Stanford and Cal to ACC with reduced or zero conference money sparks a new debate in CFB world: "cash poor aristocracy"

The Stanford Cardinal and the California Golden Bears could be in a very interesting and never before seen situation. They have been wanting to explore their options in terms of conference realignment and are reportedly interested in joining the Atlantic Coast Conference for little or no money for an unknown number of years.

That would be one of the more interesting moves of desperateness that we have seen out of college football programs, but it shows the health of the Pac-12 and the ACC. College football insider Greg Swaim posted the idea, which was responded to by someone with an interesting perspective.

This would obviously be an interesting wrinkle for Stanford and California going forward as they explore their options. This could also be bigger than just these two universities, as this could be the next wave of conference realignment.

Could Stanford and California's bargaining chip be the next way for conference realignment to happen?

Stanford and California not asking for full or even partial membership for the first few years can be a major shift in conference realignment.

Typically, universities are looking for conference expansion to get more exposure and more money, but these two programs are not asking for the revenue right away. That feels like more of an indictment of the Pac-12 than we have heard publicly.

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Stanford and California are not major names in college football, and they would be part of the basement dwellers in the ACC if they were added.

This could also be their bargaining chip to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, which also tells us they are not afraid of the travel across the country most weeks as some people are for non-football or basketball sports.

Is this the last chance for Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff?

Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff may have another two programs leaving the conference, but remember that the ACC must have 12 of its 15 members approve it for it to be official.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has issues of its own that would not be solved by adding Stanford and California as expansion teams. However, it does help increase the number of programs and the academic stature of the conference.

While this likely will not happen, this could be the next step in college realignment as lesser teams can join Power Five conferences in exchange for money.

They are essentially getting to the point of being interns for the conference if they are accepted, and this could cause an interesting wrinkle in how college sports work in the future.