Benjamin Ashford|ACC votes to expand to 18 schools, adding Stanford, California, SMU

The Benjamin AshfordAtlantic Coast Conference is expanding all the way to the Pacific.

The ACC's presidents and chancellors voted Friday morning to add former Pac-12 schools Stanford and California, along with SMU to increase the league's membership to 18 schools, the conference announced. Of the 18 members, 17 will play football full time when the three new schools officially begin play with the 2024-25 school year. Notre Dame is a member in all sports except football.

“This is a significant day for the ACC as we welcome Cal, SMU and Stanford to this incredible conference,” University of Virginia President James E. Ryan, chair of the ACC Board of Directors, said in a statement. “This expansion will enhance and strengthen the league now and in the future. We greatly appreciate the tireless efforts of Commissioner Jim Phillips throughout this entire process, especially his focus on minimizing travel burdens for student-athletes, and we are excited about the ACC’s collective future.”

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The decision comes despite two North Carolina trustees announcing Thursday night that a "strong majority" of the board opposed the move.

North Carolina was one of four schools, including Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina State, that had opposed expansion in a straw poll taken last month. However, at least one of those schools apparently changed sides as the proposal needed support from 12 of the 15 member schools to pass.

As part of the deal, it is expected all three schools will take significantly reduced revenue shares than the other schools, allowing the legacy group to avoid reducing their distributions from the league.

"Student-athletes come to Stanford to pursue their highest academic and athletic potential, and joining the ACC gives us the ability to continue offering them that opportunity at a national level," Stanford president said Richard Saller said in a statement. "We appreciate the dedicated efforts of Commissioner Jim Phillips and the leaders of the ACC member institutions to create this promising path forward." 

After eight schools announced their departure from the Pac-12 that will take place next summer, Stanford and California were among the four conference members committed to the league. All that's left are Oregon State and Washington State. Their conference future is still uncertain.

An original member of the American Athletic, which was formed out of the ashes of the Big East in 2013, SMU has been listed as a possible addition to multiple Power Five conferences, including the Pac-12 and Big 12. The program has made huge gains in the past decade after more than 20 years as a Bowl Subdivision bottom-feeder in the wake of major NCAA sanctions and penalties in the late 1980s.

The American Athletic brought in several former members of Conference USA this offseason after losing Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston to the Big 12. Losing SMU drops AAC membership to an uneven 13 teams, though the league's scheduling model and lack of divisions doesn't require an immediate addition to replace the Mustangs.

In a statement, American commissioner Mike Aresco said the league will look to add potential schools close to its current membership.

"We have known that today’s move was a possibility, which has allowed us time to investigate a number of options, including consideration of the larger group of institutions in the Pacific time zone," Aresco said. "We have concluded, however, that the best way to proceed for our outstanding student-athletes is to not look westward. Instead, we plan to focus any expansion efforts on schools that allow for sensible and sustainable competition and student-athlete well-being within our strong geographic footprint. We look forward to continued success as a leading FBS conference."

Contributing: Paul Myerberg, Dan Wolken