Wednesday, June 25, 2003
The five schools suing the ACC will have a teleconference of their own today.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Atlantic Coast Conference leaders said they made enough progress Saturday to enable them to conclude their expansion talks by the end of the month.
The officials met by teleconference on Saturday for the fourth time in less than two weeks.
The ACC last month targeted Miami, Syracuse and Boston College for expansion. The plan seemed likely to sail through the approval process, but that was before Virginia Tech and four other Big East football schools filed suit against the ACC, Miami and Boston College, alleging the three were conspiring to destroy the Big East.
The ACC responded this week by again considering adding Virginia Tech, creating what would be a 13-team league by removing one of the major obstacles to the plan.
Opposition
Since the lawsuit was filed, Duke and North Carolina have developed opposition to the plan, putting Virginia president John T. Casteen III in position to either cast the vote that would doom the entire idea, or cast a vote that damages Virginia Tech.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, one of the lead attorneys in the Big East's lawsuit, said the ACC's statement indicates that the conference "is really in disarray right now and stymied because it simply can't make the numbers work."
Blumenthal said the five plaintiffs in the lawsuit will participate in a teleconference of their own today. Virginia Tech continues to be a staunch ally in the suit, he said, and the league will be ready to respond if that should change.