COLLEGE FOOTBALL Big East continues talks with Notre Dame

The Irish may still be reluctant to surrender their football independence.
COMBINED DISPATCHES
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Big East Conference presidents will meet Nov. 4 and vote on a final reorganization plan for the conference, and it is the deadline for Notre Dame to make its intentions clear.
With that in mind, the Atlantic Coast Conference has re-opened exploratory conversations with the Irish to see if there is a scenario that is acceptable to both sides that would allow the school to become the conference's 12th team.
The ACC's Council of Presidents held a conference call Friday and discussed the Notre Dame situation. The members participating in the call endorsed conversations with the Irish.
"The Olympic sports are important to Notre Dame, and the ACC provides a stable home for them," one source said, "but resolution of the football question is the biggest issue. Notre Dame wants to remain independent, and the ACC wants full participation membership. There may or may not be a resolution. That's what the conversations are about."
Expansion
The Big East plans to invite four Conference USA teams to join the league in 2005, keeping the conference intact after defections of its two biggest football programs threatened to split it in two.
Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville and Marquette will be invited in November, a source told The Associated Press Wednesday.
The additions of Cincinnati and Louisville would give the Big East the eight football teams it needs to keep its NCAA certification in 2005. Marquette and DePaul will join for basketball and other sports.
The first contact between the ACC and Notre Dame occurred over a year ago. Notre Dame closely monitored the recent ACC expansion. Notre Dame has an exclusive contract with NBC that pays the Irish more than $8 million annually to televise its home games.
The money and Notre Dame's commitment to a national schedule are obstacles to a compromise. Notre Dame needs schedule space for Southern California, Michigan, Purdue, the military academies and perhaps Michigan State and Boston College.
Scenarios
Several scenarios are under consideration. One would have the Irish join the ACC in all sports but football, with the conference having the right of first refusal if Notre Dame decided to abandon its independent football status in the future.
The Irish also could agree to play four or five ACC games, not qualify for the league championship and retain all of its football money while agreeing to get no share of the ACC's basketball money.
If Notre Dame would agree to play six ACC games, the league could reduce the number of conference games needed to qualify for the championship game from eight to six, making Notre Dame a full-participating member and leaving the distribution of money to be resolved.
The ACC's petition to the NCAA for a championship game in 2004 with only 11 teams was informally rejected by the championship committee, increasing the urgency for the conference to get a 12th team. A final decision is not expected on the proposal until April.
BCS future
The next big question for the Big East is whether it will keep its automatic spot in the Bowl Championship Series. The BCS contract expires after the 2005 season and negotiations on a new deal will begin soon.
The Big East wanted to clear up its expansion plans before those talks begin so other conferences, bowls and television executives would know what teams would be involved.
Along with the expansion, the Big East is expected to increase the exit fees for schools so the conference isn't as threatened by expansion again.
Boston College, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and West Virginia will be the other football-playing Big East schools. UConn joins the conference for football next season, which is also Temple's last in the league.