'Die on the vine': UNC's Dorrance not interested in adding Stanford, Cal to the ACC

By Brian Murphy and Kacy Hintz, WRAL

Count Anson Dorrance among those who don't want to see Stanford and Cal added to the ACC.

North Carolina's legendary women's soccer coach said the two elite academic and athletic programs on the West Coast would make life more difficult for current ACC schools.

"We've built the best women's soccer conference and there's no way I want to share the glory of our conference with two schools that do a very good job of recruiting against us," Dorrance told WRAL.

"So basically, I want Cal and Stanford to die on the vine. I look forward to seeing Stanford, which is a very difficult school to recruit against, I would look forward to them having it be so difficult for them to recruit the elite soccer player and then we would be in a position to obviously gain those kids and put the ACC in an even stronger position."

Dorrance, in his 47th season at UNC, has won 21 national titles as the women's coach.

Stanford and Cal are among four teams left in the Pac-12, which has seen most of its members announce their departures for the Big Ten and the Big 12 beginning next year. The ACC is considering adding Stanford and Cal with 11 schools reportedly favoring their addition.

North Carolina and NC State, along with Clemson and Florida State, are reportedly against expansion, which takes 12 votes among the ACC's 15 members, including Notre Dame.

Dorrance said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips favors expansion.

"These are phenomenal schools academically, but also they have great sports programs," Dorrance said.

Stanford has won the Director's Cup, given to the best all-around athletics program in the nation, 26 times in 29 years. UNC won it in 1993-94, the first season it was awarded. Cal has placed in the top 10 eight times.

"Stanford (is) on top of everyone's academic list and also very high with almost every sports team on campus being in a position to challenge for a national championship," Dorrance said. "That would be a wonderful, I guess, feather in the cap of our commissioner.

"But for us with boots on the ground, no. This is going to be horrible for us."

Dorrance mentioned tight budgets for sports like women's soccer and the addition to cross-country flights. UNC defeated Cal 3-1 on Sunday in the Tar Heels' home opener.

But he said the competitive reasons are the biggest.

"Not that Stanford and Cal don't have a national recruiting platform, of course they do," Dorrance said. "Put those two schools in the ACC, it's going to be so easy for them to recruit nationally, so it will just benefit them in my opinion, not us."

North Carolina won its last title in 2012. The Tar Heels have lost in the national title game three times in the last five seasons. ACC school Florida State won titles in 2018 and 2021.

Stanford won soccer titles in 2011, 2017 and 2019. The Cardinal finished as runner-up in 2009 and 2010.

Without an ACC invite, Stanford and Cal face an uncertain athletic future. The schools could join the American Athletic Conference. They could, along with fellow conference mates Oregon State and Washington State, attempt to rebuild the Pac-12 with schools from the Mountain West or American. Or Stanford could go independent in football and park its other programs in a West Coast-based league.

"They’re in trouble. They’re in trouble," Dorrance said. "It’s going to be harder and harder and harder for them to recruit and that benefits the rest of us in the ACC."