The presidents of the Atlantic Coast Conference voted Saturday morning to accept Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the league, according to an official in the ACC. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league has not announced the move.
The ACC has scheduled a news media teleconference Sunday at 9:30 a.m., ET ostensibly to discuss the expansion, but no details were given.
Though news of Pitt and Syracuse's defection caught most of college athletics by surprise, the league has had discussions about expansion for the last year and the move was accelerated when Texas A&M announced its intention to join the Southeastern Conference last month, according to the official.
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The move would make the ACC a 14-team conference and certainly lead to speculation that the era of 16-team super conferences is about to arrive. The ACC also has not closed off its options about adding two other East Coast teams, depending on how the expansion dominoes fall in other leagues. Connecticut and Rutgers would be the candidates, the official said.
Syracuse and Pitt must give the Big East 27 months notice of their departure and pay a $5 million exit fee. Last week, in a regularly scheduled meeting ACC presidents unanimously approved raising their exit fee to $20 million - up from about $13 million - for any member leaving the conference. There has been speculation about the SEC's interest in Florida State. However, it appears FSU will stay put given Florida State president Eric Barron's stated commitment to the league and his vote for the pricey exit fee.
One official in the Big East, also requesting anonymity, said there was word about Syracuse and Pitt heading to the ACC three weeks ago. With the departure, the Big East is down to seven football schools, including Texas Christian, which joins the conference next year. News of the Big East's possible unraveling came on the heels of the death of its founder, Dave Gavitt, who died Friday night after a long illness.
More changes are expected based on the next move of several schools in the Big 12. The board of regents at Oklahoma and Texas are meeting Monday to discuss the possibility of the universities leaving that conference. Texas also made a pitch to the ACC, according to an official in the ACC.
After being silent all day, Big East Commissioner John Marinatto issued a statement late Saturday night:
"Although I was obviously very disappointed to learn the news about the ACC's being in discussions about membership with the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University, I continue to believe the Big East Conference is well positioned for the future and that the events of the past 24 hours will unify our membership. We have been working steadily to solidify and strengthen the Big East Conference and position us for our upcoming TV negotiations and I am confident that we will again emerge from this situation and remain strong."
The New York Times first reported news of the talks involving the ACC on Friday, and CBSSports.com first reported Saturday the schools had filed applications with the ACC.
In Louisville, Cardinals athletic director Tom Jurich said he initially doubted the schools were leaving.
"I didn't believe it because Pittsburgh was involved, and I didn't see where the value (is) they would bring to that league at all," he told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "That's no slap at Pittsburgh. I just couldn't see where that fit was."
Cincinnati president Greg Williams said his school remains committed to the Big East. "The Big East is a viable organization," Williams said. "I think they can survive. Syracuse and Pitt are great schools, but the Big East is a strong conference."
That does not mean he isn't surveying the landscape.
"We're always trying to get information about what's going on. We're not trying to jump to another conference. We're committed to the Big East. We think the Big East is a great conference, one that's really right for us. That's what we're committed to and hopefully that will be able to continue. If not, we're still going to be (well) situated because we're a strong athletic and academic program."
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