Amid Pac-12 merger rumors, 4 remaining schools look set to leave the conference as ACC expansion and MWC realignment new reality: Reports

The future of the Pac-12 has been in doubt for quite some time, and it appears that the conference could be entering its final season. Eight of the 12 schools have already announced that 2023 will be their final year in the conference.

College football analyst Greg Swaim reported that the California Bears and Stanford Cardinal, who are the most coveted of the Pac-12's remaining four schools, will be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. He added that the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars will also leave the conference, tweeting:

"BREAKING NEWS: The #ACC is going to add #Stanford, #CalBears and #SMU. Desperate situations call for extremely desperate measures, as they're each basically buying their way in. Additionally #Wazzu and the #Beavs will become the first P5's to drop to G5, err P4 to G6, I mean!!"

Check out Greg Swaim's tweet regarding the departure of the remaining four schools here.

The ACC recently held a vote regarding the addition of the Bears and Cardinal; however, four schools voted against expanding the conference. They were one vote short of expansion, according to Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, who tweeted:

"Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina & NC State are the ACC schools against adding Stanford & Cal, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. 1st report by SI. W/only 11 of 15 schools (including Notre Dame) in favor, ACC expansion is 1 vote shy of required 75% (12 of 15) to add new members"

Check out Brett McMurphy's tweet here.

It is unclear which school has changed its stance regarding expansion. While nothing has been announced by either conference or the four remaining Pac-12 programs, it is difficult to envision conference officials convincing the schools to remain in place.

Greg Swaim previously predicted ACC must "expand or die" to avoid winding up like Pac-12

The Pac-12 is facing the consequences of the conference realignment era as it is on the verge of falling apart altogether.

College football analyst Greg Swaim recently predicted that the ACC could face a similar fate if it does not expand, tweeting:

"Not a breaking story, rather an update on the way conference realignment is Heading. The #ACC will be picked apart by the #SEC, #B1G and #Big12, as conferences finally understand that you either expand or die (see #Pac12) and it's going down sooner than later!!"

Check out Greg Swaim's tweet here.

It remains unclear if the ACC's expansion will be able to salvage the conference. While several schools have been looking to leave, they are locked into a media rights deal for over a decade.