UNC coach Anson Dorrance clarifies blunt remarks on ACC expansion, leaves some advice for Carolina in recent realignment drama

With the rumors circulating about the Atlantic Coast Conference adding teams, ACC expansion affects people differently.

Anson Dorrance, the legendary women's soccer coach at the University of North Carolina, made a statement on Tuesday about not being in favor of it. However, on Wednesday Dorrance posted a statement regarding his previous comments where he says that he respects Stanford and Cal's decisions.

"I want to clarify my recent remarks regarding ACC expansion. I have the utmost respect for Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. They are outstanding institutions with dedicated leaders, committed students and world-class soccer programs and coaches.

"I don't think conference expansion is in the best interest of Carolina and the ACC at this time, and I trust and respect the decisions that Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips are making on behalf of Carolina and the ACC."

The ACC expansion has officially happened now with SMU, California and Stanford being added. It will be interesting to see how all the collegiate sports battle it out in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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Will this be the end of the ACC expansion this year?

The Atlantic Coast Conference has officially added three new schools beginning in 2024.

They have now become the fourth Power Five conference to announce an addition of teams, as every conference but the Pac-12 has done so. The Pac-12 seems to be dead at this point, as only two schools remain - Oregon State and Washington State - and could get picked up by other conferences.

While there could be other moves happening this year, the fact every remaining Power Five conference has added makes it feel like conference realignment is complete for the year.

The ACC expansion may happen to add another team for other sports, but they're at an odd number for college football teams. With these additions, the ACC in college football has 17 members, with Notre Dame still remaining independent.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has been rumored to be close to a similar fate to the Pac-12, but they seemingly avoided that. Clemson and Florida State wanted more money and were willing to look for it.

However, the additional three teams reportedly adds around $72 million for the conference so they might have just figured it out. While traveling may be a bit of a problem for the other sports due to flying across the country, this is a win for the ACC as a whole.