Report: Cal, Stanford Linked as Targets for Pac-12 Expansion After ACC Move

The Pac-12 could "turn its attention to former members Cal and Stanford" after the conference announced the addition of four Mountain West teams on Thursday, Pete Nakos reported for On3.

"Multiple sources have told On3 it's a logical move for Cal and Stanford to join the Pac-12 if a window opens to leave the ACC," Nakos wrote.

Amanda Christovich of Front Office Sports reported that Cal and Stanford could need to file lawsuits to break the ACC's grant of rights, which runs through summer 2036.

Cal and Stanford announced their exit for the ACC last September amid a wave of departures that saw the Pac-12 whittled down to just Washington State and Oregon State.

With Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State set to join the conference before the 2026 season, the Pac-12 is two programs shy of the eight-school FBS minimum.

As Nakos pointed out, rejoining the Pac-12 would make sense for Cal and Stanford given their geographical proximity to teams in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

Cal football's debut ACC season features road trips to play schools like Florida State, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest on the opposite side of the country.

Stanford, meanwhile, is set for several cross-country road trips of its own with away games at Syracuse, Clemson, Notre Dame and North Carolina State.

The Raleigh News & Observer's Shelby Swanson reported last month that athletes from 11 ACC schools and 10 sports "commonly expressed concerns about missing classes due to excessive travel" during the upcoming season.

The Pac-12's inability to secure a lucrative media agreement was part of the reason Cal and Stanford joined the exodus from membership last year.

Clemson and Florida State have both sued the ACC for the financial penalties the conference has pledged to charge schools should they exit the conference.

According to Florida State, exiting the ACC before the grant of rights expires in 2036 would cost the school $572 million, per Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press.

Neither Florida State nor Clemson formally stated they wanted to leave the conference by Aug. 15, which was the ACC's deadline for notice of departure the following year.

The lawsuits are currently ongoing in Florida and North Carolina. If considering a move back to the Pac-12, Cal and Stanford could be watching to see how feasible leaving the ACC would be.

The California schools aren't the only programs that have been tied to a potential move to the Pac-12. Nakos additionally named Tulane and Memphis, among others, as possible expansion targets for the rebuilding conference.