CFB insider claims TV pro rata is driving ACC's decision to hold Stanford, Cal and SMU in latest drama

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has been in talks for expansion by adding the Stanford Cardinal, California Golden Bears and SMU Mustangs.

The major reason that the ACC is adding these programs is that if they fall below 15 teams, ESPN can renegotiate their media rights deal and decrease the figure significantly.

Co-founder of the Big Ten Network and former Fox Sports Network President Bob Thompson responded to a post suggesting that television partners were pushing for Stanford, California and SMU.

"That's not TV (as in ESPN/Fox) driving that decision. That is the ACC using the TV pro-rata additional school clause to insure that they'll continue to have enough schools to meet the composition clause requirements. Two completely opposite things."

This will be something to keep an eye on as the Atlantic Coast Conference needs to ensure that they do not reach 14. It will be interesting to see if they continue to look at lesser programs to fill up the number of members in the conference.

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What's next for ACC if the expansion falls through?

It's unlikely that the Atlantic Coast Conference is unable to get the trio of the California Golden Bears, SMU Mustangs and Stanford Cardinal. It seems like the ACC expansion is set to happen in the not-so-distant future, and that's a major boost to the conference as a whole.

In the hypothetical situation where the three teams are not added, the Atlantic Coast Conference would need to look at Group of Five conferences to add teams to the league.

One interesting conference would be the American, as new UAB Blazers coach Trent Dilfer says that he believes the conference is worthy of being a Power Five but still is not classified as such.

Another way the ACC could go would be by looking at the two other Pac-12 programs: Oregon State and Washington State. They would help the numbers stay up and could even be added with Cal and Stanford if that were to go through.

With Florida State and Clemsonnot happy with the $39.4 million per year the conference's media rights deal is bringing in, teams are going to begin dropping like flies.

Adding teams to keep the number above 14 is critical. While the quality of the conference could decrease, it would be worth it to boost the health of the league, as they remain a Power Five conference.