So does this means that the ACC will be making a move pretty soon since they would want Cuse, Pitt, UConn, and ND/Rutgers to come in at the same time?

By allowing the Big East to recover and invite members, don't they make it harder for them to poach schools (due to increased exit fees, grants of TV rights...ect) and give Notre Dame more time to find a way to not join a conference again?

If I was the ACC I'd go ahead and invite UConn today, not only will it give bored basketball announcers a segment during each ACC (or future ACC) game to talk about how awesome the future ACC will be, but it will also show Notre Dame that A: the Big East will not last except as a small Catholic bball league, and B: that the ACC is expanding to 16 with or without the Irish, and if they want to continue to have a foothold in the Northeast then they better move quick before the ACC decides to settle on Rutgers.

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Gotta think the recent aCC comments are to get ND to make a call soon: join so we can bring in you and Uconn or say no and we'll take Uconn/rutgers.

That said, i don't think a $10 exit fee is a deal breaker for any Be to aCC school. But yes, with 27 months waiting, sooner would be better. But if ND is the prize, no need to rush.

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Pitt and Syracuse could join the ACC sooner than 2014...
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2 ... o-acc.html

"The University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University may be joining the Atlantic Coast Conference sooner rather than later, University of Maryland Athletic Director Kevin Anderson said Wednesday morning that he does not envision the process taking the full 27 months. He said the Big East has asked both Pittsburgh and Syracuse to stop coming to conference meetings and that the conference has signaled to their partners that 'the transition could be sooner.'”

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Assuming WVU departs the BE for the Big XII this afternoon, does this crank up timing for ACC to go after UConn / Rutgers ?
BE FB is down to 5 (and Louisville may still be in play), but seem set to forge ahead hurriedly on inviting however many schools to get to 12.
IF the ACC has a vested interest in NOT seeing this happen, and taking UConn and Rutgers NOW throws the BE plans into doubt, it may be time to move.

The problem is that they have their heart set on Notre Dame, who will drag their feet forever.
Notre Dame wants the BE reconstituted to preserve their nest.
So if the ACC wants UConn / Notre Dame, it's dicey.
They almost need to let it be known they are resolved to go to 16, and leak that UConn is "gone form the BE".
This then may or may not disrupt all the BE FB expansion plans.
If it does, then momentum for the CUSA/MWC to absorb BE remainders gains strength (they need a TV contract in hand to facilitate this),
and Boise St. quits talking to the BE.

Do the Catholic BB schools REALLY want to admit a pile of CUSA schools as full-members, or would they fancy a split, if it were feasible ?
If he latter, soon they have to use their majority to vote for the BE to stop sponsoring FB and urge Marinatto to negotiate a merger with CUSA/MWC.
They have now chased out 1/2 the FB schools, they have the power to effectively ease the remaining FB schools out the door.
Instead they are re-creating an even uglier hybrid.

If everything finally shakes out into a stable situation, this would make a fascinating book / movie in a few years.
Maybe even a management school case study.
A lot of management case studies use examples of bad management, the story of BE leadership would be an excellent learning tool for what not to do.

Right on tute. If they want ND, they need to wait it out...like the Big Ten did for almost 2 decades before taking Nebraska.

But you are right, timing is perfect:
ACC could now invite Uconn and Rutgers and pitch it as they were sending a lifeline to those two schools, as they asked to come to the ACC, not the other way around. That they wanted those two schools to remain in a bCS conference as the one they were in was losing it's BCS AQ due to losing it's top 2 football schools to the Big 12 (TCU, WVU...those two carry the most weight to the BCS rankings for the AQ...Pitt did a little but less than WVU and SU only hurt the BE BCS rankings). It would be a political move, a rescue effort that many would buy...that the ACC was trying to protect football in the region by extending the lifeline to the only 2 BCS schools left in the region.

Do I expect invites? No. Lure of ND means too much. If there is merit to the ND 60 day deadline, then we'll know fo NDs plans come December.

But at the same time, NOW is ideal from a political stance. So why not tell ND: "look, we want you to join us. If you aren't interested, we will take Uconn and Rutgers...a move that will leave the Big East as a less likely BB option for ND. So ND, you will have 2 options: Big Ten for all-sports...and risk killing the ND brand in the region by competing against schools you can't compete with anymore...and not even finishing 1st in your state (Purdue)...or join the Big 12 for non-football sports...and risk the Pac-16 happens and you are left in a weak B12".

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Also tute, think the ship has sailed on a BE split. If the hoops schools didn't want the CUSA schools, they would have put their foot down. Think about it, only Lousiville and UConn are big schools the hoops schools are bending over backwards for. Maybe Rutgers, maybe Cincy. Not USF. The hoops schools could have laid out the gauntlet: we will not support any all-sports members (means need to drop football)...but we want you all to remain for other sports but put FB in CUSA. Big east would be 13 members with UL/ND. If one left, 12. Worst case scenario: UL/ND leave and you have 11.

But they didn't.

Instead they agreed to 3-4 new all sports schools, none from the current footprint (well, if you count USF as the BE footprint, then UCF counts as "in").

It's too bad. Because i'm certain that in the coming weeks/years that Uconn will be gone to ACC, UL in B12. Rutgers could even end up in the Big Ten if ND opted for Big Ten, or ACC if ND passed.

Point is, there is a good chance that 5 years from now, you could see the "Big East" made up of the 7 non-football schools, with USF, UCF, SMU, Houston, Cincy, Memphis, Temple, ECU for all sports (and other FB only to get to 9-10).

Because the problem is that FBS football is a drug. By not putting an end to it now, and expanding, it means that WHEN UL/Uconn/ or Rutgers leave, that MORE replacements will need to come in since they will NEED that magic 8 all-sports members. So when they leave, you'll see Temple, Memphis, ECU, etc join for all sports...because they will need 8. There is no reason to add the 3-4 all-sports schools now when it means you HAVE to keep doing it when more current schools leave.

It's a sad cycle. Miami for USF, BC for Lousiville, VA Tech for Cincy...now Syracuse for Houston, Pitt for UCF, WVU for SMU, TCU for an undetermined all-sports school (likely Temple). And next it will be Louisville for who, ECU? Uconn for who, UMass? Rutgers for who, Marshall? Just gets uglier and uglier.

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So would the ACC dare give ND an ultimatum? Join us or we'll take 2 more from your conf.

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Ultimatum is such a strong word. It sounds like a threat.

The ACC can handle it more tactfully.

More like:
"Our Presidents and AD's have determined that from a divisional stand-point, the ACC lays out a lot better, if we split North-South and invite 2 new members to the ACC North.
They'd be placed with BC, Syracuse, Pitt, Maryland, Virginia, and Virginia Tech."

"We're thinking that the top candidates are some current Big East schools, namely UConn, Rutgers, and yourselves."
"The invitation will be for ALL sports, meaning that members who play any given sport that the ACC sponsors, will play that sport as members of the ACC Conference".

"we would like one of the two new members to be Notre Dame University... Are you intersted, based on the condition I stipulated ?"
"If not, we believe we will move on to other candidates who will accept such stipulation".

This makes he point that the train is about to leave the station, and if you want to be on it, you should board very soon.

Honestly, if Notre Dame hedges, I think the ACC will do VERY well in adding UConn and Rutgers, and locking up the east coast.
Other than Penn State football, they will own the Northeast.
Premier basketball players will gravitate toward these state flagship universities (UConn is perennial power, and defending NCAA BB Champ, need I say more ?).
So it'd be up to Notre Dame to join a major conference or move on down the road toward irrelevance.

Your letter to Notre Dame is very well written, although I think John Swofford knows it's University of Notre Dame.

And your logic is also very sound for the ACC.

But for Notre Dame, their options would not be all-sports ACC or Independent with the rest in glorified C-USA (Marquette, DePaul, Cincinnati, Louisville, USF, Houston old C-USA members; with "new C-USA members" SMU and UCF; plus Nova, GTown, Providence, Hall and St. John's). Seven in their "peer group" plus three new BCS programs)

They'd really have about four options:
- All in ACC

- Football independence and all sports in the Big 12 (Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, West Virginia; possibly with Louisville in a 12-team league with BYU football joining).

- Don't move. Football Independence and all-sports in the Big East (see above)

- And all in the Big Ten, with UConn or Rutgers joining them, if the Big Ten is on board. And they might be.

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I would like to see Rutgers land on its feet and get to the Big Ten. Rutgers of all the eastern schools except Penn State is more like a Big Ten type school.

Since the ACC has obviously wanted to replace the Big East as the BCS basketball first type league, UConn is a very good fit for the ACC.

I just do not get the Notre Dame to the ACC for all sports, ever!. Sure all sports except football would be great for Notre Dame in any league including the ACC. Other than Miami and Boston College, Nortre Dame has many more rivalries in the Big Ten. How would you squeeze Michigan, Mich State, and Purdue into a 9 game ACC conference schedule. Forget about Navy and Southern Cal.

I see more Notre Dame joining the expanded Big Ten, and bringing Rutgers, Boston College and Maryland for 16 someday. The Big Ten would have the complete eastern seaboard from Washington DC up through Philly (Penn State), including NYC (Rutgers), and finally into to Boston (Boston College) to itself.

This to me would be the only benefit for Notre Dame to ever give up football independence. The school would keep the NYC subway fans happy and most of the catholic football fans in USA as well.

UConn, Pitt, and Syracuse would be good for the basketball orientated ACC for 14. An upgraded Villanova would be a good fit if the ACC wanted to go to 16 basketball schools.

Things will settle a bit, but the B10 and/or ACC will go after Rutgers and UCONN. The Big10 may be smart to go ahead and take Rutgers, but will need the 14th as well.

Notre Dame plays games (other than college sports). All they are doing is fishing for the best situation for their bb and olympic-style and women's sports while refusing to relinquish fb independence.

The Big10 or ACC waiting on them will continue on an endless pattern, and if these conferences intend to expand further, go with whom cooperates.

If ND is left with the B12 as their option for whatever association, so be it. Other conferences have given them ample opportunity to join.

Rutgers and UCONN seem to be too prominent of programs and schools to be left in a "catch anything you get" conference expansion situation.

Louisville and Cincy will have to keep trying for the B12 or return to C-USA revised. As to USF, not a chance any of the 5 other BCS conferences would be interested.

If the B10 thinks they can sit and later raid the ACC, they may not find it easy-going. Even the SEC knows it is not a given.

Here is a potential division alignment:

Atlantic:
Boston College
Maryland
Pittsburgh
Syracuse
Virginia
Virginia Tech

Coastal:
Clemson
Duke
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Wake Forest

One of the Florida schools would be slotted into each division, it doesn't matter which. I kept the current names because North and South would have been inaccurate.

It allows all the NC schools to play each other again. There would be 1 permanent crossover game, and one non-permanent crossover each year in football.

Here are the permanent crossovers:
Boston College-North Carolina State (both have red as a color)
Florida State-Miami (the Sunshine State Showdown)
Maryland-Duke (Basketball powers on the football field)
Pittsburgh-Wake Forest (both have gold as a color)
Syracuse-Clemson (both have orange as a color)
Virginia-North Carolina (the South's Oldest Rivalry)
Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech (Battle of the Techs)

So...

BYU all but out of Big East plans

Boise St. has cold feet now because...

ACC is expected to goto 16 with Rutgers and Uconn

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It's a shame that Notre Dame is not interested in joining. It would have been good for both Notre Dame and the ACC.

Where you hearing this from? How soon?