Stanford and Cal to ACC gets a big NO from board members; AAC next in contention for 4 Pac 12 schools: Reports

The ACC route seems closed to Stanford and Cal. The Atlantic Coast Conference Board of Presidents met on Wednesday night and decided against adding Stanford and Cal to the conference. The duo are now down one option in their bid to escape from the what's increasingly looking like a Pac-12 apocalypse.

The ACC's westward expansion drive may have reached a dead end. But the conference still has eyes on SMU, a potential key to the Dallas market.

Of the ACC's 15 schools, Notre Dame, in Indiana, is situated westwardmost. But the Fighting Irish are a football independent school even though they play other sports in the ACC, and football is clearly the biggest factor in conference expansion and realignment.

Which way now for Stanford and Cal?

As for Stanford and Cal, their way out of the Pac-12 gets bleaker each day. The schools don't appear to be in the plans of any Power Five conferences, as the Big Ten might be done expanding in this window.

The two schools would be solid options if the Big Ten considers further expansion westward. But that seems largely unlikely as UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington are already set to join the conference in 2024.

Two options remain strongly open for Stanford and Cal following the ACC's reluctance to add them. The American Athletic Conference has been reportedly eager about adding the four remain Pac-12 schools in one fell swoop.

The California schools' reluctance to join the AAC is understandable. It is not a Power Five conference and does not promise a huge media revenue like the ACC or the Big Ten.

However, the schools must realize that the demise of the Pac-12 will leave a vacuum that conferences like the AAC will compete to fill. Adding the four remaining Pac-12 schools like the AAC is planning gives it an edge over the Mountain West, C-USA and the others.

The Mountain West's plan is similar to that of the AAC. While the AAC plans to go for the schools directly, the Mountain West prefers a merger with the Pac-12. Clearly, both plans involve adding Stanford and Cal. In other words, the schools have the option to choose between joining either of the AAC or the Pac-12.

But they may decide not to join either of the conferences. Or at least not fully. An ever-present option is for the schools to become independent in football. They may join the conferences in other sports if they take this path.