The Cal and Stanford athletic programs remain in limbo as the schools that remain in the landslide of the Pac-12 attempt to find a better situation.
After several Pac-12 teams left for the Big Ten and the Big 12 recently, talks shifted to whether the ACC could add Cal and Stanford.
ACC conference officials met to discuss the possibility with sources telling ESPN that the talks hit “significant roadblocks.”
The future of Stanford and Cal is a big deal in swimming with both being perennial powerhouses in the NCAA. Stanford’s women won three consecutive national titles from 2017 through 2019 while Cal’s men are two-time defending national champions with 13 consecutive top-two finishes at the national level. Cal’s women also won multiple national titles in the previous decade. And on the international level, nine swimmers who were current or former students at Cal or Stanford represented the U.S. in swimming at the Tokyo Olympics.
There was no vote yet as ACC talks are in the initial stages but there are plenty of logistics to tackle with this issue, mainly travel.
While football teams play once a week, other sports have traditionally had more than one competition in a week and traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast multiple times a semester can take a big toll on athletes as well as the institution financially.
While these talks are happening, SMU is also being discussed by the ACC according to sources.
With Notre Dame in the ACC for many sports, the ESPN report stated the Fighting Irish are in favor of adding Cal and Stanford.
That is one possible option for Cal and Stanford. There is also the possibility that they remain in the five-school Pac-12 for the time being, join a smaller conference on the West Coast, or could decide to go independent until a better solution presents itself.
With all the uncertainty, one thing is certain: This will be a pivotal moment in the history of college swimming.
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