The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving forward with expansion, voting to invite SMU, Cal, and Stanford to the conference on Friday morning.
After four programs voted against it, leaving them one vote shy, N.C. State flipped on Friday morning and the vote has now passed. So now what?
The move won’t take place until the 2024-25 academic year, giving the current ACC one more year in its current form. With the additions, the conference now has 18 schools with 17 of those participating in football with every school participating in basketball.
It also means more revenue for the ACC moving forward.
There are a lot of questions still left to be answered and some uncertainty with programs like Florida State, Clemson, and even North Carolina, which all voted against expansion. That will settle itself out over the next few years but expansion will continue to be a hot topic moving forward.
So what do these programs bring to the ACC? We decided to rank the three additions based on overall value using factors such as basketball, football and revenue.
Let’s dive in.
3. Cal
Cal is ranked last among the three teams in terms of overall value. It’s nothing personal, but Cal has struggled in the two major sports over the years.
The last time Cal made the NCAA Tournament was in 2016, losing in the first round. They’ve made it to the Sweet 16 just once since 1998. As for football, Cal has four winning seasons since 2010 and has gone to four bowl games going 2-2 in that span. From 2003-2009, they went to a bowl game each season but have since struggled.
Basketball value: 2/10
Football value: 2/10
Overall value: Low
2. SMU
SMU will bring in some value revenue-wise especially with a big market down in Dallas. That’s a positive.
As for athletics, the basketball program has made the NCAA Tournament just 12 times, reaching the Final Four once. They have a six-year drought, however, and are coming off a bad year in 2022-23.
In football, SMU missed out on bowl games from 1985-2008. But since then, they have gone to seven bowl games.
Basketball value: 1/10
Football value: 5/10
Overall value: Low
1. Stanford
This list isn’t filled with world beaters, so checking in at No. 1 doesn’t mean a whole lot. But Stanford is the best of the group.
Traditionally, Stanford has had a solid football program. However, they have struggled over the past few years, not going to a bowl game in four seasons. They do usher in the Troy Taylor era this year after moving on from David Shaw.
In terms of basketball, they have made the NCAA Tournament 17 times going to two Final Fours and winning a title. However, they have missed the tournament nin-straight seasons.
Basketball value: 4/10
Football value: 5/10
Overall value: Medium