Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir hadn’t pulled an all-nighter since he attended Brown 35 years ago. But 11 months ago, while in Honolulu with the Stanford football team, Muir stayed up until 3 a.m. local time to receive a call from ACC commissioner Jim Phillips with the news that Stanford had been accepted into the ACC.
The adrenaline of knowing that Stanford had found a new home in one of the four remaining power conferences kept Muir awake for the rest of the night.
The new chapter for Stanford, which has spent the past century in the Pac-12, became official on Friday when the Cardinal formally joined the ACC. But there has been plenty more to keep Muir awake at night over the past year, from coaching changes on The Farm to court decisions that will impact all Division I athletic programs.
Before flying to Paris to attend the Olympics in his role as chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Collegiate Advisory Council, Muir talked to the Bay Area News Group Thursday about the recent developments occurring inside and outside of Stanford during one of the most historic years in Cardinal history.
HOME IN THE ACC
After the Pac-12 fell apart, Muir’s main objective was finding a home in a major conference, which is why he was so excited he couldn’t sleep after he got the call in Hawaii. He is also excited to start new rivalries and engage more with the school’s alumni on the East Coast. But he acknowledged concerns about the increased travel that many programs will face joining a conference that is based on the opposite side of the country.
“I’m thankful for our provost and our faculty trying to manage to make sure our student-athletes, while they’re on the road, we get them back as quickly as we can, and that we work with faculty so that they can get and take the classes that are important to them, that they’re interested in,” Muir said. “Part of the experience we promised them is to make sure that they have the best academic, enriching experience and to be able to have a great athletic experience. And we think we can still offer both, but I’m grateful to a number of faculty members who are working with us trying to figure out how we can ease this transition as best we can.”
With reports that schools like Florida State and Clemson are looking to get out of the ACC, there’s also the chance that Stanford’s new conference will be destabilized much like the Pac-12 was when USC and UCLA left, but Muir didn’t express concerns about that.
“I don’t want to speculate,” Muir said. “I certainly also don’t have a crystal ball, but I have great faith in our commissioner and his staff. We’ve joined a strong conference, and we’re excited to get going.”
FINANCIAL ISSUES
Stanford and Cal agreed to only take a 30% share of the ACC’s media rights revenue for the first seven years of their membership. Meanwhile, a recent antitrust settlement would allow schools to pay their athletes more than $20 million a year in direct compensation.
It seems that the cost of running a high-major athletic program just went up, while Stanford will be getting less revenue than its ACC counterparts.
“We’re still, like many institutions, just trying to figure out all the inner workings,” Muir said. “We don’t formally have the settlement signed over just yet, so we have to still study the impact of that. We’re already navigating being in a new conference. We’re taking less of a media share to start, but we have support of the institution and also support of our alumni base. Our community has been very generous over the years, has created endowments for us that have been quite helpful, and we’re going to have to continue to build those endowments moving forward.”
Despite the added expenses and the possibility of less revenue, Muir said that eliminating sports is not on the table. Stanford decided to cut 11 sports in 2020 before reversing its decision a year later.
“We’re committed to Olympic excellence,” Muir said. “We take great pride in that. Our leadership is committed to making sure our student-athletes have a great experience across the board. We want to do it with the breadth of programs that we have enjoyed over the years. Yes, there are some challenges that we’re working through as it relates to funding and being able to do this in what will be a new environment, but we’re coming off of these Games and taking such great pride across the board with the breadth of our programs, we’re going to try. We have a great commitment from our university to really put our student-athletes in the best position possible moving forward.”
CHANGING LANDSCAPE
Over the past three seasons, 44 players have transferred out of the football program, while only nine have transferred in.
The talent drain has trickled down to other sports as well. Kiki Iriafen, one of the top returning women’s basketball players in the country, transferred to USC soon after the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer. And NiJaree Canady, the top softball pitcher in the country, recently announced her decision to transfer to Texas Tech, reportedly for more than $1 million in NIL money.
But Muir said that Stanford is comfortable playing under these new terms.
“We think we can continue to compete at a high level, and we’re excited about that,” Muir said. “I’m thrilled that in this new NIL space, we have a collective, Lifetime Cardinal, who’s assisting us and trying to stay ahead of what the trends are, and working together to try to provide the best experience for our student-athletes.”
Players like Canady and former starting running Austin Jones, who also transferred to USC after his sophomore year, show that even the prospect of a Stanford degree isn’t enough to keep talented athletes on The Farm. But Muir said that Stanford is still an attractive destination.
“We still have a high degree of excellence that we are striving for each and every day, and we think we’re going to be able to continue to do that even within the changing landscape,” Muir said. “Is there more work to be done? Yes, but we think we can adapt and come out stronger through all of this.”
INTERNAL TURNOVER
Stanford will be navigating its way through a new conference with first- or second-year coaches in its three most high-profile sports. VanDerveer, the all-time winningest college basketball coach, and David Shaw, who has the most wins in the history of the football program, have both retired over the past two years, and Jared Haase, who failed to make the NCAA Tournament in eight seasons, was fired in March.
Muir chose different strategies for each of the openings. Longtime assistant Kate Paye replaced VanDerveer, while Troy Taylor was hired from FCS-level Sacramento State to take over for Shaw, and Kyle Smith came from Washington State to run the men’s basketball program.
“The thrill for me at Stanford is that we’re always trying to produce great leaders, and that really starts with our coaching,” Muir said. “And we have great coaching across the board, and especially in three of our highest-profile programs. And excited about what those leaders are going to do in each of those programs and the student assets that they have assembled and continue to recruit into their program. I think it really bodes well for the future for us.”
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The football program in particular has struggled recently, posting three straight 3-9 seasons. The Cardinal is picked last out of the 17 teams in the preseason ACC media poll, but Muir thinks a turnaround is possible.
“I credit Troy for continuing to build a culture of just working hard,” Muir said. “We’re at a full roster, which is terrific, which we’ve been limited in years past, and now this feels like, coaching staff in place that is really talented, strength staff that is really talented, and we have student athletes who are really committed. They’ve been working hard, and they want to prove something. And I think that goes well for us as we continue to try to navigate a new conference and recruit really well because of what the staff has done, but they’re also, you know, obviously, touting a Stanford education and the Stanford experience.”
Not long ago, the football team was winning Rose Bowls and the men’s basketball team made 11 straight NCAA Tournaments. Whether Stanford can reach those heights again, with new coaches, loosened rules about player movement and compensation, and a new conference affiliation, remains to be seen, but Muir is optimistic.
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Muir said. “And we’re excited to fully integrate the new leadership. Yes, it’s quite a bit of change, but at the same token, it is a great opportunity that lies ahead for us. And I think so many of our sports are up for the challenge, and I know our student-athletes, most importantly, are just as excited and eager to show what they can do.”
