Report: Cal, Stanford, SMU Additions 'Again Under Serious Consideration' by ACC

The next major move in the conference realignment merry-go-round could be Cal, Stanford and SMU joining the ACC after all.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the conference is giving "serious consideration" to adding the three programs after "a small group of ACC presidents met Wednesday morning to discuss financial models that would come with the additions."

Notably, such models would apparently mean "significant financial concessions" from any school that is added.

Thamel explained what the concessions could look like from the three potential additions:

This is not the first time reports have circulated about the ACC adding these three programs, but Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and North Carolina State have apparently stood in the way during previous discussions.

Yet Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said on the Dan Patrick Show that his school, which is independent in football but plays most of the other sports in the ACC, has pushed for the conference to include Cal and Stanford.

And these concessions could change the outcome, as Thamel explained just one school from the Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and North Carolina State group needs to change its mind regarding the three additions, assuming the other yes votes remain in place.

This offseason has been defined by conference realignment, but the ACC has not made any notable moves. Rather, much of the conversation about the conference has been about Florida State openly discussing a potential exit from the league.

As things stand, the group of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will join the Big Ten after the upcoming campaign, while Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will join the Big 12. Texas and Oklahoma are going to the SEC on the same timeline.

All the moves marked the end of the Pac-12 as fans know it and have left Cal, Stanford, Washington State and Oregon State without long-term homes for the time being.

Perhaps the long-term home for Stanford and Cal, as well as SMU, will be in the ACC. While it would mean quite the travel commitment for sports outside of football, it would at least offer some security for the West Coast programs that don't seem to have much in the current moment.