Cal and Stanford prepare for life in the ACC with a nine-figure hole in their budgets, no firm plans to solve the “revenue challenge”

Cal and Stanford officially join the ACC on Friday, marking a new era with fascinating competitive opportunities and one all-too-familiar problem.

A supermassive red hole threatens to swallow each school’s athletic budget.

Or as Cal vice chancellor for external communications Dan Mogulof told the Hotline via email: Life in the ACC carries “a revenue challenge.”

Officially, the Bears and Cardinal will be full-share members for 12 years. But according to Cal’s approval letter...