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ATLANTA (WDRB) -- The Atlantic Coast Conference voted Friday morning to admit Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley and Southern Methodist University for the 2024-25 athletic season, the conference announced Friday morning.

The admissions are for all sports, according to a source close to the talks, and bring the ACC's membership to 18 schools in all sports but football, where Notre Dame's independence leaves the league at 17.

"This is a significant day for the ACC as we welcome Cal, SMU and Stanford to this incredible conference," University of Virginia President James E. Ryan, chair of the ACC Board of Directors, said in a news release Friday. "This expansion will enhance and strengthen the league now and in the future. We greatly appreciate the tireless efforts of Commissioner Jim Phillips throughout this entire process, especially his focus on minimizing travel burdens for student-athletes, and we are excited about the ACC’s collective future."

According to multiple reports, Stanford and Cal agreed to enter the league at a reduced revenue share, and SMU won't take any revenue from the league for nine years after school boosters pledged to make up the difference in order to get the school into a major conference.

Josh Heird, athletic director at the University of Louisville, said in a news release Friday that adding the three new schools makes the ACC a "nationwide power spanning from coast to coast."

"The addition of these three world-class academic and athletic institutions is a transformative moment for the ACC and for the University of Louisville." Heird said. "... This expansion will provide increased revenue to the ACC and to the University of Louisville, broaden the Cardinals brand nationally, provide greater stability for the conference and align UofL with even more of higher education's greatest institutions. While there are still questions to be resolved in the months ahead regarding scheduling, travel and logistics, as a conference, we have worked hard to develop a plan that limits the impact on our student-athletes.

The vote came after weeks of back-and-forth and some opposition from original members of the conference. The presidents of Clemson, North Carolina and Florida State were the only three to vote against the expansion, Brett McMurphy of the Action Network reported.

"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," ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said in a news release Friday. "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."

It comes amid a rapidly changing sports landscape that saw the Big Ten absorb PAC-12 members Oregon and Washington over the summer to effectively kill that longstanding college conference.

Phillips had pitched the idea of safety in numbers to league members who were opposed to the additions. For the three new members, the move brings a measure of stability as college conference realign in major ways without regard for geography.

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