SYRACUSE -- Syracuse University's move to the ACC has taken a big step forward to completion.
SU officials and the Big East announced a settlement that would allow the Orange to move its sports to the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1, 2013.
Syracuse University will have to pay $7.5 million to the Big East to leave a year early, and the deal still requires a vote from other Big East member schools.
The Orange's departure has been fairly clean in comparison to West Virginia and Pittsburgh. Both of those schools took the Big East to court.
West Virginia left for $20 million and Pittsburgh's case is still in the process of being worked out.
In a statement released Monday morning, SU Athletic Director Dr. Daryl Gross said, "We look forward to the new academic and athletic partnerships and the extraordinary competitive opportunities that membership in the ACC offers. We are excited about both our final season in the Big East and our long-term future with the ACC."
In the statement, the Big East’s Interim Conference Commissioner, Joe Bailey, said, "This closes a chapter and opens a new one filled with exciting possibilities for the Big East's future. With the recent addition of eight schools, the future for the Conference has never been brighter."
Other schools in the ACC include the University of North Carolina, Duke Boston College, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Florida State University, and others.
