Report: ACC Adding Cal, Stanford and SMU Has 'Continued Momentum' amid Realignment

The ACC may be on the verge of expansion with "continued momentum" shifting in favor of adding Stanford, Cal and SMU, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

"After a weekend of conversations, a source told ESPN that the details of the potential additions are 'only in pencil,' but it's trending in the direction of happening," Thamel wrote Monday. "One of four ACC schools that had previously objected to the additions—Clemson, Florida State, NC State and North Carolina—needed to change its vote, and there's an expectation that will happen this week."

The ACC presidents were expected to discuss expansion on Monday night, with the possibility of a vote, although the meeting was postponed:

There was an "armed and dangerous person on or near campus" in Chapel Hill on Monday, per Devon M. Sayers and Eric Levenson of CNN. It will push the ACC meeting to Tuesday at the earliest.

On Aug. 11, Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde and Richard Johnson cast doubt on whether this comes to fruition due to the opposition of Clemson, FSU, UNC and NC State.

In the case of Stanford and Cal, the ACC would be widening its footprint to the West Coast along with adding two schools that possess strong academic reputations and broad athletic success. SMU, meanwhile, is one of the biggest remaining football brands from the Group of Five conferences.

When he first reported the ACC was looking into adding Stanford and Cal, however, Thamel cited one source who expressed concerns over the "significant travel expense." He added that the Cardinal and Golden Bears "do not project to be financial game-changers," and that's largely what's fueling the newest round of realignment.

According to Thamel, the current plan under discussion would see SMU forgoing broadcast revenues for seven years in the ACC. Cal and Stanford would each receive around a 30 percent share of the money doled out to each member school.

Per Brett McMurphy of Action Network, the ACC may be considering adding schools because of its media rights deal:

College sports fans have learned to assume nothing when it comes to the conference landscape, not when the Atlantic Coast Conference could stretch to the Pacific Ocean.

Still, it looks like the trio of Cal, Stanford and SMU are inching toward finding a new home, even if there isn't a consensus within the ACC about their inclusion.