GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Two schools on the Pacific Coast could soon be part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to The Athletic.
On Monday, The Athletic reported that the ACC, based in Greensboro, is looking into the possibility of adding Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley, saying that conversations are still in the early stages.
ACC athletic directors and league presidents are expected to meet within 24 hours.
The ACC has 15 members currently, including:
- Boston College
- Clemson University
- Duke University
- Florida State University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- University of Louisville
- University of Miami
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- North Carolina State University
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Pittsburgh
- Syracuse University
- University of Virginia
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Wake Forest University
Three of those schools — Louisville, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh — are in states that do not border the Atlantic Ocean with Notre Dame and Pittsburgh joining in 2013 and Louisville joining in 2014. Stanford and Cal, both in California, would be the furthest by far, if added.
Stanford and Cal are currently members of the California-based conference Pac-12, which, in addition to the Golden State, includes schools in Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington, though that roster quickly eroded Friday. The majority of its teams have announced plans to leave the conference, starting first with the University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Southern California last year and followed by six more teams in one fell swoop in early August.
UCLA and USC revealed on June 30, 2022, that the teams would be leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten conference beginning July 1, 2024.
On July 26 of this year, the Big 12 welcomed the University of Colorado, Boulder, out of the Pac-12
On Aug. 4, the University of Oregon and the University of Washington announced that they would be following UCLA and USC to the Big Ten, and the Big 12 revealed that the University of Arizona, Arizona State University and the University of Utah would be following Colorado.
The departures have left behind only Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State.
