With just days until Week 0, ACC pushes hard for Cal and Stanford in the latest expansion plans; "No" votes remain to be flipped: Reports

While the college football landscape remains in constant flux, Cal and Stanford's bid to move with the flow to the ACC remains tensioned. The ACC hasn't been as active as its peers in the ongoing conference realignment. So it is looking to add new members to avoid being left out and behind.

Reports emerging in the recent weeks have indicated that efforts are being made by Cal and Stanford to join the ACC. The situation came up subsequent to the exodus of the majority of Pac-12 schools, leaving just four members in the conference. Cal and Stanford have strategic advantages and values it can add to the ACC such as their foothold in the California media market.

Efforts from both sides to see the move happen have, however, not been fruitful thus far. The required number of votes needed to initiate the move has not been reached. Four members of the ACC Board of Presidents still voted “no” at the last meeting.

With the college football action only days away, there are further reports that the ACC hasn't backed down on the bid to add the schools. However, it is still yet to secure the number of needed votes, which would mean convincing one of the four Presidents to change their position.

Why are ACC Presidents voting against adding Cal and Stanford?

It begs the question of why the four ACC Presidents continue to vote against the addition of the two colleges. Of course, there is the issue of money. Existing dissatisfaction with the conference's decision to embrace an equal income sharing arrangement has not gone unnoticed by these schools. With the addition of Cal and Stanford, the pie will become even smaller.

The geographical disparity between ACC schools and the two California schools has been another speculated reason. While ACC's major geographical footprint is in the East, student-athletes would have to be traveling far west to play games if the move succeeds.

But as indicated in the earlier report, there are still chances that the move may happen before the first weekend of college football this season. This eventuality still depends on how the conference leadership manages to convince any of the four Presidents to change their position.

The conference already has 11 of the 12 votes needed to make the move happen. But it is running against time. College football starts this weekend and it is important to reach a conclusion before then.