Cal-Berkeley Athletics Is In Severe Debt And ACC Kicking Tires On Expansion Could Be Golden Bears' Saving Grace

Conference realignment has changed the landscape of collegiate athletics over the last few weeks, and California and Stanford are stuck on the outside looking-in. The Cardinal and the Golden Bears saw its conference dissolve around them and neither school has any idea what the future holds.

The Pac-12 is now the Pac-4. Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah are gone. Only Oregon State, Washington State, Cal and Stanford remain.

It is not sustainable for just four teams to make up an entire conference, which leaves four options:

Should it be either of the latter two options that proves to make the most sense, more than likely, the Mountain West would join forces with what is left of the Pac-12. It is also possible that the Pac-12 could try and poach teams from other conferences elsewhere in the country, though that doesn't seem to be what is going to go down.

There is a lot of fluidity around what is going to happen to the four leftovers out West. They have a lot of options to explore over the next few months before a mass exodus occurs next October.

One of those options is with the ACC. Maybe.

The ACC is looking into expansion opportunities.(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

OutKick can confirm Pete Thamel's initial reporting about the Atlantic Coast Conference, which will have two calls to discuss its future over the next 24 hours or so. The first call is for ACC athletic directors. The second call is for ACC presidents and chancellors.

Both calls will serve the same purpose — to kick the tires about the possibility of adding Cal and Stanford. It wouldn't be ideal for the Cardinal or Golden Bears to join a conference on the other end of the country, but it might be a viable option in terms of finances.

California Golden Bears and the Stanford Cardinals at the Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, California.(Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

There is still a very long way to go before that becomes a reality. ACC ADs and presidents/chancellors might shut the idea down before daybreak Wednesday.

It may or may not reach the point that it becomes a legitimate possibility. At the end of the day, it all comes down to money.

Cal-Berkeley desperately needs money.

No public school in the country has more athletics debt than the University of California-Berkeley. It is operating significantly in the red, to the point that the university is paying back some of the athletic department's debt to help ease the burden and make it look like it was operating in the green.

The Golden Bears' monster debt, based on the 2021-2022 fiscal year report, totals $439,974,051. San Diego State is the next-closest school in terms of outstanding athletics debt at $332,247,260— nearly $120 million less.

Outstanding Athletics Debt(Image via Sportico's College Athletic Departments Financial Database)

A large portion of Cal's debt comes from a poorly-financed stadium deal that costs $18 million per year in interest-only payments. That figure is currently about 20% of the athletic department's annual income.

Right out of the gate, every single year, Cal athletics is operating at an 80% budget. Without the university's annual subsidies, it would be losing about $16 million per year.

Needless to say, the money problems coupled with the Pac-12's collapse is... very bad for the Golden Bears. The university's Board of Regents are set to meet Tuesday to discuss its future around the same time that the two meetings will take place among the ACC.

Cal athletics needs money to pay off its debt. It needs money to keep its head above water.

Losing a TV deal, the largest revenue generator for college athletic departments, as the Pac-12 conference collapsed around the Golden Bears was the worst-possible outcome. And now they are left to scramble.

Adding Cal may not be the best idea for the ACC. A myriad of issues could arise from the addition of a program with such significant financial debt.

However, on the other side of the table, Cal could potentially benefit in a big way from joining the ACC. The numbers would have to make sense, but it would presumably receive a lot more money through revenue sharing in the ACC than it would in the Mountain West/Pac-12 or as an independent.

Money talks and Cal is listening.