SYRACUSE -- Syracuse University, one of the pillars of the Big East Conference, has been accepted into the Atlantic Coast Conference, ending a 30+ year relationship with the league it helped to found.
On a conference call Sunday morning presidents from the 12 member ACC schools voted unanimously to accept applications for membership from Syracuse and rival Pittsburgh. This ends a whirlwind two day storm of reports and rumors that started Friday evening when New York Times columnist (and Syracuse University alum) Pete Thamel broke the news that SU and Pitt has formally applied to the ACC. It is commonly thought that schools do not apply to join conferences if their acceptance isn’t assured, so conversation quickly shifted not to if SU would be accepted, but when. That ended with the ACC’s announcement Sunday morning.
In the quickly-changing landscape of college conference alignments, this move is seen as a proactive attempt by Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor and Director of Athletics Daryl Gross to secure the financial and athletic future of SU. In an era of huge television deals and increased marketing and ‘brand awareness’, traditional rivalries and geography have taken a back seat - for better or for worse - as schools work to ensure they are not stuck in second tier conferences when the realignment dust settles.
"We are very excited to be joining the ACC. This is a tremendous opportunity for Syracuse, and with its outstanding academic quality and athletic excellence, the ACC is a perfect fit for us," said Cantor in a statement to the media. "The ACC is home to excellent national research universities with very strong academic quality, and is a group that Syracuse will contribute to significantly and benefit from considerably. As a comprehensive, all-sports conference, the ACC provides Syracuse tremendous opportunities for quality competition and growth in all sports, while also renewing some of our historic rivalries. This move will also bolster our continued efforts to look outward, engage, and extend Syracuse’s reach to key areas of the country, including the southeast, as we grow and expand our national connections to alumni, partners and the students of the future. We are pleased that Syracuse adds a New York City dimension to the ACC, a region in which we have built strong identity and affinity, and we look forward to bringing ACC games to the Big Apple. Overall, for Syracuse, this opportunity provides long-term conference stability in what is an uncertain, evolving, and rapidly shifting national landscape."
Syracuse and Pittsburgh become the 13th and 14th members of an ACC that is strong in both football and men’s basketball, but with different schools leading the pack depending on the sport. Upon entry, SU is immediately expected to join the upper echelon of basketball programs, rivaling Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, and others. The task is a little more daunting in football, however, as the Orange football program has not yet caught up to its basketball brethren and reclaimed its place among college football elite, as witnessed by the 21 point loss SU received at the hands of top-flight football school USC Saturday night. The SU footballers will jump into a league which features traditional power Florida State, along with former Big East rivals Virginia Tech and Miami, both of which jumped ship for the ACC half a decade ago.
"Today is a day that we will remember for years to come. We are truly excited that academically and athletically we will be a member of the ACC, one of the nation's premier collegiate athletic conferences. As New York's College Team, we plan to compete at the highest level across all of our sports and help to enhance this great conference" said Gross in a statement.
The move leaves the Big East with 15 member institutions, including incoming Texas Christian University. Seven of those schools play major college football. The Big East may look to other western schools to help bolster its ranks, but there are whispers that the ACC may not yet be done growing and could be looking to add more Big East universities such as Rutgers or Connecticut, or look outside the eastern time zone to Texas or Kansas to reach 16 members.
So when does the move officially take place? Published reports have indicated that the Big East requires a 27 month notice before a school can leave, plus a $5 million exit fee. No word yet on if that timetable will be accelerated.
What do you think about SU’s move to the Big East? Are you exited about the prospect of playing new schools every year? Or as you disappointed at the potential loss of traditional rivals like Georgetown, Villanova, St. John’s, and UConn? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.