Lawsuit Brings New Pressure on the A.C.C.

By DAMON HACK with RAY GLIER

At 11 p.m. on June 5, Gov. John G. Rowland of Connecticut and the state's attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, were talking on the telephone.

The discussion centered on a 40-page lawsuit that would put the Atlantic Coast Conference on notice. The document named names. It charged conspiracies and deception. The only thing left to do was file it.

"We decided we would take action the next day," Blumenthal said in a telephone interview yesterday. "We made a final decision to pull the trigger."

Ever since that lawsuit landed in a first-floor clerk's office at Hartford Superior Court, the A.C.C.'s plan of expanding to 12 universities from 9 has become a plan in jeopardy.

The A.C.C. and the three Big East Conference schools it has wooed, Miami, Boston College and Syracuse, are no longer discussing expansion just among themselves. Faculty members at other universities are speaking about the perceived focus on athletics at the expense of academics. Elected officials on both sides of the issue are flexing political muscle.

Last week, two days of conference calls among the presidents of the A.C.C. universities yielded doubt instead of the seven affirmative votes needed to steer expansion to its conclusion.

Momentum has slowed so much that one A.C.C. athletic director, who did not want to be identified, said yesterday of the expansion, "It might not get done."

After weeks of progress, the A.C.C. has found itself on the defensive. But yesterday, the A.C.C.'s counsel, Erik Albright of Smith Moore LLP, responded to the lawsuit, which was filed by five Big East presidents, with a statement saying it had no merit and would not impede the conference's deliberations.

"The lawsuit has not and will not distract from or disrupt the A.C.C.'s thoughtful consideration of its expansion options," the statement said. "No matter how many press conferences are called, press releases issued, transparent actions taken or motions filed, plaintiffs' litigation tactics will not affect the final decision by the Council of Presidents."

The Big East is no longer the lone entity trying to stop expansion, however. Several of the faculty members at A.C.C. universities appear bent on halting it as well.

"It's time to tell these professional sports managers at the A.C.C. that we are universities first," said Sue Estroff, the chair of the faculty at North Carolina, which, along with Duke, voted against expansion last month. "We are delighted we slowed this down. I hope it brings it to a grinding halt. I would like to hear nothing but the screeching of tires up and down the East Coast."

The University of Virginia, an A.C.C. member, has been emblematic of that change of heart. Its president, John T. Casteen III, voted in favor of expansion last month but was pressured by government officials to change his vote because a damaged Big East would hurt Virginia Tech, a state institution that shares resources with the University of Virginia. Last week, Virginia's governor, Mark R. Warner, asked the N.C.A.A. or a separate party to mediate the expansion issue.

With North Carolina and Virginia now expected to vote against expansion, Duke President Nan Keohane has emerged as the university president who could provide the pivotal seventh vote in favor of it. She has expressed serious concerns about the expansion and has asked for additional information on its impact.

"Right now, she's the key vote in this," said an athletic director of an A.C.C. university who did not want his name used.

Depending on who is talking, the Big East lawsuit — filed against the A.C.C., Miami and Boston College — is either about halting the expansion to preserve the conference or embarrassing the A.C.C. into a monetary settlement.

Stephen Rinehart, who is a litigation partner in the New York City office of Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin, and not involved with the lawsuit, reviewed the documents and said the basis for the complaint appeared weak.

"There is no reference to any contractual prohibition on Miami or Boston College leaving the Big East," Rinehart said. "If this were my client getting sued, I'd say this is real thin stuff."

The A.C.C. presidents are expected to reconvene in a conference call next week. If expansion is approved, a long legal fight could ensue. There is also the issue of timing. If the three universities leave the Big East, they would each have to pay the conference a fee of $1 million. That exit fee doubles to $2 million if they leave after June 30.

"Clearly, the plaintiffs are trying to put the fear of God in the defendants to where they might negotiate a deal," Jeffrey Herrmann, a litigator with Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf of Saddle Brook, N.J., said yesterday. "By the time this gets tried, if it goes the entire route of the litigation process, they'll have played five Fiesta Bowls."
 

Does UVa decision open door for Hokies?
Who voted for Tech?
By DOUG DOUGHTY
Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Fridays

When word came down that Virginia had taken an oral commitment last week from Philadelphia point guard Sean Singletary, many were left wondering, "Whatever happened to Marquie Cooke?"

While few people have questioned UVa’s decision to pursue Singletary, it almost certainly will prevent the Cavaliers from signing Cooke, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Nansemond River High School who is considered the No. 1 junior in Virginia.

Cooke is listed in some publications as a combination guard, meaning he could play either the point or wing, but the message UVa is giving is that it probably won't recruit him.

That has to be good news for new Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, who began his tenure with a visit to the Tidewater-Peninsula area for a meeting with Boo Williams, Cooke's AAU coach. Greenberg's brother and assistant coach, Brad, was an assistant at LaSalle when Williams played there.

Seth Greenberg has vowed privately that Tech will be a player in the Cooke sweepstakes.

Virginia's early pursuit of Cooke was so dogged that the Cavaliers did little with Darris Nichols, the smooth Radford High School point guard who committed to West Virginia earlier this spring.

Somewhere along the line, the Cavaliers decided to go in another direction. Singletary was so impressive as a player, student and citizen that coach Pete Gillen and his staff felt he was a symbol for fans and administrators of the kind of player they wanted to represent the program.

In all fairness to Cooke, he has a little harder edge. Some might call it a “tude,” as in attitude. That might suit some other programs — Virginia Tech, for one — but it’s not what Virginia needs right now.

Tech needs to become a little tougher. Virginia needs to become more disciplined, on and off the floor.

Even before Singletary committed, Prep Stars was listing North Carolina State at the top of the list for Cooke. That also may have influenced Virginia's thinking. If Singletary was ready to commit and Cooke was iffy, the Cavaliers didn't want to be stuck without a premium point guard.

N.C. State was in a similar position with another Tidewater point guard in 2001-2002, when John Gilchrist was considered a lock for the Wolfpack before he signed with Maryland. Also, what will Cooke think now that State has taken point guard Tony Bethel, a transfer from Georgetown, where he started 34 games last year and averaged nearly 11 points, with more than 100 assists?

It does seem that some room has been created for Tech to enter the picture for Cooke, although the Hokies were not on a Prep Stars list of Cooke hopefuls that includes Kentucky, Florida State, UNCC, South Carolina, Michigan State and Connecticut.

ACCORDING TO PREP STARS, Cooke is not even the top prospect in the state. That distinction goes to Brian Johnson, a 6-8 post player from Bishop O’Connell in Arlington. Prep Stars lists Johnson's top five as North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Florida and Notre Dame.

Prep Stars rates Johnson the No. 8 junior in the country, and Cooke, at No. 25, is the only other Virginian in the top 100. Under its "Best of the Rest" heading, two players are said to be favoring Tech, 6-7 Brian Gilmore from Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake and 6-7 Jarhon Giddings from Blacksburg.

Other Division I prospects in Virginia next year include 6-11 Peter Prowitt from the Potomac School in McLean (Prowitt already has committed to Stanford), 6-3 wing guard Tyree Evans from George Wythe in Richmond and Brian Johnson's 6-5 teammate at O'Connell, Freddie Stanback.

The list does not take into account an anticipated influx of players into Oak Hill Academy, Notre Dame Academy, Roanoke Catholic and the like. Powder Springs, Ga., forward Josh Smith, who is headed to Oak Hill, was rated the No. 1 junior in the country by NBADraft.net (Prep Stars had him ninth).

I'M TOLD BY A RESPECTED reporter with strong ACC contacts that the five schools who voted for Virginia Tech were Virginia, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Clemson and Maryland. Not having been told directly, my guess would have been the first four and North Carolina State. It would have taken seven votes for the ACC to enter formal discussions with the Hokies (or any other prospective member).

Moeser and Fox update faculty

6-14-03

By TIM PEELER, Staff Writer
News & Record

CHAPEL HILL -- If anything was made clear Friday by North Carolina Chancellor James Moeser and N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, it's that there still is much to be ironed out before they will vote yes on ACC expansion.

"This is not a done deal by any means," Fox told about two dozen faculty members in a meeting of the Faculty Athletics Council and Faculty Senate on Friday in Raleigh. "In making comments, I want you to recognize that I have made no commitment one way or another on this."

The CEOs of the state's two largest institutions held separate meetings Friday with members of their respective faculties to update them on how adding Boston College, Miami and Syracuse to the ACC might affect their schools. The ACC's nine presidents and chancellors will likely speak again by teleconference early next week to discuss the move, and a vote on extending invitations to the three Big East Conference schools could be taken. Seven votes are needed for expansion to be approved. The ACC schools voted May 16 to formally pursue expansion.

Meanwhile, ACC attorney Erik Albright took aim at the publicity machine of the five Big East schools that filed a lawsuit a week ago against the ACC, Boston College and Miami, reiterating the Greensboro-based league's position that the suit has no merit.

"The lawsuit has not and will not distract from or disrupt the ACC's thoughtful consideration of its expansion options," the Greensboro attorney said in a statement. "No matter how many press conferences are called, press releases issued, transparent actions taken or motions filed, the plaintiffs' litigation tactics will not affect the final decision by the (ACC's) Council of Presidents.

"Regardless of whether the ACC elects to expand or whether any institution elects to associate itself with the ACC, this lawsuit will have no bearing on that process or its timing."

For Moeser, who says North Carolina's athletics department has significant financial concerns despite its $35 million annual operating budget, the primary issue seems to be whether adding three teams to the 50-year-old league will generate enough revenue in television contracts and an annual football championship game to offset the increased travel costs of going to New England, South Florida and central New York.

Consultants hired by the ACC to study expansion project that adding the three schools will result in a 4 percent travel budget increase, a number that seems on the low side to Tar Heels athletics director Dick Baddour, who presented a list of expansion pros and cons at the UNC meeting. The consultants also said each school should figure on 12 additional trips over a two-year period for all its sports with the addition of three schools.

"We are on a very thin sheet of ice, in my opinion," Moeser told the dozen or so faculty members at his meeting. "That's why this is an issue that causes me to wake up in the middle of the night. I want to make sure we make the right decision.

"I think our biggest nightmare would be going to the athletics committee with a recommendation of eliminating X number of sports."

With 28 sports, UNC has the largest athletics department in the ACC. However, Baddour said the school's Olympic sports -- the sports outside of football and men's and women's basketball -- rank among the lower third of ACC programs in funding. However, thanks to a lucrative apparel contract with Nike and a multimedia contract that each produces millions of dollars for the school, plus a lucrative multimillion-dollar payout that all nine current members of the ACC receive from the league, the UNC athletics department has been in the black for the last five years.

Last year's payout was $9.7 million per school, the highest of any league in the NCAA.

Baddour, who gave the faculty members a long list of expansion pros and cons, also said he wants to make sure his department remains financially viable for many years, so that Moeser's nightmare of eliminating sports won't come true.

Faculty members were especially concerned about student welfare, or how the expansion would affect things such as recruiting, academic performance and time away from campus. There also was a lengthy discussion of how a 12-team ACC would be divided into six-team divisions.

Baddour said there has been discussion among athletics directors and presidents about setting up different divisions for football and basketball. Other Olympic sports, several of which are not sponsored by some of the 12 schools, could have just one division.

Fox said that despite reports that N.C. State has voted in favor of expansion throughout the process, she isn't sure how she will cast her final vote.

"That's why we are here," she told the group in Raleigh. "I haven't made up my mind."

The governors of Florida (pro-expansion) and Virginia (opposed) have made up their minds, but North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley is staying out of the dispute. A spokesman for Easley said this week that the governor will not comment on expansion or the Big East's lawsuit against Boston College, Miami and the ACC.

While some politicians are applying pressure to their state schools, Fox said she's not lobbying any other schools with her views on expansion.

"One of the values we have in the ACC is that we don't pressure each other," Fox said. "We don't call in loyalties. We respect the integrity of each vote. I am not putting pressure on them one way or the other. I wouldn't know which way to pressure them."

ACC expansion talks are pressure-packed
By DAVID DROSCHAK : AP Sports Writer
Jun 13, 2003 : 7:50 pm ET

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The leadership at North Carolina and North Carolina State constantly deal with the pressures of academic integrity and school funding.

But there may not be a more demanding and stressful issue for them right now than the Atlantic Coast Conference's expansion talks.

Millions of dollars are at stake, along with the tradition and integrity of a league that has pretty much remained within its boundaries for a half-century.

And, of course, there is a lawsuit to fight from the Big East, a conference that feels it is being raided.

"I've had more fun days in my life," N.C. State chancellor Marye Anne Fox said Friday after a half-hour meeting to update faculty leaders on the expansion process. "The birth of a child is more fun."

UNC chancellor James Moeser is also feeling the heat. He and Duke president Nan Keohane are the only ACC leaders to publicly question why the nine-team league needs to add Miami, Syracuse and Boston College.

"This is an issue that causes me to wake up in the middle of the night," Moeser said Friday after addressing his faculty. "I want to make sure we make the right decision."

Politicians from Florida to Connecticut have weighed in on the issue, though North Carolina's two largest public colleges so far have avoided pressure from their lawmakers.

"When political leaders get involved in any question, it makes it more complex," Fox said. "I'm very grateful that they trust the chancellors of N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill to make our decisions."

The ACC presidents and chancellors voted May 16 to pursue the three Big East schools. Site visits were completed last week and two teleconferences this week among school leaders, lasting five hours over two days, produced progress but no vote.

An expansion would require approval by seven of nine ACC chancellors and presidents.

So far, Fox has voted -- along with Duke and UNC -- in favor of expansion talks and which three schools the ACC would seek. However, she hasn't made up her mind whether to side with her two close neighbors and friends, Moeser and Keohane, if and when a final vote comes.

Keohane and Moeser wrote letters to their ACC colleagues last week, raising questions about the move to 12 teams, saying they could vote no on the issue if some concerns aren't addressed in the coming weeks.

The campuses of the Blue Devils, Tar Heels and Wolfpack are separated by 30 miles and are fierce athletic rivals.

"One of the values that we have in the ACC is we don't pressure each other, we don't call in loyalties," Fox said. "We respect the integrity of each vote. I am not putting pressure on them one way or the other. In fact, I wouldn't know which way to pressure them."

Moeser's concerns are clear. He's unsure his 28 sports -- the most in the ACC -- can withstand what he believes will be increased travel costs and more stress on student welfare.

"We are on a very thin sheet of ice," he said.

UNC athletic director Dick Baddour agreed with his boss, saying the school's Olympic sports could suffer if there is expansion.

"That's the fear in all of this," Baddour said. "What is it like in 10 years if we do? What is it like in 10 years if we don't?"

The fear of the unknown is real to the ACC leaders, Fox said.

"The question is: Can we build our level of competition and at the same time extend our current values and support our student athletes?" Fox said.

"I see the expansion talks as strategic planning," N.C. State athletic faculty representative Don Ward said. "There is some merit to evaluating it. There is a risk of expansion and there will be some changes, but to do nothing and stay as we are because that's what we like, we've got to recognize there are some risks associated with that, too."

Also Friday, the attorney for the ACC issued a statement saying there's no merit to the lawsuit filed by five Big East schools against the ACC, Miami and Boston College.

The lawsuit, filed last week in Connecticut Superior Court, seeks millions of dollars and an injunction to stop the two schools from moving from the Big East to the ACC. Syracuse was not named.

A motion filed Thursday by the plaintiffs called for Miami president Donna Shalala, athletic director Paul Dee, ACC commissioner John Swofford and 11 others to give depositions as soon as next month.

Miami, Syracuse and Boston College face a $1 million exit fee. That doubles if the three leave the Big East after June 30.

"The lawsuit has not and will not distract from or disrupt the ACC's thoughtful consideration of its expansion options," ACC attorney Erik Albright said. "No matter how many press conferences are called, press releases issued, transparent actions taken or motions filed, plaintiffs litigation tactics will not affect the final decision. This lawsuit will have no bearing on the process or its timing."

 

Regardless of vote, ACC is family at odds
By CAULTON TUDOR, Staff Writer

When the ACC voted in 1990 to bring Florida State aboard, then-commissioner Gene Corrigan was among the first to acknowledge that the real tests of expansion had just begun.
Not only was the league's composition and chemistry about to change, it was going to happen despite the strong objections of Duke and Maryland, which actively campaigned against it until hours before the official vote.

Multiply that situation by three and you have some idea of the challenges that ACC commissioner John Swofford faces in the months ahead -- whether the current expansion movement succeeds or fails.

"There's going to be a period of adjustment either way this thing goes," said N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler.

If expansion occurs, the ACC suddenly will have three new members -- Boston College, Miami and Syracuse.

If expansion flops, six family members likely will be left with hard feelings toward Duke, North Carolina and Virginia.

Unless one of those schools votes in favor of bringing in the proposed new members, the push for expansion will end for some time to come.

Traditionally, the ACC has been a tight family -- "a family of friends," former commissioner Bob James used to say with great pride.

The rivalries between teams and coaches may be intense, but conference leaders traditionally have remained a close, united group.

But James, and even Corrigan, presided over the league in an era with much different demands than those Swofford faces. Back then, coaches didn't have million-dollar annual contracts and ADs didn't have to sweat through budget deliberations year-round.

At stake in this expansion debate could be the financial future of the conference. Six schools believe expansion -- in the long run -- will generate more money, national prestige and competitive security. Duke, UNC and Virginia have reservations that include the accuracy of revenue projections.

While there is no danger of the league fragmenting -- even FSU can live with no expansion if it comes to that -- Swofford almost certainly will be left with a family at odds. Fingers will be pointed and some ill will harbored.

Swofford's leadership abilities may will be tested more in the months to come than they are now.

"This situation requires exceptional leadership, and John Swofford is exceptional," Fowler said. "He's the best."

But Swofford, as leaders must do, also has staked out his position on the issue. He has lobbied for growth to the extent that a "no" vote would be perceived by some as a lack of support for his judgment.

The current impasse must be frustrating for Swofford. After all, his former school -- Carolina -- has been the most reluctant of the holdouts. It was in Chapel Hill that Swofford's reputation as an effective AD reached the point that he became a popular choice to succeed Corrigan.

Should this vote fail, Swofford might be inclined to resign within a year or so to seek another job. He would have no trouble landing one.

But whether Swofford stays or goes, the ACC will have fences to mend internally and outside the conference.

The ACC's image to many outsiders has become that of a corporate raider -- a league so bent on its growth that the Big East was steamrolled in the process.

If expansion fails, the ACC to many will appear weak, indecisive, ineffective.

On the other side of proposed union, the good standing of BC, Miami and Syracuse may be in jeopardy for years if they remain in the Big East, hats in hand.

Swofford didn't create the dilemma. Seven of the nine ACC schools voted to pursue expansion.

But in any endeavor of this sort, there is a central figure, a lightning rod. For now, Swofford must stand at the center of the storm.