Cal and Stanford, huh

The ACC is at least kicking the tires on Cal and Stanford, though how seriously they’ll make the effort, nobody knows. I’m guessing probably not that seriously. If those schools carried a significant financial impact with them, they wouldn’t be where they are currently, which is essentially homeless come 2024.

One of the league sources who spoke to Pete Thamel about this said explicitly that there would be “no windfall for current members” by making these additions to the ACC. So what’s the point? Other than getting the ACC Network in a few more homes on the west coast, I have no idea.

Even getting the pair to agree to partial league payouts for joining doesn’t make this whole idea feel any less silly, and that would have its own set of consequences for Cal and Stanford. I’m told that in order to save money, Cal and Stanford’s non-revenue sports would be required to travel through the Panama Canal on a rusty barge helmed by a disreputable old man who lists “doin’ some stabbin’” among his hobbies. (The upgrade to a slightly more modern vessel, run by a vaguely reputable but unarmed fellow, was deemed too pricey.)

So I’m not seeing how any of this helps anyone. ... Which is why it just might work!