:07 GMT-04:00 2023

Feeling desperate leads to acts of desperation, and that was borne out Friday morning when the Atlantic Coast Conference announced the addition of Cal, Stanford, and SMU.

So, who was desperate? The ACC and those three schools.

Let’s backtrack a second – the Pac-12 wasn’t as strong of a brand as other members of the Power 5 but has a tradition of winning, especially in Olympic sports. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff was hired because of his extensive experience in law and digital and broadcast media. He sent out a message last July 5 (2022) – that’s right, almost 14 months ago – saying that the league’s Board of Directors had permitted him to negotiate a new media rights agreement. That tweet came a week after he sent the heartiest of congratulations to Brett Yormark, who was named commissioner of the Big 12.

Meanwhile, the ACC continued to sit back and watch the winds of change blow across the college football landscape. And instead of preparing for those winds, the ACC sat on its front porch in Charlotte, closed its eyes and, stuck its fingers in its ears, and whistled the North Carolina fight song. Everyone knew that several schools across the country were more than willing to make a change, and the ACC did nothing as it dealt with the issue of Clemson, Florida State, and UNC wanting to leave for more money.

Back out west, Kliavkoff continued to make bold statements and continued to over-promise and under-deliver a new media rights deal, and Southern Cal and UCLA promptly bolted for the Big Ten. He continued on that losing track through the winter and spring, at one point promising a deal would be done by the end of March, but the result was a deal little better than paying for time on the local PBS station. n

And while he was working feverishly to see if Apple wanted to buy what he was selling, his good buddy Yormark swooped in and took the backbone of the league after Oregon and Washington decided to take the Big Ten up on its offer. That left the Pac-12 as the Pac-4, with Cal, Stanford, Washington State, and Oregon State the remaining schools.

Those schools had a choice – rebuild the Pac-12, descend into irrelevance, or hope that someone, anyone, would throw them a lifeline. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, realizing his conference might be in trouble if Clemson, FSU, and UNC leave, decided to be that lifeline. Trying to appease those three schools is too little, too late. The additional $6-8 million per year helps a little but doesn’t solve the bigger issue of the media rights dominance of the Big Ten and the SEC.

Phillips was desperate. Those schools were desperate. (And now Washington St. and Oregon St. have to wonder where they stand, because right now, it’s not good).

Clemson, FSU, and UNC, along with NC State, initially blocked the move. But NC State was the relenting vote – perhaps realizing there is no future home for them anywhere outside the ACC – and the Wolfpack caved in the hopes that adding those three schools will help lessen the pain if the Tigers, Seminoles, and Tar Heels exit at some point soon.

And no, this doesn’t change the Grant of Rights. What it might do, and I need to more research on this, is give those three schools an action item if they decide to fight the GOR in court. Something along the lines of the conference didn’t act in the best interests of its members.

But that’s all in the future, and for now, Clemson and the rest of the league must deal with the fact that one or more of those three schools will likely be on their schedule next season (SMU joins next July and Stanford and Cal join next August).

Desperation. Just what you need on the eve of the college football season.