Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Every day brings increasingly bizarre conference realignment updates.
In today’s SI:AM:
🏠 Cal and Stanford’s potential new home
🧑🎓 NCAA president’s “concerns”
⛏️ On the ground at Niners camp
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It’s not as silly as it might sound
Following the implosion of the Pac-12, two of the conference’s premier programs may have found a new home—on the shores of the opposite coast.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that ACC leaders are poised to discuss adding Cal and Stanford to the conference.
The move would be a godsend for the Bears and Cardinal, which are at risk of being shut out of the power conference world after the demise of the Pac-12. Sure, it’s weird for two schools in the Bay Area to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (maybe it could rebrand as “A Coastal Conference”), but it’s a move that has upside for the ACC.
Cal and Stanford have elite academic reputations, a history of succeeding in nonrevenue sports and are located in a major metropolitan area. Those are all factors that should appeal to the ACC, Pat Forde writes:
The ACC, home to plenty of heavyweights academically and in nonrevenue sports, may actually recognize the nonfootball value that associating with Stanford and Cal can add. There certainly are people in the conference who are appalled to see those two institutions adrift. Commissioner Jim Phillips, a career college administrator who last year was mocked as a pollyanna for daring to prioritize issues other than expanding the College Football Playoff, doesn’t see things the same way as businessmen-commissioners Brett Yormark, Tony Petitti or Kevin Warren.
There are downsides, of course, primarily related to travel. With every ACC school located in the Eastern time zone, it would be a haul for any team to get out to Berkeley or Palo Alto, not to mention Cal and Stanford having to go the other way to play the majority of their games. That’s a big expense for everybody involved and a physically demanding task for athletes.
But the pros may outweigh the cons. As Forde explains, some current ACC schools are upset with the conference’s media rights deal. Florida State has already publicly declared that it’s looking for a way out of the conference. Doing so would come with a $120 million exit fee, and FSU has reportedly begun working with JPMorgan Chase to explore ways to raise capital, perhaps in the form of private equity. Adding Cal and Stanford could allow the ACC to renegotiate its TV deal with ESPN and command the sort of money that keeps all members happy. If ACC members aren’t happy with what they’re getting from the conference, then it’s easier for them to be poached by the SEC or Big Ten.
Adding two California schools to a conference whose westernmost member is Louisville is preposterous, of course. But conference realignment has long since passed the point of no return. The four surviving major conferences are engaged in an ever-escalating race to maximize revenues with little regard for anything else. Once the country’s only West Coast–based power conference began to splinter, there are bound to be some bizarre new marriages. Cal and Stanford could be part of college athletics’ strange new normal.
The best of Sports Illustrated
Robert Edwards/USA TODAY Sports
- Gilberto Manzano reports from 49ers camp, where both Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold have looked up to the task against San Francisco’s stout defense.
- Albert Breer was at Broncos camp and noted that Sean Payton is taking an old-school approach in his first year.
- Breer also wrote about the bond between Bengals receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and their goals for this season and beyond.
- NCAA president Charlie Baker issued a statement to Sports Illustrated expressing “concerns” about conference realignment.
- While the ACC discusses adding Cal and Stanford, Washington State and Oregon State could end up in the AAC.
- The Orioles made the ridiculous decision to suspend a broadcaster for merely pointing out Baltimore’s lousy record against the Rays.
- MLB handed out suspensions related to the Tim Anderson–José Ramírez fight.
- Neymar has reportedly requested to leave PSG.
The top five...
… things I saw last night:
5. Mets announcer Gary Cohen’s reaction to the Orioles suspending broadcaster Kevin Brown.
4. Mets fans searching for a foul ball in mostly empty stands after a long rain delay.
3. Pablo Reyes’s walk-off grand slam for the Red Sox.
2. Kole Calhoun’s long run and diving catch for the Guardians.
1. Aaron Boone’s emphatic ejection in the Yankees’ loss to the White Sox.
SIQ
True or false: Two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, who turns 27 today, was named after a Steely Dan song.
Yesterday’s SIQ: Who is MLB’s career leader in wins among pitchers born in Latin America?
- Pedro Martínez
- Bartolo Colon
- Juan Marichal
- Luis Tiant
The Latin America–born pitcher with the third-most career wins is Juan Marichal (243), followed by Luis Tiant (229), Pedro Martínez (219) and Dolf Luque (194).
