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A long time ago in a galaxy not far away, there was an athletic conference with 7 original members known as the ACC. They weren't wookies or Ewoks or stormtroopers, or even Jedi masters, but rather Wolves, Blue Devils, Tigers, Gamecocks, and some strange and annoying entities called Tarheels. Those days are a distant memory, and we have now arrived at a very strange crossroads where the ACC has expanded from coast to coast. It seems weird right? Cal Berkeley, Stanford, and Southern Methodist in the ACC? Well as strange as it seems, that is where we are. Not many NC State fans know much about these 3 schools, so I'm going to tell you some things about each that you either don't need or want to know. Fun stuff, weird stuff, and sometimes interesting stuff.
California
Let's start with the Golden Bears of California. They are not particularly good at football as of late. They finished 6-7 last year and were 8th in an anemic pac-12. They gave up a lot of points but they can score, and they will be improved this season.
UC Berkeley was the first university in the UC system and they have a big rivalry with Stanford which started a long time ago. Cal beat Stanford on November 20, 1982, on what has come to be known as “the play”. It is perhaps the most famous play in college football history. Neither Stanford nor the Stanford marching band could deny the Golden Bears a touchdown to win the game after time expired on a Stanford kickoff. In case you aren't familiar with the play, you can watch it on YouTube. It's pretty unbelievable.
It's a student tradition to rub a stone ball which is in front of the Campanile (Bell Tower) before an exam for luck. It's called the 4.0 ball, and perhaps it does work, at least in the minds of the students.
The Cal mascot is Oski, a Golden Bear, (not a real bear), and they have a large cannon that is used after a score or a win. It's a real cannon by the way.
UC Berkeley professor and architect John Galen Howard created and installed a gate known as Sather Gate in 1910 to prevent vampires from coming onto campus. Sather Gate was featured in the film “Monsters University.”
Cal is picked to finish 10th in the ACC preseason football poll.
Stanford
Now let's talk about Stanford. We have already covered “The Play”. Stanford is really not good at football, and they went 3-9 and finished last in the Pac-12, consequently, they are predicted to finish last in the conference.
Stanford boasts one of the largest campuses in the US at 8,180 acres, and it has its own zip code.
There is a popular jogging trail known as The Dish which is a hilly paved trail that loops around a huge radio telescope.
Cars are not allowed on campus for sustainability reasons.
Stanford’s main Quadrangle (called the Quad) has an interesting design. When looking at it from above, the buildings resemble the shape of the head of the first president of Stanford, David Starr Jordan. I can only imagine how this came about.
Stanford’s unofficial mascot is called “the Tree”, which was chosen by the band. Every year, one person is chosen to be the tree to entertain and engage fans during athletic events.
SMU
Now let's talk about SMU, which is pretty good at football. They won the AAC championship last year with an 8-0 record, but they did lose to Boston College in their bowl game. They are predicted to finish 7th in the preseason predictions, and this team could surprise some opponents this year.
SMU was founded in 1914 after a dispute between the United Methodist Church and Vanderbilt University. The UMC and Vanderbilt cut ties and SMU became the Methodist flagship institution.
The SMU mascot is the Mustang, and legend has it that there is a connection to the famed Ford Mustang, but that can't be confirmed.
There are nine libraries on the SMU campus, which seems like a lot.
There are a few notable SMU alumni, including Laura Bush, Kathy Bates, Eric Dickerson, and Laura Graham, who played Lorelai Gilmore on the Gilmore Girls.
Another fact about SMU is that they made it to the final four in 1956.
So there you have it, a few facts about the new members of the ACC. It should be an interesting year, with teams flying all the way across the country. I hope you learned something interesting. Now get ready to sit back and watch these new members as they try to make their mark in the ACC. May the force be with them except when they play NC State!
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