Subscribe
Follow Us
The Pac-12 as we know it will be no more next year, leaving the Standford football program in limo. With the 2023 college football season only a few weeks away, Stanford is one of four remaining Pac-12 schools that hasn't accepted an invitation to another conference. The latest rumors suggest that Cardinal might end up in the ACC, a move that Stanford football coach Troy Taylor understands would come with some adjustments.
Leaving the Pac-12 for the ACC would significantly increase the amount of travel for the Stanford football team. Almost all of the ACC schools are on the east coast, each more than 2,000 miles away from Stanford's California campus. In the 2023 season, the biggest trip that Troy Taylor and the Cardinal will make for a conference game is their matchup with Colorado, which is less than a day's drive away.
Perhaps understanding the new reality of college football that comes with conference realignment, Taylor isn't concerned with the possibility of increased travel.
Article Continues Below
“I'm OK with traveling. Our guys love playing football, and if you've got to travel a little more, that means when people come play us, they got to travel,” Taylor said, via ESPN. “We want to be in a great conference and we're sure that will happen. The travel, if that happens, it's fine.
“People used to have to come across the country in a covered wagon — it would take them months and they'd be completely different people by the time they got there. We get on a plane for five hours, six hours, that's not the end of the world. You get drinks served to you and some snacks and it's not that bad.”
Taylor's biggest concern is that the Stanford football team stays in a Power 5 conference. The ACC has yet to vote on adding Stanford or any other Pac-12 schools to the conference.
