Following fifty years of athletic excellence, the Atlantic Coast Conference now finds itself at a crossroads. A crossroads that potentially could alter much of the college sports landscape. Following the lead of the nation's "super-conferences," the ACC is seeking to expand to 12 teams by adding the University of Miami, Boston College and Syracuse University.
"The last decade has seen unprecedented movement between conferences," ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a release Sunday. "This trend is likely to continue whether or not Miami, Boston College and Syracuse join the Atlantic Coast Conference."
If seven of nine Atlantic Coast Conference school presidents approve, official invitations to join the conference could be extended to three Big East schools as early as this week.
The ACC voted in favor of expansion on May 13. On May 17 conference members voted to begin formal discussions with the three Big East schools.
An important factor in the recent expansion talks are television contracts, which expire in 2005. The potential for lucrative television contracts that a 12-team super-conference can bring has quickly brought the issue of conference expansion into the spotlight.
"The dialogue has picked up momentum in the last year or so mainly because of television contracts for football which are expiring," Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage said, expansion would allow the ACC "to go into any television negotiations with the very best package and the maximum leverage for making your case as a conference."
The ACC also hopes to gain an advantage in Bowl Championship Series negotiations, a significant source of revenue for affiliated conferences and their members.
"The BCS contracts expire around that time [2004] as well," Littlepage said. "Getting things done now [will allow us] ... to say this is what the ACC is."
If the ACC expands from nine to 12 teams, it will split into two divisions for football, and will hold a conference championship -
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