SMU to ACC not a done deal, but conference realignment heating up again
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SMU, Stanford and Cal, potential Atlantic Coast Conference expansion candidates, have agreed to revenue distribution models that could make them more appealing to ACC schools, according to multiple reports Wednesday.
SMU would be willing to forgo its television revenue distribution from the conference for seven years, Yahoo Sports has reported, while Stanford and Cal would reduce theirs for multiple years, starting at about 30%.
How new revenue generated by adding members to the conference would be distributed has been a sticking point for several ACC schools, among them Florida State, Clemson and North Carolina.
Two weeks ago, conference officials and university leaders met twice in three days to consider adding Stanford, Cal and SMU, but never voted, knowing they wouldn’t have the necessary 12 of 15 votes to approve expansion.
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Commissioner Jim Phillips has continued to work on a revenue distribution model, a person with direct knowledge of the ACC’s potential move told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The plan would direct a large portion of the money ESPN would pay the conference to cover three new members to a pool that pays out performance-based bonuses.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conference was not making its internal discussions public.
Talks with ACC officials and school leaders will continue over the next several days, according to Yahoo, with a final decision expected next week.
Related:SMU’s access to College Football Playoff may be jeopardized by conference realignment
SMU, a member of the American Athletic Conference, has long indicated it wanted to move to a Power Five conference. The Big 12, which is headquartered in the Mustangs’ backyard, didn’t reciprocate the interest.
Instead, the Irving-based conference added TCU and West Virginia in 2013 and BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston this year, with Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah set to join in 2024.
SMU, according to people familiar with the situation, has engaged in conversations with school presidents and conference leaders from the Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC since July 2022, when USC and UCLA announced they were leaving for the Big Ten.
For months, it looked like the Mustangs’ new conference would be the Pac-12, particularly when Commissioner George Kliavkoff attended a men’s basketball game in February, and up to the final hours of Pac-12 stability.
On Aug. 4, Oregon and Washington announced they were joining the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State and Utah announced the same day they’d be joining Colorado in the Big 12, leaving Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State in the Pac-12.
SMU then turned its attention east toward the ACC.
Related:SMU to the ACC? What fans should know before thinking about conference relocation
To leave the AAC, SMU would have to pay an early termination fee, the amount of which is unknown. The AAC’s media contract runs until 2031. Cincinnati, UCF and Houston are each paying $18 million to depart the conference this year, though a person familiar with the AAC’s thinking told The News that the number would likely be higher for SMU.
The reason: those schools gave two years’ notice, while SMU, in this scenario, would be giving only one.
SMU leaders believe joining a Power Five conference could help recruiting efforts in talent-rich North Texas and boost the school’s revenue outside of the conference’s annual media distribution, which TCU experienced when it moved to the Big 12.
The Mustangs aren’t letting the prospect of a hefty exit fee, or the loss of years of television revenue, deter them from the elusive goal of joining a Power Five.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
On Twitter: @JoeJHoyt