http://espn.go.com/ncaa/news/2003/0624/1572498.html Report: Miami reaction expected Thursday The Atlantic Coast Conference reached deep into its expansion playbook late Tuesday and pulled a shocking end run. School presidents and chancellors voted Tuesday night to invite Miami and Virginia Tech to join the conference -- a scenario that excludes fellow would-be Big East defectors Boston College and Syracuse. Sources also told ESPN that the vote was 7-2 in favor of inviting the two football powerhouses This development came at the end of a 3½-hour conference call and is the latest surprising development in the saga involving the conferences. According to the Washington Post, the expansion is expected to occur for the 2004-05 season. The Post, citing multiple sources, reported the ACC presidents will not make an official announcement until the four affected Big East schools are notified. A news conference at league headquarters in Greensboro, N.C., is expected to be held Wednesday. However, USA Today reported Miami is not expected to respond to the new plan until Thursday at the earliest. The Post reported that a Syracuse spokesman said the school had not heard anything from the ACC as of Tuesday night. The ACC's original plan was to invite Boston College, Syracuse and Miami. Five uninvited Big East schools filed a lawsuit aimed at preserving its alliance and its automatic BCS bowl-bid status. The ACC reportedly was considering several expansion scenarios involving Big East teams, but a two-team expansion was not known until the Tuesday vote.
There was an article in Greensboro's Sunday paper which described the ACC expansion as power-motivated moreso than profit-motivated... at least for the near-term. There was also criticism of the far reach into the North for Syracuse and Boston College while overlooking the more natural rival Virginia Tech-- they already play Virginia every year. Too bad that their basketball is so uncompetitive. Come back Bimbo Coles!
ACC looks like they really want to boost their football reputation, but at teh same time weaken their basketball conference. BIg East still looks decent in basketball but I wonder how many schools may leave without Miami and Va Tech (assuming they do leave) there for football. I definetely can't see the BCS wanting the winner of the WVU-Syrracuse (or whoever teh top 2 schools may be) game.
Well, with just 11 teams in their conference, I don't think the ACC can have a title game like the SEC and Big 12. I thought that was the whole reason for expansion...to have a championship game to bring in more money for the conference.
The mistake the ACC made was passing on VT the first time forcing the hand of the Governor of Virginia who wouldn't allow the president of UVA to cast the deciding yes vote. Now VT has to be included in any plans. Miami is probably unhappy because it wanted to take BC and Syracuse with it (TV sets + northeast alumni base). If I'm a BC or 'Cuse fan, I wouldn't want to stay in a Big East minus VT and Miami...that thing has "fold" written all over it.
For the schools that are getting screwed, this sucks. But for college football fans overall, this would be a pretty good move. Both the ACC and Big East are very bottom heavy football wise. I get tired of seeing Miami go through their conference schedule like a knife through hot butter. I don't think it's fair for some conferences to have championship games while others don't. It's come back to bite the Big 12 a few times when an undefeated team loses in the championship game and takes itself out of the national championship. Of course none of this would make a difference if there was a 16 team playoff like I-AA has. You win your conference, you get a bid. The rest of the bids are at-large. Of course, that would never work. Then we wouldn't get to see the Poulan Weedeater Bowl.
My bet is that the ACC goes after Louisville from CUSA to round out their roster to 12. That would allow them to have the big championship game and all the millions that come along with it. Louisville has had a good record in football for the past few years, is an awesome basketball school that will add to the confrences' basketball reputation and will be much easier to swindle away from CUSA, than it would to get another school, such as Syracuse, from the Big East. AC
Not if they can lure some of the top teams in C-USA (Louisville, Cincy) to become a bball powerhouse and drop Division-I football. Sure there's less $$, but come March Madness time, they'll rival the popularity of the ACC, which they compete with for a regional fan base.
Big East: "If I can't have you, then no one can!" Why is Rutgers even in D1? They don't even have a decent team for any sport. If the BE can get rid of Rutgers and bring in Louisville and elitist "it's all about the money" Notre Dame, then that would be a good conference.
Doubtful that will happen. Every thing I have read is that Louisville will go to the Big East to replace Miami although I can see them being a decent fit for the ACC as well.
