Stanford and Cal seek media help from Big 12 en route to a potential ACC membership, bagging all the necessary votes: Reports

Stanford and Cal were linked to a potential move to join the Big 12 over the weekend. This comes amid a realignment process with the Atlantic Coast Conference as the two universities continue to seek a new home following the breakup of the Pac-12.

College football insider Greg Swaim believes there's nothing solid in the Stanford and Cal to the Big 12 talks. The Cardinal and Golden Bears are only using the media to get the ACC to vote them in. Swaim thinks the ploy isn't working, as the ACC doesn't seem to be buying it.

The two Pac-12 universities had initially failed to secure membership in the ACC after they couldn't get enough votes required for admission. However, they remain under the league's consideration, and talks are ongoing internally on the possibility of adding them.

The Big 12 already halted expansion

Having added Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah this offseason, the Big 12 has no plan to expand further. Commissioner Brett Yormark noted while speaking to local newspapers in Colorado, Arizona, and Utah that the league expansion is on hold.

Yormark believes the conference has achieved its goal concerning expansion, and the current work is to ensure seamless scheduling within the league's new look. This eliminates the possibility of adding Stanford and Cal in time for the 2024-25 academic year.

However, the Big 12 expansion plan has been based on the values the candidates add to the conference. Yormark has continuously reiterated this with the ambition to become a national conference spanning coast to coast. This suggests Stanford and Cal have a chance if they appear to add the correct value to the Big 12.

Stanford and Cal remain under ACC consideration

The talks to add Stanford and Cal to the ACC are ongoing within the league. The two Pac-12 universities and SMU remain under the conference's consideration despite the initial failure. The league has growing confidence that it will get done soon.

Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, and North Carolina State are the four schools that voted against adding new teams in the previous session. At least one of the four schools needs to flip its vote in favor of expansion for the process to move on.

The conference presidents are already discussing the new financial model to be introduced with the addition of the three schools. The expansion candidates have offered economic concessions to join the league, resulting in a monetary pool that will be redistributed among existing teams.