Miami will have have new company in ACC as Cal, Stanford and SMU are joining conference
The Miami Hurricanes are about to have new company — far, far away — in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The ACC voted early Friday morning to add Cal, Stanford and SMU as new members, the conference confirmed Friday morning.
The existing teams that represent an array of sports — Miami, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Boston College, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, Pitt, Syracuse and Wake Forest (with Notre Dame a member in Olympic sports) — will soon be traveling to the West Coast for games.
The ACC’s reported dissenting schools in the vote: FSU, UNC and Clemson.
The three new teams will officially join the ACC in 2024, according to The Athletic.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said Friday in a teleconference that current football league members will travel to play on the west coast once every other year.
Cal (Berkeley, California) and Stanford (California) were part of the disintegrating Pac-12, now left with only Oregon State and Washington State, both of whom are expected to join other conferences.
The SMU (Southern Methodist University) Mustangs, based in Dallas and coached by former Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, have been a member of the American Athletic Conference.
“The finances were the key to final approval: Multiple conference sources told The Athletic SMU was willing to accept no ACC TV revenue for nine years, and Stanford and Cal were willing to join as partial members receiving a significantly reduced revenue share initially,’’ the Athletic reported Friday.
Miami, which opens its 2023 football season Friday, is a former member of the Big East. UM joined the ACC in 2004. The last school before this to join the ACC was Louisville in 2014.
The Athletic reported that Cal, Stanford and SMU must sign the ACC’s Grant of Rights, which runs with ESPN through 2036. They reportedly would receive “either no or partial media rights revenue” but would still earn other revenue associated with the College Football Playoff and NCAA Tournament.
“Right now, we feel really strongly that our best course of action is to keep the ACC together and try to make it as strong as it can be,’’ UM athletic director Dan Radakovich told ESPN last month.
A new revenue distribution system has been in the works that will financially reward the schools that excel on the playing field and make the College Football Playoff and men’s NCAA Tournament.
The Herald asked Radakovich in May if he expected ACC schools to strike a new revenue distribution deal that would give a greater share of conference revenue to ACC schools that make the College Football Playoff and men’s NCAA Tournament and if he were in favor of it
“The answer to both questions, I think, is yes,” Radakovich said. “The presidents have a committee that they’re working through. I think there’s a lot of unanimity amongst the athletic directors that some type of success initiatives, success distribution should occur.”
Radavokich said implementation, however, wouldn’t happen this fall. It’s “not going to happen for the ‘23 season,” he said. “It’s going to be the ‘24 season” because that’s the year the playoff expands from four to 12 teams.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 9:45 AM.
