The Atlantic Coast Conference will expand to 18 schools.

The conference announced on Friday morning that California, Stanford and SMU will join the league as full-time members beginning in the 2024-25 season. The ACC has 17 full member schools, with Notre Dame as the 18th school for every sport except football, where it remains an independent.

“We are thrilled to welcome three world-class institutions to the ACC, and we look forward to having them compete as part of our amazing league,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips in a statement. “Throughout the evaluation process, the ACC Board of Directors, led by President Ryan, was deliberate in prioritizing the best possible athletic and academic experience for our student-athletes and in ensuring that the three universities would strengthen the league in all possible ways. Cal, SMU and Stanford will be terrific members of the ACC and we are proud to welcome their student-athletes, coaches, staff and entire campus community, alumni and fans.”

The move comes with a cost for the three new schools.

Cal and Stanford accepted a reduction in broadcast media revenue, with ESPN reporting the two schools will only make 30 percent of what other member schools make for the first seven years they are in the conference. That number would start rising before becoming a full share by the 10th season (2034).

The terms were even more steep for SMU, who will not receive any media revenue for nine years, and will instead lean on its boosters to make up for the lost money.

The move dramatically changes the footprint of the ACC. Previously, Notre Dame in Indiana was the western-most school in the conference. Now, the two Bay Area schools extend the reach of the ACC from coast to coast. The distance between Syracuse and Stanford is more than 2,000 miles.

It caps a dramatic negotiation in which four schools (NC State, UNC, FSU and Clemson) had initially opposed expansion. One of those schools needed to flip its vote so the ACC could meet its 12-school threshold, and NC State's decision to flip its vote allowed for the expansion, according to ESPN.

It also signals the likely end to the Pac-12, which has now seen all but two members schools—Washington State and Oregon State—defect. Those two schools will likely be left out of the Power Conference discussion, with the ACC, Big 12, Big 10 and SEC having all completed expansion in the past two years.

----

Chat about this story and all things Syracuse and Syracuse recruiting on our premium message board, Cuse Classified!

Follow us on Twitter @TheJuiceOnline, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram @SUJuiceOnline and listen to our podcast.

Tips/questions/concerns? E-mail Recruiting Analyst Charles Kang here.

Not a subscriber to The Juice Online? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community.