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ACC ready, Miami unsure, Irish pondering
From Associated Press and staff reports
[ Originally posted 05.31.03. ]
While Miami considers its future conference affiliation for
intercollegiate athletics, another school with a bigger-than-life program is
watching closely as it evaluates its own alternatives on what might be a
drastically changed landscape.
Notre Dame is pondering the possibilities, including a
potential alignment in some sports with the ACC or a continuation of its
tie-in with the Big East, according to a report published Friday in the
South Bend Tribune.
After a week that included an excursion to the Miami campus
by a cadre of suitors from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the offer of a
major financial incentive from the Big East for the Hurricanes to resist the
overtures, ACC officials appeared poised to seal the deal but returned to
Tobacco Road with no formal commitment.
After the two-day visit that included an hour-long meeting
with school president Donna Shalala, the ACC officials seemed ready to offer
the Hurricanes an official invitation to join their conference. It could
happen next week, but probably not until the Big East gets a face-to-face
chance to convince the Hurricanes to stay.
Shalala has agreed to meet with school presidents from
Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Connecticut and Rutgers on
Wednesday, a university source said, giving them an opportunity to confront
her before she makes a decision that could drastically impact their future.
The school presidents from the five Big East schools left
out of the Atlantic Coast Conference's expansion plans have sought a meeting
with Shalala since Miami said it would consider leaving the conference.
Shalala reportedly guaranteed the other Big East presidents 18 months ago
that the Hurricanes would stay in the league.
The meeting will take place in Washington, D.C., on the same
day the ACC concludes its site visit to Syracuse.
ACC commissioner John Swofford headed a nine-person
delegation to Miami on Thursday and Friday. He also will lead two-day visits
to Boston College beginning Sunday and to Syracuse beginning Tuesday.
''When you get to a point of visiting campuses, you know
there's a very high level of interest on our part as well as their part,''
Swofford said. ''If that's not the case, we're not going to be here and
they're not going to be welcoming us here.''
Swofford refused to put a timetable on Miami's decision but
said it could be made in two weeks.
''That's possible, but it would inappropriate for me to give
you a drop-dead date,'' Swofford said. ''I don't know that there is one.''
Florida State athletic director Dave Hart, North Carolina
State athletic director Lee Fowler, three associate ACC commissioners and
two faculty athletic representatives also made the trip.
They toured the Orange Bowl, Miami's campus and its athletic
facilities that include a new $48 million basketball arena and a workout
facility that was part of a $4.5 million renovation in 2001.
''This was an enjoyable visit, one in which we had a lot of
questions answered and believe that the University of Miami had a lot of
their questions answered,'' Hart said. ''We came away very impressed with
where the University of Miami is academically, athletically and the
potential they hold for the future.''
The ACC voted May 16 to extend invitations to Miami, Boston
College and Syracuse to begin formal discussions on joining the nine-team
league and creating a 12-team superconference that would add a lucrative
title game.
Site visits are mandatory based on ACC bylaws before league
presidents can vote to extend formal invitations to the three Big East
schools.
''Obviously the process is moving forward, and we'll see how
it ultimately culminates,'' Swofford said. ''There is serious interest on
our part; there's serious interest on the part of Miami, Boston College and
Syracuse. And we're mutually evaluating where we are as a conference and
where those institutions are with their programs and where we all will be
best suited for the future.''
After the visits, Swofford said he would report back to ACC
presidents. The presidents would then speak individually with Shalala,
Boston College president William Leahy and Syracuse chancellor Kenneth Shaw.
Formal invitations could be presented anytime after that.
''At some point you know all you're going to know,''
Swofford said. ''And you have to make a decision and see if the votes are
there.''
The Big East has guaranteed Miami at least $9 million
annually for the next five years if the Hurricanes remain in the conference.
AD Paul Dee said the university still has some work to do before making a
decision. He said school officials have reviewed the ACC's projected revenue
package and were ''getting to feel more and more comfortable'' with the
numbers.
''Every step you take gets you closer,'' Dee said. ''We got
information and those kinds of things. But we're not committed to making a
statement whether we're going to leave if we get invited. We're not taking
any position at this point.''
Irish weighing options
According to the South Bend Tribune, Notre Dame is
considering three options of what to do if three schools leave the Big East
for the Atlantic Coast Conference, including possibly joining the ACC as a
partial member.
If Miami, Syracuse and Boston College accept an offer to
join the ACC, Notre Dame will first look to remain a member of the Big East
and align with the remaining schools that play football and basketball,
reported the newspaper, which cited an
anonymous source inside the athletic department.
The school is considering staying in the Big East with
Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, even
though it may require an agreement to play a partial schedule of conference
football games, the source was reported as saying.
The league would then add three schools through expansion.
Notre Dame also will consider becoming a member of the ACC,
but only with the promise that it could play a limited number of conference
football games, the source said.
The last option is a last resort join the Big Ten, the
source said. Notre Dame considered joining the Big Ten in 1999 before an
official invitation was rejected.
"Some tough decisions may have to be made," the source said.
"Whatever happens, it's going to happen fast."
There are no plans to consider sacrificing football
independence, the source told the newspaper.
John Heisler, sports information director for Notre Dame,
said athletic director Kevin White is not talking publicly about what the
school might do.
White released a statement last week that said: "The
intercollegiate athletic landscape is fluid, to say the least. Consequently,
we are monitoring this environment carefully and will continue to ponder the
respective opportunities and/or options."
As for talk about joining the ACC, all Heisler would say is
that several conferences have approached Notre Dame about the school's
interest in discussing a move to another conference.
"We've chosen not to," he said.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Friday in Florida that
the ACC has had several talks with Notre Dame in the past about joining the
conference.
"And all of our talks have been about them joining the
conference as a full-time member," said Swofford. "That's a basic premise we
have built our league around being in all the way or not at all.
"So for them to be a member and play only a limited number
of football games, I don't think that would even be feasible."
Copyright 2003
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Bonesville.net contributed
to this report. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:36:33 AM
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