What Cal, Stanford, SMU ACC expansion means, what's next - ESPN

After nearly a month of conversations, the ACC presidents and chancellorsvoted Friday morning to add Stanford, Cal and SMU, giving the league 18 schools — 17 in football — starting with the 2024-25 season. The protracted conversations gained steam over the past week, as financial models that projected more of a windfall for existing members were enough to garner 12 votes to pass the additions.

The ACC now expands literally from coast to coast, and though there has been pushback on adding teams from several league members — including a pointed statement from the North Carolina board of trustees — the vast majority of presidents ultimately decided this was in the best interest of the ACC, as the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 have expanded over the past two years. This is, quite frankly, a matter of survival.

So why did this happen and what's next? ESPN reporters Andrea Adelson, Kyle Bonagura, Heather Dinich, David Hale and Dave Wilson answer those questions and more.

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How does this affect FSU, Clemson?
What now for Wazzu and Oregon State?
College Football Playoff impact

There are two primary reasons for expanding. The first is money. The second is security.

On the financial front, Stanford, Cal and SMU have all agreed to forgo a sizable portion of TV revenue the ACC generates by adding teams. Sources indicated that SMU is expected to take no television money for nine years, while Cal and Stanford are expected to initially join at approximately 30% shares.

That would create a pool of between $50 million and $60 million annually to divide among ACC schools. Some of that would be distributed to all members, and the rest would be put into a pool for success initiatives. Those initiatives, which were passed in May and would