ACC invites Miami, and Virginia Tech

[baggio248]

"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."~ESPN.com

Well now that makes ACC a powerhouse league. But will it be as tough as the SEC, PAC-10, Big 12, Big 10?

[Cantacuzene]

It makes them tougher than everyone except Big 12. Pac 10 are mediocre and the Big 10 seem to be good, but I don't have much respect for their "good" teams like Penn State and Purdue.

The SEC is ok, but their medium to upper teams are LSU and Arkansas. The ACC's are Georgia Tech and NC State. I'd rather have GT and NCS.

[bachviet]

Football is going to be tough for those original ACC teams since VT and Miami footbal programs are excellent. They are not as challenge in basketball though.

[gear02]

I hate this story. I just want some resolution now. I hate the thought that schools warn their players about taking gifts and money and here they are trying stealing other schools and trying to make as much money as possible, claiming that it was in the school's best academic interest. My ass. The NCAA is corrupt and it's killing amateur sports.

[slaus]

I wish Miami and Virginia Tech would stay in the Big East in all its mediocrity. It hasnt hurt Miami or Virginia Tech since they've been in 3 national championships out of the last 4. They should have tried harder to entice Notre Dame to give up its independent status in football to join the Big East considering ND is in the Big East for every other sport. It would atleast give the Big East some more bargaining power to make more money in the next TV contract negotiations.

[baggio248]

It doesn't really matter that much if they stay in the Big East. Yeah they can play in a weaker/stronger conference, who cares, what it boils down to is who they schedule to play. Play Notre Dame, Ohio State etc... Schedule some tough games along with playing in your conference. This all boils down to Capitalism, easiest way to make a buck.

[ski]

I'm at VT! :) Basically the reaction here is mostly glad we have secured ourselves a conference.

We're gonna get so rocked in basketball it won't be funny, but intraconference football has the potential to be lookin good for us. Marcus Vick is supposed to make his appearance this year!

[whitak24]

i think the acc was extremely foolish to expand. most of the schools in the original acc are never going to be football powers and i don't know how they really think they're going to make that much extra money with sucky football teams.

the acc's valuable athletic product is basketball, and they have built a powerful reputation there. not only are they watering down their competition (which is excellent in most years) but they are also losing the opportunity to have every team play home and homes, which is what makes their league championship legit.

[slaus]

I went to VT a few years ago. Being part of the ACC will help them in terms of recruiting but to be honest VT hasnt faired well against top 10 competition. A lot of teams in the ACC are on the rise in terms of football programs. Unfortunately UVA is one of those teams because Al Groh continues to recruit well. FSU is always dangerous even with the current scandals. Georgria is improving. There is a chance that VT will hurt its bowl chances by playing in a considerably tougher conference. Plus Miami will be coming along and that cant help things.

Basketball is going to be a complete disaster. I know the Big East has Syracuse and Connecticut to make the league difficult but the ACC has Maryland, UNC and Duke. Plus the bottom of the Big East is way worse than the bottom of the ACC.

Side Note: I hear Marcus Vick is more advanced in terms of being a quarterback than Michael at the same point in time. Not as gifted athletically but more intelligent or has a better feel for the game. Michael got a very bland playbook because he had trouble with reading more than a few patterns at once. They say Marcus is better at it.

[baggio248]

Now that VT has accepted its bid, the conference is waiting on Miami. There are also reports that they have invited a 12th team to join, it could be anyone from South Carolina to Notre Dame. And this saga continues...

[ski]

I heard the exact same things about Marcus... it's a good thing, because Grant Noel could never put his head on right for any games in the past 2 seasons!

[ski]

What's going to happen to the ACC logo if ND joins??

http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/acc/story_headline_photos/seal-acc_mini.gif

All the coastline states from Florida to Maryland are pictured, and they'd stick in Indiana?!? :)

[slaus]

Grant Noel could never be consistent. He threw an ugly ball. Randall was considerably better but not in the same class as Marcus.

[slaus]

Well its official Virginia Tech accepted the ACC invite.

http://espn.go.com/ncaa/news/2003/0627/1573771.html

Regardless of what Miami decides, Virginia Tech accepted the ACC's invitation and will officially become the 10th member of the league at a news conference Tuesday at the ACC headquarters in Greensboro, N.C., ESPN.com's Andy Katz reported Friday.

Miami, which is pondering counterproposals from the Big East, is expected to make its decision Monday, and the ACC hopes to announce both schools by Tuesday's news conference.

ACC associate commissioner Mike Finn told ESPN.com on Friday that the Hokies informed the conference that it would join the league, but he added that the invitation is not tied to Miami. If the Hurricanes turn the ACC down and remain in the Big East, the ACC would only add Virginia Tech, a school that wasn't part of the original expansion plan.

Finn told Katz that the year of expansion -- either 2004-05 or 2005-06 -- hasn't been decided. Big East officials said they haven't received official word from Virginia Tech on its decision. Virginia Tech has until Monday to notify the Big East of its intentions, and does not have to pay the $1 million exit fee. The fee for exiting the Big East for the 2004-05 season doubles after Monday. The fee never goes below $1 million, even if the expansion move wouldn't be until the 2005-06 season.

The ACC originally invited Miami, Syracuse and Boston College for a 12-team conference. The league went on formal site visits to all three schools, but after a number of conference calls, the ACC failed to reach a consensus on 12 schools.

Last week, the league decided to invite Virginia Tech and Miami as a compromise to get Virginia's swing vote. Virginia was under considerable pressure within the state to endorse Virginia Tech. The vote for expansion was approved by a 7-2 margin with Duke and North Carolina voting against the move.

ACC officials visited Virginia Tech last week to complete the formal part of the invitation process.


The University of Miami said Thursday it had received counterproposals to remain in the Big East and will make a final decision Monday.

The university's executive committee of its board of trustees met with Miami President Donna Shalala and athletic director Paul Dee for more than an hour Thursday to discuss the ACC invitation. Shalala said that no vote was taken.

The ACC has scheduled a news conference for Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET to address the situation.

Shalala said the delay was at least partially attributed to the fact the school received counterproposals from other Big East schools Thursday. She declined to provide any specifics on those proposals.

"The Big East has informally sent a proposal, or at least a list of proposals, to us and we feel a responsibility to review them,'' said Shalala, who acknowledged she was not ruling out any possibility, including remaining in the Big East.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Thursday conference officials are keeping the lines of communications open with Miami and continue to remain optimistic that the Hurricanes will join the ACC.

"These are significant decisions that have long-term implications and we fully appreciate and respect Miami's need to thoroughly evaluate their decision," Swofford said. "We think Miami would be an excellent fit for the Atlantic Coast Conference and it is certainly our hope that they will be joining us."

The Rev. William Leahy, Boston College's president, spoke with Shalala on Wednesday night.

"I think she is generally torn about what to do,'' he said.

An 11-team conference might have been a sticking point for Miami. The school had some financial concerns about joining the conference without Northeast schools Boston College and Syracuse or a guarantee of a football championship game.

But a source within the ACC told ESPN.com's Katz that the conference informed Miami officials that it is easier to go from 11 to 12 schools than nine to 12, indicating that the ACC will likely want to have an even number of teams within the next 3-4 years.

Shalala said Miami still had to evaluate what a two-team addition to the ACC would mean financially for Miami. With just 11 teams, the ACC could not add the lucrative title game.

"We had done numbers on Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami, we had done numbers on Miami alone, but we had not anticipated that Virginia Tech and Miami would be the only two invitees,'' Shalala said.

Information from the Associated Press and ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz was used in this report.

[gear02]

wow...VT is a hypocrite. VT yells, cries, and sues when BC, SU, and UM were discussed, but immediately jumps when their name is called...

they're gonna get so screwed by everyone...

[attgig]

there they go...

Miami and VTECH....both in ACC....