The Atlantic Coast Conference has officially expanded to 18 teams in all sports and 17 teams in football with the addition of Cal, SMU, and Stanford for the 2024-2025 season. SMU officially joins the ACC on July 1st, 2024, while Cal and Stanford become members on August 2nd, 2024. All three schools will compete in the ACC in the upcoming season. This expansion marks the ACC’s first move in the modern era of conference realignment, with Cal and Stanford joining at a discounted rate for broadcast media revenue for the first several years. SMU, on the other hand, will receive no broadcast media revenue for the first nine years. This move is seen as a step in the right direction for the ACC as it aims to compete with other major conferences like the SEC and Big Ten.
Virginia sports teams will now face Cal, SMU, and Stanford in various sports, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball. The addition of these new teams will bring some changes to Virginia’s sports schedules, including more frequent trips across the country to face the new league members. The Cavaliers will host SMU in football this season, with future matchups scheduled against Stanford and Cal in subsequent years. In men’s basketball, Virginia will travel to each of the new member schools, while in women’s basketball, the Cavaliers will host Cal and Stanford and visit SMU. Virginia’s field hockey team is set to host Stanford, and its volleyball team will play matches against SMU, Stanford, and Cal. Overall, the addition of Cal, SMU, and Stanford adds a new dynamic to the ACC and will provide new competition for Virginia sports teams in the upcoming seasons.
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