Stanford and the Pac-12 Conference are searching for their next moves.
According to Ralph Russo of The Associated Press, Stanford has informed the Atlantic Coast Conference “that it would be open to joining the conference at greatly reduced or even no media rights payout for several years.”
Cal, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington State leaders met Thursday, according to Russo, and more discussion was had surrounding what’s next for the remaining four Pac-12 member programs.
The 100-plus-year-old conference is now down to a group of four member programs after Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah all announced plans to join the Big 12 Conference beginning in 2024.
The Pac-12 released a statement Aug. 5 detailing that the conference is “focused on securing the best possible future for each of our member universities,” and among the possibilities could be a merger with the Mountain West Conference, which is “receptive” to such a decision.
Stanford has enlisted the “big guns” and there are individuals such as Condoleezza Rice and Jerry Rice speaking in support of the Cardinal and lobbying for a move to a new conference.
It “remains unknown” whether Stanford’s stance on the distribution of financial payouts will shift the ACC to vote in favor of the Cardinal joining the conference, according to Russo.
