http://www.sportsline.com/general/story/6437389

ACC will invite Virginia Tech to join other Big East defectors
June 18, 2003
SportsLine.com wire reports




RICHMOND, Va. -- Atlantic Coast Conference presidents will invite Virginia Tech to join three other Big East schools in jumping to the ACC as part of its expansion plan, two sources told the Associated Press on Wednesday night.

The sources spoke to the AP on the condition they not be identified.


Will Frank Beamer's Hokies join the other Big East teams that are hoping to leave for the ACC?(AP)
The decision to add Virginia Tech was made during a three-hour teleconference of nine league presidents on Wednesday after it appeared that the original expansion involving Miami, Boston College and Syracuse would not get the required seven votes for approval, one source with knowledge of the talks said.

The suggestion to reconsider the Hokies was made by Virginia president John T. Casteen III, who has supported including Virginia Tech in the plan throughout. After the Hokies were first rejected last month, he pledged to continue pushing for their inclusion.

Virginia Tech president Charles M. Steger was notified of the ACC's change of heart in a meeting with Georgia Tech president G. Wayne Clough in Blacksburg, Va., on Wednesday night, the second source said.

Steger was expected to speak with members of the school's Board of Visitors on Thursday to gauge their feelings on whether Virginia Tech should accept the offer.

ACC spokesman Brian Morrison told the AP on Wednesday night that there was "informal contact" between Steger and a CEO from one of the ACC schools for the latter "to understand better what political options might be available."

"No individual member institution has the authority to act on behalf of the ACC," Morrison said. "No invitations have been extended at this time."

Steger and others at Virginia Tech have been among the most outspoken critics of the ACC's expansion plan, which would leave the remaining schools in a stripped down Big East with an uncertain athletic future. Virginia Tech is one of five Big East football schools that filed suit on June 6 against the ACC, Miami and Boston College trying to stop expansion.

Casteen, who left later Wednesday for a vacation in Europe and was not available for comment, was seen as having the possible deciding vote on expansion -- one that could have dealt Virginia Tech athletics a serious blow if he approved the plan.

Casteen offered Virginia Tech as an expansion target on May 16, but the suggestion was voted down by the league's presidents, who then decided to pursue the other three schools.

Casteen also has been under pressure from Gov. Mark R. Warner and other state officials to do whatever he could to protect Virginia Tech's athletic viability.

The latest teleconference was the third among the ACC's presidents and chancellors in recent days. The calls lasted a total of eight hours but never ended in a consensus, with Duke and North Carolina raising concerns about travel costs, student welfare and projected revenues of an ACC football title game and future TV contracts.

Morrison said commissioner John Swofford had no comment on the issues discussed in Wednesday's teleconference or when another one would be scheduled.

A Big East spokesman said Wednesday night the conference would have no comment on the report of Virginia Tech's invitation.

William C. Latham, a member of Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors, said Steger's secretary called Wednesday afternoon to schedule a telephone appointment for Thursday. Latham said he did not know what the phone call would be about.

Virginia Tech officials initially spoke of wanting to either see the Big East remain intact or for it to be included in an ACC expansion plan. After the three other schools were selected, Virginia Tech joined Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Rutgers and Connecticut in the lawsuit accusing the ACC, Miami and Boston College of trying to ruin the Big East.

Richard Blumenthal, the attorney general for Connecticut where the suit was filed, said an offer to Virginia Tech is "another sign that the ACC is desperate and divided, and that its real goal is to destroy the Big East as we know it."

"In any event, we would pursue our lawsuit with undiminished vigor and even greater determination," he said. "In fact, our legal claims might be stronger because this reversal is more evidence of the ACC's scheme to destroy the Big East."

Phone messages left at Steger's home Wednesday night were not returned.

"This has been a longer process than I thought it would take," North Carolina State athletic director Lee Fowler said before the decision to pursue Virginia Tech was revealed. "There have been things that have popped up that I thought had been resolved earlier."

The Big East schools leaving for the ACC must each pay a $1 million exit fee. The penalty doubles after June 30.

"Everybody is ready for this to be over," said Fowler, who was on two of three site visits conducted by a team of ACC officials. "It gets frustrating, but nobody is going to do anything until they get all the facts and feel comfortable with them.

"I assumed if we made these visits and things were good at these universities that it would just move along," he added. "But I still knew we had more work to do."

That includes divisional alignment, an item in which more than 35 options have been discussed, Fowler said.

"None of this has surprised me because I've been through it in other leagues," said Fowler, who acknowledged getting nine schools on the same page is often difficult. "Even with great things, there are differences of opinions."

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http://www.ctnow.com/sports/college/basketball/hc-acclede0619.artjun19,0,2241124.story?coll=hc-headlines-sports


ACC After Va. Tech
Big East Facing 4-Team Exodus?

June 19, 2003
By KEN DAVIS, Courant Staff Writer

The Big East Conference may be in danger of losing a fourth team to the Atlantic Coast Conference, based on an Associated Press report Wednesday night that Virginia Tech will be asked to consider joining the ACC.

Two unidentified sources told the AP in Richmond, Va., that the decision to add Virginia Tech into the expansion plan was made Wednesday morning during a 31/2-hour teleconference call of the nine ACC presidents. Virginia president John T. Casteen III, viewed as holding a key vote regarding the decision to issue formal invitations to Miami, Boston College and Syracuse, made the suggestion during the call.

Casteen, a former UConn president, has been under political pressure in the state of Virginia and has supported Virginia Tech throughout the process. But after the Hokies were rejected as an expansion possibility in a vote of ACC presidents last month, Virginia Tech president Charles M. Steger joined the presidents from UConn, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Rutgers in a lawsuit against Miami, BC and the ACC with the hope of stopping expansion.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who filed the lawsuit June 6 in state Superior Court in Hartford, had just learned of the AP report when contacted by The Courant Wednesday night. Blumenthal said he would be "absolutely shocked, deeply disappointed as well as astonished if Virginia Tech were to consider such an overture."

The AP report said Steger was notified of the ACC's decision in a meeting with Georgia Tech president G. Wayne Clough in Blacksburg, Va. Steger will speak with members of the school's Board of Visitors today to gauge their feelings and determine whether Virginia Tech should accept the offer. Blumenthal, in a later interview, said he was able to confirm both the meeting between Steger and Clough and today's meeting with the board.

Blumenthal said he was not aware of any contact between Steger and the legal representatives involved in the lawsuit.

"Virginia Tech is committed to our legal action and will stand with us, so far as we know," Blumenthal said. "This overture shows that the ACC will stop at nothing to expand its number and its membership for its own monetary self interest, and is seeking to destroy the Big East. We are absolutely determined to pursue the lawsuit with undiminished vigor and increased determination."

Big East officials had no comment on the report. The loss of Virginia Tech, along with the other three, would destroy the Big East football conference, which UConn is scheduled to join in 2005. It would leave the Big East with four football members and no hope of retaining its Bowl Championship Series membership.

UConn president Philip E. Austin joined the presidents from Rutgers, West Virginia and Pittsburgh in a conference call late Wednesday night. The presidents are expected to release a statement concerning Virginia Tech today.

A source described the presidents as "surprised" by the development. Austin could not be reached for comment.

Casteen left later Wednesday for a vacation in Europe and was not available for comment. Casteen offered Virginia Tech as an expansion target May 16, but the suggestion was voted down by the league's presidents, who then decided to pursue the other three schools. Casteen has been under pressure from Gov. Mark R. Warner and other state officials to protect Virginia Tech's athletic stature.

The ACC presidents, according to a source, are expected to talk again over the weekend. Wednesday's call was the third such meeting that has been held since June 10 and more than eight hours of discussions did not produce a vote. ACC commissioner John Swofford is expected to call for a vote as soon as he knows he has the required seven votes to approve expansion.

It wasn't clear whether the ACC would end its expansion effort at 13 teams or perhaps continue in the pursuit of a 14th member. The ACC has had conversations with Notre Dame and those might intensify if the highly successful Hokies joined the other three Big East schools.

There also is the possibility that Casteen's move is a way to open the expansion vote, giving the ACC the necessary seven votes while protecting Casteen's interests within Virginia. Virginia Tech then could reject the invitation and preserve its place in the lawsuit.

Duke and North Carolina reportedly remain opposed to expansion. Sources said Swofford believes expansion will eventually be approved before June 30. That is a key date if the realigned conference is to begin play in 2004. Miami, BC, Syracuse - and possibly Virginia Tech - must notify the Big East of their exit for 2004 by June 30 or the $1 million buyout jumps to $2 million per school.

If the ACC decides to table the issue and wait until 2005 to implement expansion, there is more time to reach a decision. The three schools have until June 30, 2004, to make that announcement.

North Carolina, a self-sufficient athletic department with a budget of $40 million, is concerned about the financial implications of expansion. Sources said chancellor James Moeser is resolute and will not change his stance. Duke president Nan Keohane has concerns ranging from scheduling to travel and the impact on the conference's athletes.

A league source confirmed Wednesday that it is "highly unlikely" that the conference would vote only to invite Miami. That theory emerged in recent days when it was obvious there weren't seven votes in favor of expansion and that the Big East lawsuit was creating an intimidation factor for the ACC.

Under NCAA rules, the ACC needs 12 teams to split into two divisions and hold a football championship game. That is another major element in the financial promise of expansion. A change in the NCAA ruling to allow a playoff in a 10-team conference would require the approval of the NCAA championships/competition cabinet, the Management Council and the Board of Directors.

Jean L. Ponsetto, senior associate athletic director at DePaul and chairwoman of the NCAA championships/competition cabinet, said she would be surprised if the ACC filed a motion and even more surprised if the bylaw was changed.

"You have several conferences that have relied on this legislation to conduct their business and to plan their championships and budgets," Ponsetto said. "You've got both the SEC and the Big 12 who have been acting in good faith on the assumption that 12 is the number that was necessary."

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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/6123505.htm



Option play: ACC to add Va. Tech?
A 13-team conference now a possibility
BY BARRY JACKSON
bjackson@herald.com







Unable to muster enough support for three-team expansion, the Atlantic Coast Conference is taking the surprising step of pursuing Virginia Tech to join Miami, Boston College and Syracuse in a 13-team ACC, a source with knowledge of the discussions said Wednesday night.

If Virginia Tech president Charles Steger agrees to the idea, Virginia president John Casteen would change his expansion vote from ''no'' to ''yes'' and the ACC likely would have the seven votes necessary to add the four Big East schools. Duke's and North Carolina's opposition to expansion would then be rendered moot.

But even then, expansion would not be definite, because the ACC's six expansion proponents would have to be comfortable with splitting revenue with a 13th school.

If Virginia Tech rejects the offer, Casteen might feel comfortable changing his vote to ''yes.'' Casteen has told ACC officials he supports expansion but has resisted because Virginia political officials have pressured him to protect the interests of Virginia Tech, a source said.

As a solution to the problem, Casteen encouraged ACC presidents to invite Virginia Tech during a three-hour conference call Wednesday morning. No vote was taken during the call, the ACC said.

Georgia Tech president T. Wayne Clough informed Steger of the ACC's idea in a meeting Wednesday night in Blacksburg, Va., the source said.

ACC spokesman Brian Morrison confirmed there was contact between Virginia Tech and an ACC school, but said the school did not have the authority to offer an invitation to the Hokies.

Steger is expected to meet with members of the school's Board of Visitors today to gauge their opinion about whether the university should accept the ACC's offer.

Last month, Steger reportedly asked the ACC to consider Virginia Tech. But after the ACC decided to pursue Syracuse instead, Virginia Tech became one of the five plaintiffs in a lawsuit against UM, BC and the ACC.

Virginia Tech would be required to pull out of the lawsuit if it accepts the ACC's overtures.

Reached at his home Wednesday night, Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver declined to speculate what his school would do.

''I'm very surprised at hearing what I've heard,'' Weaver said. ``I haven't talked to my president at all today. I would suspect [a decision] wouldn't even be in the president's hands. I believe it would be with the Board of Visitors or with the attorney general or the governor. He reports to them.''

Mark Fabiani, a spokesman for the five plaintiffs, said, in a statement, ``We have continued to receive assurances from Virginia Tech that it is committed to protecting the Big East and that it, in good conscience, could not accept an offer from the ACC.

``For our part, we will continue to do everything possible to keep the Big East intact, including all of our available legal options.''

Fabiani's statement also said, ``If these reports are accurate, the ACC will apparently stop at nothing to destroy the Big East as a football conference.''

If the pursuit of Virginia Tech doesn't produce a seventh ''yes'' vote, another plan to implement expansion will also be mulled.

According to another league source, the ACC was reviewing its bylaws and as a last resort might try to reduce the number of votes needed to expand from seven to six, the source said by telephone.

A change in the bylaws would require six ''yes'' votes, or two-thirds of the nine members. Because six ACC schools support expansion, there would appear to be enough support to change the rule.

But the source said the ACC has not decided whether to pursue that option.

The source said the ACC hopes by raising that possibility it might cause the presidents of North Carolina, Duke or Virginia to support expansion instead of belaboring the process.

''Changing the bylaws is not something we prefer to do,'' Clough told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. ``But at the same time, I can't rule it out.''

The ACC also has considered inviting only Miami, but that does not have enough support internally, and UM also has been resistant, sources said.

ACC presidents have spoken for eight hours over the past eight days. ''I'm not sure when the next [conference call] will be,'' ACC Commissioner John Swofford told The Raleigh News & Observer as he left the league office in Greensboro, N.C., Wednesday night.

If the ACC decides to try to change its bylaw, the process would likely take at least a month. Any proposed amendment must be submitted in writing four weeks before a meeting would be held to vote on it.

That would extend the process past June 30, when the exit fee to leave the Big East before the 2004-05 academic year jumps from $1 million to $2 million.

If the matter does remains unresolved beyond that date, the Hurricanes would be required to pay $2 million to leave the Big East before 2004-05 or $1 million to leave before 2005-06

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http://www.techsideline.com/news/2003/20030619news.htm

Thursday, June 19, 2003
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com

Reports: ACC Again Considering VT

Wednesday night, both the Washington Post and CBS SportsLine reported that the ACC is prepared to offer Virginia Tech an invitation to the league, to join BC, Miami, and Syracuse in jumping from the Big East and forming a 13-team ACC:

ACC Will Invite VT to Join Other Big East Defectors, SportsLine.com, 6/18/03
ACC May Consider Adding Virginia Tech, Washington Post, 6/18/03

Both articles express these common facts:

The ACC could not get seven votes to invite Syracuse, BC, and Miami, because UNC and Duke are against expansion, and UVa can't vote yes due to political pressure.
The decision to include VT in expansion was made during a three-hour conference call of the ACC presidents Wednesday morning.
Georgia Tech President G. Wayne Clough, a former VT professor and former dean of the College of Engineering at VT, flew to Blacksburg to inform VT president Charles Steger.
Steger will speak with VT's Board of Visitors Thursday about the ACC's interest -- and what to do about it -- on Thursday.
The ACC invitation, if it happens, puts VT in a difficult position. If the invitation is sincere, and Virginia Tech accepts, they become hypocrites and party to an act for which they were criticizing the other three Big East schools and the ACC: destroying the Big East.

The answer to that problem: bad press and criticism eventually go away, but wrecking your athletic future with a poor decision never goes away. VT won't likely turn an ACC invitation down due to fear of criticism.

On the other hand, the invitation may not be sincere and may just be a tactic by the ACC. If UNC and Duke are presented with the possibility of VT joining the conference as well, knowing that this will cause UVa to cast the 7th "yes" vote, then either Duke or UNC may cast the 7th vote for expansion with just UM, BC, and SU, leaving the Hokies out.

There isn't much VT can do about that, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that UNC and Duke might suggest dropping BC or SU and keeping VT, instead.

In addition, in the article linked above, The Washington Post reported an important caveat to a possible ACC invitation for VT:

Virginia Tech would have to drop out of a lawsuit against the ACC, Boston College and Miami in order to proceed with exploratory discussions with the ACC, a source said.

If VT drops from the suit in order to start discussions with the ACC, the suit can be moved from the Connecticut court system to the federal court system, where it becomes more likely it will be dismissed, instead of receiving the friendly reception it would get in Connecticut. The ACC could then drop VT from consideration, which would accomplish dismissal of the lawsuit.

That's probably not a major consideration, though, because removal of the lawsuit alone, without VT's inclusion, probably won't cause UNC or Duke to vote yes, and it certainly wouldn't lead to Virginia voting yes.

Lastly, if VT doesn't trust the ACC and wants to turn it down, that's not an option. Mark Warner and the Virginia legislature have directed Virginia Tech to accept the invitation if it's offered, so it's really out of Virginia Tech's hands. It would be political suicide for VT to reject the ACC's offer, thus angering Warner and Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, and whoever else has gone to bat for VT.

That last point is the big one: If the ACC sincerely makes an offer, then VT has to accept it for political reasons, in the same way that Virginia can't approve a VT-less expansion for political reasons.

On his late-night broadcast, WSLS-10 (Roanoke, VA) sports director Justin Ditmore had an interesting comment. He suggested about the only thing VT can do to control this outcome is to tell the ACC, "If you mean it, then skip the dog-and-pony show, the site visit and all that. Send the invitation ready for us to sign."

VT might not even have to do that. It's possible that Wayne Clough's visit to VT on Wednesday might serve as the site visit that is required by ACC bylaws. It depends upon the specifics of the bylaws. If more than one person was required to visit VT, if Clough brought anyone with him, then his visit to Steger might qualify as a site visit, and that part of the procedure might already be taken care of. In that case, the invitation could be forthcoming, and soon.

But this angle isn't supported by a follow-up Thursday, June 19th Washington Post article, which bluntly stated:

Virginia Tech would have to drop out of a lawsuit against the ACC, Boston College and Miami in order to proceed with exploratory discussions with the ACC, a source said.

The use of the term "exploratory discussions" indicates that the ACC is not prepared to offer an invitation right away.

The intrigue doesn't end there: Ditmore also said he "had been told" something that sources have also told TSL: the ACC is talking with Notre Dame, in an attempt to get them on board as the 14th team.

There's one last twist the drama could take: If Notre Dame is interested and would say yes to the ACC, then BC and Syracuse might be dropped -- BC can't get the votes, and Syracuse is reluctant to leave the Big East -- and the ACC might vote to add just Miami, VT, and Notre Dame. Sources have told TSL this is a possibility.