COLLEGE Money may not entice Miami

Reports that the Hurricanes were negotiating ACC membership may be premature.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
MIAMI -- Atlantic Coast Conference representatives were to arrive at the University of Miami today for a site inspection, but the Big East has not given up its fight to keep the Hurricanes.
Rutgers spokesman John Wooding confirmed Wednesday the Big East offered Miami at least $9 million annually if it commits to staying for at least five years. That would nearly match the amount distributed last year to each of the ACC's nine teams. But it might not be enough.
The New York Times reported today that Miami president Donna Shalala "received authorization Wednesday morning from the executive committee of the university's board of trustees to negotiate the Hurricanes' membership in the ACC."
Fact-finding mission
However, a source with knowledge of the discussions said the executive committee did not vote Wednesday, nor did it give Shalala the green light to finalize a deal with the ACC. The source said Shalala and Miami athletic director Paul Dee briefed the executive committee on the status of the ACC issue, got feedback and were told to continue their fact-finding.
A Big East source said Wednesday a letter dated May 27 and signed by league commissioner Mike Tranghese was sent to Dee, confirming the $9 million offer, originally proposed to Dee last week at the Big East meetings. The source also said the letter was agreed to by all the league athletic directors -- including Boston College and Syracuse, the other schools that have been invited by the ACC to explore joining the conference.
"I haven't seen the letter yet," Dee said Wednesday night. "We've been dealing with all the information that we've received from the Big East and others, and that's all a part of all the information that's before the university right now. So any information we get like that will be fully considered."
The Big East's annual payout to Miami has been about $9 million in its best years, although its latest payout might exceed $10 million. However, this offer would guarantee that Miami would make at least that much money even in years it doesn't make a Bowl Championship Series game -- worth $13 million to the conference and $4 million to Miami.
Last year's payout
Last year, the ACC paid about $9.7 million to each of its nine teams. A Miami source said last week that if the Hurricanes do not go to a BCS game, they are expected to earn about $7.3 million from the Big East. The source said an ACC league title game, however, would give the Hurricanes about an $11 million payout -- whether or not Miami plays in a BCS bowl.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that nine U.S. senators from the home states of other Big East schools wrote to the leaders of Miami, Boston College and Syracuse in an effort to stop them from defecting to the ACC. The senators from West Virginia, Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania said a move would devastate the Big East and erode the progress its schools have made in women's sports and "send a troubling message to student-athletes across America."
Among those who signed the letter were Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.