3 schools ask ACC to speed up their entry

RALEIGH, N.C. — Miami, Syracuse and Boston College may want to join the Atlantic Coast Conference sooner than expected, a potential snag in the proposed expansion plans.

An ACC source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Thursday that the Big East schools expressed interest in joining the ACC after next season instead of in 2005. Two other ACC sources confirmed the development.

The three schools might want to leave the Big East early to reduce the animosity they could face by remaining in the conference after announcing a decision to leave.

The ACC had been discussing adding the schools in two years to coincide with the end of the football TV contract. The expansion, with the powerhouse Hurricanes, is expected to bring a better TV deal.

But if the Big East schools join the ACC under the old TV agreement, the revenue would have to be split among all 12 programs, meaning less money for the nine current ACC schools.

That one-year financial hit could sour the deal for the ACC presidents, who have the final vote on the matter. The ACC needs seven of nine votes to expand.

The conference has football TV contracts with ABC, ESPN and Jefferson-Pilot Sports.

Jimmy Rayburn, executive producer for Jefferson-Pilot, which broadcasts eight football games a season, said terms of his company's contract could be changed.

"Anything is negotiable. I don't see us standing on any contractual language and saying, 'That's the way it's going to be,' because then we ruin it for the future."

Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo declined comment. Messages left for officials at Miami and Syracuse were not returned.

The ACC voted May 16 to pursue expansion and begin discussions with the Big East schools. Visits to each campus, mandatory under ACC bylaws, were completed Wednesday.

ACC commissioner John Swofford returned to Greensboro, the home of the conference, after his visit to Syracuse and was working Thursday on a package to present to the league presidents.

Lee Fowler, athletic director at North Carolina State, was on two of the three campus visits and said he was convinced Miami, Syracuse and Boston College would improve the ACC.

"I felt very comfortable with these schools," Fowler said. "We went in thinking highly of them and came out thinking even better things."

The ACC has expanded just twice in 50 years. Georgia Tech joined the league in 1978 and Florida State was added in 1991.