DALLAS, TEXAS — Its official, SMU has accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in all sports. President R. Gerald Turner made the announcement early in the morning on September 1, 2023.
SMU will join alongside the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) and Stanford University after the ACC Board of Directors voted to formally admit the three schools. The three schools will join the ACC as full members with full voting participation effective July 1, 2024 (SMU) and August 2, 2024 for Stanford and Berkely.
The ACC is now in its 71st year of competition with 15 members strong. The conference has a long reputation as one of the strongest and most competitive intercollegiate conferences in the nation. The ACC includes members of Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest which continue to build upon the cornerstones on which the league was founded in 1953 with a consistent balance of academics, athletics and integrity.
SMU President R. Gerald Turner stated his excitement on the big move to the ACC saying, “joining the Atlantic Coast Conference is an historic milestone in our institution’s history, and the start of a new chapter in SMU Athletics.” Turner also went into depth on the journey to get SMU to this moment and how grateful he is for this milestone to be seen. Turner”, from early on in my tenure here on the Hilltop, we had a vision to reestablish SMU Athletics as a nationally recognized and relevant program, one to complement our outstanding academic reputation. We set out to return SMU Football to campus and to build Ford Stadium, and later to increase operating support with the Circle of Champions and the Vision 2025 Fund. These are things we could not have done without the support of our Board of Trustees and the financial support of so many generous donors. It is truly an exciting time on the Hilltop.”
The Mustangs will finish out their final season in the AAC (American Athletic Conference) starting their home opener on September, 2nd. Kick off is set for 11am CT.
