A new and improved ACC?

What a scramble we are in store for in college football. With Texas A&M’s announcement they’re bailing on the Big-12, now all conferences are on red alert to make sure they don’t miss out.

We knew this was coming…but right smack-dab in the middle of the college football season?!? That’s what’s getting me – do this in the offseason, let us enjoy our football.  But, as expected, once the first shoe dropped with the Aggies, the conference cash grab was on.

Here’s Heather Dinich, who does a very good job covering the ACC, on possible expansion…

By Heather Dinich
ESPN.com

The Atlantic Coast Conference has been approached by at least 10 schools about possible membership, a group that includes the Big East’s Pitt and Syracuse, both of which have tendered letters of application, a high-ranking ACC official said Saturday morning.

In addition, amid a “fluid landscape” in conference alignment, the ACC presidents have unanimously approved to increase the buyout for schools to leave the conference from $12 million-$14 million to $20 million, the source said, making it a highly unlikely scenario that any ACC teams defect from the conference.

“I like the move. The landscape of college sports is rapidly changing and frankly, the Big East is not strong enough to survive it’s current course.”— Ex-Syracuse quarterback and College Hall of Famer Donald McPherson

   University athletic directors and ACC officials have repeatedly reaffirmed their commitment to the current membership, but the increased buyout will make it much more costly for them to go back on their word. The increase in the buyout was approved at the annual meeting of university presidents this past week.

Another ACC source confirmed the addition of teams is not only valid, but a very real possibility. ACC officials have declined to comment, and no sources were aware of a timetable.

This is familiar territory for the ACC, which added former Big East teams Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College in 2004 and 2005 to get to its current 12-member format. Should it happen again, this move would likely be even far more difficult for the Big East to overcome.

For schools to leave the Big East, they must pay $5 million and give 27 months notice.

The New York Times first reported on Friday night that the ACC was in talks with Syracuse and Pittsburgh about leaving the Big East to join the league.

If Syracuse and Pittsburgh decide to leave the Big East, it could lead to another dramatic shuffle in college athletics. Texas A&M has announced its intention to join the Southeastern Conference, leaving the future of the Big 12 in doubt.

Baylor and Iowa State have already reached out to the Big East as a backup in case the Big 12 falls apart.

Big East spokesperson John Paquette said Saturday that league commissioner John Marinatto had no comment on word that Pitt and Syracuse have inquired about membership in the ACC.

Syracuse is a founding member of the Big East, and Pittsburgh joined the league in 1982.

Mike Finn, the ACC’s associate commissioner for football communications, told The Associated Press late Friday night he was unaware of any such talks and didn’t know anything about the Times’ report.

Former Syracuse quarterback Donald McPherson, a Heisman runner-up in 1987 when the Orange went 11-0-1, approved of the school’s push for membership in the ACC.

“I like the move,” said McPherson, elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009. “The landscape of college sports is rapidly changing and frankly, the Big East is not strong enough to survive it’s current course.

“It’s only asset the Big East has is the TV market, which may house the birthplace but has never been the soul of college football.”

TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte, whose program is scheduled to join the Big East next season, said Saturday he was worried about what appears to be another pending conference shakeup.

“But if you are great at your craft there will always be a place for you,” Del Conte said. “I feel great about how we are healthy athletically and fiscally. I feel good about the things we can control. There are so many moving parts and it’s an amazing journey college athletics is on. I’m not sure who really knows when it will be over.

“It’s crazy,” Del Conte added. “It’s nerve wracking for everyone in college athletics. There are earthquakes going on all around us. And we don’t know when they’ll settle.”