Miami puts off decisive vote until Monday

[FriscoDawg]

http://espn.go.com/ncaa/news/2003/0626/1573150.html

Thursday, June 26

Miami puts off decisive vote until Monday
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ESPN.com news services

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- The University of Miami said Thursday it had received counterproposals from the Big East as it continued to mull an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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 and a final decision will be announced Monday.

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.

"We want to be fair to them," Shalala said.

The university needs to inform Big East officials before Monday of any decision to jump to the ACC or risk having its penalty fee for leaving double to $2 million.

On Wednesday, the ACC invited only Miami and Virginia Tech in the hopes to form an 11-team conference, passing over Boston College and Syracuse.

Many expected Miami to receive an invitation after the ACC voted May 13 to expand, but Virginia Tech didn't come into the picture until last week.

ACC commissioner John Swofford said neither school had accepted an invitation yet, but he didn't expect any problems.

"It's their decision to make at this point,'' 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 Andy Katz that the conference told 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.

Notre Dame could be a long shot to join the ACC, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Thursday. Notre Dame is a football-independent school whose other teams, including hoops, participate in the Big East. If Virginia Tech and Miami bolt the Big East, Notre Dame might have to find another home.

Clemson President James F. Barker, head of the league's Council of Presidents, said Miami and Virginia Tech would be a great addition to the ACC.

"These two institutions represent and share the values for which the ACC has long been known,'' Barker said.

Barker said the invitation to Virginia Tech, a dark horse candidate that was added last week at the insistence of Virginia, was "subject to final completion of the conference bylaw requirements'' -- a site visit that was under way Wednesday in Blacksburg, Va.

Virginia Tech's governing board, meeting earlier Wednesday, unanimously authorized president Charles Steger to negotiate a deal with the ACC. Steger said he was "inclined to accept'' the offer.

Any school leaving the Big East will have to pay a $1 million penalty, and that amount doubles after June 30.

Boston College said the Big East was discussing future conference configurations among all its members. Its statement noted that Miami and Virginia Tech are included in those discussions, which is likely to mean the Big East is making the would-be defectors a counterproposal to keep them from bolting.

The statement said the schools will address "those issues that have caused several Big East institutions to consider conference withdrawal.''

Syracuse spokesman Kevin Morrow said the school was "disappointed'' and that it would work with the Big East to "help it become an even stronger conference.''

"We have faced challenges before, and we've always been up to the task. We will be again,'' Morrow said.

The ACC presidents voted to expand on May 13, and conference officials visited Miami, Boston College and Syracuse to assess their facilities. Virginia Tech came into the picture as part of a compromise suggested by Virginia president John T. Casteen III.

Virginia Tech was one of five Big East football schools that sued June 6 to try to stop Boston College, Miami and Syracuse from leaving the conference. Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and West Virginia were the other plaintiffs.

During a hearing Thursday in Hartford, where the lawsuit was filed, lawyers for the Big East schools officially dropped Boston College as a defendant. Syracuse wasn't named in the lawsuit, which alleges a conspiracy to expand and ultimately weaken the Big East.

Judge Samuel Sferrazza rejected an attempt to move the case out of Tolland County, home to the University of Connecticut. The ACC had argued jurors would be biased in favor of UConn. The judge also said he would rule shortly on a request to speed up the case.

"My objective since day one has been to keep the Big East together as we know it,'' Connecticut president Philip Austin said Wednesday after a conference call among the plaintiffs. He would not say what was discussed on the call.

If the ACC expands to 11 members, it would be one short of the number necessary to hold a football conference championship game.

The ACC could seek a waiver of the requirement, but Steve Mallonee, the NCAA's Division I associate chief of staff, said Wednesday he was unaware of any such request.

Mallonee said no conference has asked for a waiver since the rule was added in 1987.

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com's Andy Katz was used in this report.

[FriscoDawg]

The statement that the $1 million dollar penalty doubles to $2 million after June 30 only applies if the move is to take effect for the 2004-2005 academic year. If the move is for 2005-2006, then the penalty doesn't double until after June 30, 2004.

[aubunique]

Eliminate conferences and classifications. Every team starts the season by playing the nearest football-playing college. One loss and your season is over. How many weeks would it take to get to the championship game?
Think of the travel expenses that would be saved for fans and teams alike and think of how much better the graduation rate would be for student athletes if half had to play only one week!
Which is closer to LSU? Tulame, Southwestern Louisiana Institute at Lafayette or Southeastern at Hammond? If LSU beats Hammond, then the Tigers play the USL-Tulame winner. Whoa!!! Where are Nicholls and Southern Miss?
Similarly, the Tech-Grambling winner takes on the winner of Monroe Junior College and Louisiana College. Whoa!
What about colleges at Magnolia and other points in south Arkansas? What about Delta State?