The ACC is now bi-coastal. Can it still be called the Atlantic Coast Conference? (What they’re saying)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Can the Atlantic Coast Conference keep its name when its membership now includes schools that can see the Pacific Ocean?

The ACC voted 12-3 to allow former Pac-12 members Stanford and Cal, along with American Athletic Conference member Southern Methodist University, to join the conference in all sports for the 2024-25 academic year.

It gives the conference a footprint ranging from the Florida’s Gulf Coast to the California Bay Area and a membership that keeps it on-par with the Big 12 and Big Ten.

Here’s what media members, the general public and more are saying about the latest news in conference realignment.

No public school in the country has more athletics debt than @CalAthletics, debt the university has already partially taken off sports to ease the burden.

The Golden Bears are in danger of suffering a massive reduction in revenue.

📉: via @Sportico’s college finance database pic.twitter.com/rebHTqOlIf

— Eben Novy-Williams (@novy_williams) August 4, 2023

It feels like the end game is we’re going to bring back Big East 2.0 and Syracuse will be competing for Eastern Football championships again. Time is a flat circle.

— chris carlson (@ccarlsononSU) September 1, 2023

I WILL SAY THIS: I think there are some intriguing matchups for non-football sports that I am excited to see. Namely, what Stanford brings for women’s basketball, men’s/women’s soccer and golf and tennis, men’s basketball, women’s lax.

— Caroline Darney (@cwdarney) September 1, 2023

Trying to make sense of anything that happened with the P12 this summer is impossible but I cannot get over that Oregon & Wash bailed for 40% of what other B1G schools will get, and Cal & Stanford are happily taking 30% of an ACC share. And they’re doing it for long-term…

— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 1, 2023

I’d bet you could add stronger schools than these leftovers no one else wanted in the event that happens. But the ACC would rather act out of panic than take advantage of the strengths it has now. https://t.co/0QsIm5TiXU

— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) September 1, 2023

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MORE CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT

ACC expansion: Stanford, Cal and SMU will join conference in 2024 in all sports

How do SMU, Cal and Stanford keep the ACC from breaking up? (Mike’s mailbox)

What’s the future of conference realignment? Dino Babers says ‘follow the green’

Syracuse AD John Wildhack on expansion: ‘It will strengthen the ACC’s position among elite conferences’