Cal Sports Report

ACC Officials `Evaluating' Cal and Stanford, But Decision Not Expected This Week

One ACC source tells ESPN the value of the academically elite Bay Area schools isn't measured solely by money.
Jeff Faraudo|
ACC Officials `Evaluating' Cal and Stanford, But Decision Not Expected This Week
ACC Officials `Evaluating' Cal and Stanford, But Decision Not Expected This Week

As Cal officials evaluate their options for finding a new athletic conference home in the wake of the Pac-12 crumbling, ESPN’s Pete Thamel quoted sources saying the Atlantic Coast Conference is “still evaluating” Cal and Stanford.

They did not vote not he topic, he wrote.

“A timeline is fluid, according to sources,” Thamel wrote, “but it would be surprising if a decision either way was reached this week.”

The ACC scheduled a pair of calls on Tuesday, one involving school presidents, the other with athletic directors.

Meanwhile, the UC Regents met Tuesday morning in a closed session to discuss Pac-12 membership., and Ron Leuty of the San Francisco Business Times provided this statement from that meeting:

Not much news in that statement, but you would have to assume the possibility of Cal joining the ACC was discussed.

Meanwhile, CBS Sports reported that an attempt by San Diego State to create a new Power 5 conference involving Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State failed before it generated any momentum.

The ACC is by no means an obvious destination for the two Bay Area rivals. Issues for the ACC include the schools’ financial value to a conference headquartered in the Southeast and travel costs.

“Without the move being significantly financially additive, the support is far from unanimous,” Thamel wrote. “The cost of travel would need to be addressed, as the idea of Stanford and Cal getting less than a full share has been discussed. Some of that money could be shifted to travel costs.

Bringing Cal and Stanford on board would require a three-quarters vote of the ACC presidents, meaning 12 of 15 would have to approve.

The Bay Area offers a huge TV market, but viewers tune in to the region’s professional teams — the 49ers, Warriors and Giants — and no so much to Cal or Stanford.

Even so, one ACC source Thamel spoke to believes the Bears and Cardinal have great value.

"The value equation isn't always tied to money," the source told ESPN. "Are we really going to sit here and say two of the best institutions in the world have no value? That's a crazy notion to me."

The Big Ten — which has added USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington beginning next fall — no doubt remains the No. 1 choice of officials at Cal and Stanford. But some reports suggest the Big Ten is not currently inclined to add to the 18 schools currently signed on.

The Big 12 has said its addition of Pac-12 schools Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State completes its expansion, at least for now.

The Mountain West remains a possible option, but the TV money for football is significantly less, meaning the Bears would almost certainly have to cut sports.

The ACC has not made any membership changes, but Florida State and Clemson want a greater share of media revenue. Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and Virginia reportedly have explored new conference homes.

But the ACC, whose TV contract runs through 2036, won’t grant an easy departure for any of those schools. The conference has “exorbitant exit fees -- nearly $120 million per school,” according to Thamel. 

Cover photo of the ACC logo by Rich Barnes, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics. 

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