SMU
SMU will officially join the ACC on Monday and the university has “rapidly prepared for the monumental move," according to Lia Assimakopoulos of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. From improving facilities to fundraising, SMU is “seeking to show that it belongs in one of the nation’s premier athletic conferences.” A few of the “most notable impacts” since the announcement include hiring new men’s basketball coach Andy Enfield, “advantages in recruiting and staggering fundraising numbers.” Enfield said, “The move to the ACC played a major part in our decision to consider the job opportunity here.” SMU agreed to “forgo nine years of television revenue from the conference," which “will amount to more than” $350M over the course of the next decade. The university’s athletic department last week released its fundraising figures from FY 23-24, announcing that it had “received a record-breaking” $159M. SMU AD Rick Hart said that it “shattered” its previous record of about $70-80M. The “majority” of the donations -- about $125M -- were through the university’s ACC Competitiveness Campaign. Hart: “It’s a big number nationally. I think, also, for the ACC demonstrated our commitment to competing and not just being happy that we’re in the league and waiting our turn until we get a full revenue share.” Assimakopoulos wrote SMU is “prepared for a transition period and some growing pains amid its move to the ACC.” But as the only ACC school in Dallas and Texas, both Enfield and head football coach Rhett Lashlee are “hopeful that within a few years, their programs can capitalize on the recruiting and geographic advantages of their situations” (
DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/27).
WELCOME TO THE NEW REALITY: SBJ's Ben Portnoy takes a deep dive into the future of the ACC with SMU officially joining Monday and Cal and Stanford officially joining later this summer and notes the additions "offer the league the cachet to solidify its spot at No. 3 in the conference pecking order behind the SEC and Big Ten." The "new blood is being brought into the family, however, doesn’t solve all ills," as continuous "realignment questions and pending litigation make projecting the stability of the 71-year-old conference an increasingly stiff task." Celebrations in the new markets and across the traditional ACC footprint "will proceed as planned this week and on through the next month, but uncertainty looms." Meanwhile, the three schools enter the ACC "along wildly different paths. SMU officials, fans and alumni "hail the moment as a time to rejoice," though the "realities facing the Bay Area schools are more stark -- a reminder of the changing times in college athletics and the schools and conferences that have been pillaged to maximize television revenue" (
SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/1 issue).
