Report: Stanford Willing to Join ACC at Reduced or No Media Payouts for Several Years

It appears that Stanford is willing to do whatever it takes to remain in a prominent conference.

Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press reported the school informed the remaining members of the Pac-12 that it told the ACC that the university was willing to make significant sacrifices in order to move to the conference.

"Leaders from Stanford, California, Oregon State and Washington State spoke Thursday, and Stanford told its colleagues it had informed the ACC that it would be open to joining the conference at greatly reduced or even no media rights payout for several years," Russo wrote.

This comes in the aftermath of the dissolution of the Pac-12 that has already seen USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington depart for the Big Ten starting in 2024, with Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado moving to the Big 12 in 2024. Currently, Stanford, Cal, Oregon State and Washington State are the only remaining members of the conference for 2024.

Geographically, a move to the ACC makes little sense. The entirety of the conference is located in the Eastern time zone, and the westernmost team in the conference is Notre Dame, which is still more than 2,200 miles from Stanford. Also of note, Notre Dame is not a member of the conference for football. The westernmost football program in the ACC is Louisville, which is located more than 2,000 miles from Stanford.

Despite this, a power conference on the West Coast appears to be off the table, as does further Big 12 expansion. This leaves the Big Ten, SEC and ACC as remaining power conferences, and the Big Ten has already expanded to 18 teams.

The ACC may not be a great fit geographically, but academically, it is a slam dunk. The conference is ranked No. 3 in the NCAA in terms of academics and No. 1 among conferences that sponsor FBS football. Stanford, which is ranked as the No. 3 university, according to U.S. News & World Report, would add to that prestige and be alongside peers with similar academic goals.

While the initial vote to admit Stanford and Cal to join was one vote short of passing earlier in August, it appears that Stanford is willing to make concessions in order to change that vote. Russo did not report that Cal is involved in this concession, and it is not clear if Stanford's sacrifices would be enough to flip the vote.