Groh's wish granted when ACC makes BC No. 12
Virginia AD Craig Littlepage doesn't expect Boston College to begin ACC play by next season.

By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES

When the NCAA turned down the ACC's bid to hold a football championship with fewer than the required 12 teams, Virginia football coach Al Groh said he had a few ideas on what the conference needed.

"No one's asked me," Groh said at the time, "so, I'll keep them to myself."

Maybe somebody was reading his mind.

A decision by ACC presidents to invite Boston College to be the ACC's 12th team was exactly what Groh had in mind. The offer was extended and accepted Sunday.

"When they were originally proposed as a candidate back in the spring, that seemed to make a lot of sense and they seemed to be a very good potential member," Groh said. "That's what I felt in the spring and I continued to feel that way."

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer could not be reached for comment.

Groh lived in the Boston area for four years when he was an assistant coach with the New England Patriots from 1993-96.

In recent weeks, Groh expressed reservations about a scheduling format that would have divided the ACC into uneven, six- and five-team divisions. He was critical of a proposal to extend an invitation to Notre Dame as something other than a full member, so there was relief Sunday in no longer having expansion as a distraction.

"I'm sure, for many people, it probably would have become 'enough is enough,' as far as conversation is concerned," Groh said. "Other than a quick thought to the effect that it would be desirable to have 12 teams, I gave it little thought as to when that might occur or who it might be."

Not even ACC Commissioner John Swofford could say Sunday when Boston College might start competing.

"My gut instinct would say that it would be difficult in [2004], given decisions in scheduling that were made in the last two weeks," UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage said. "It's not too late to go back, but it still sounds like BC has a couple of things to attend to."

Littlepage was among a group of ACC athletic directors who met in Charlottesville less than two weeks ago and approved a scheduling plan for the next two years. At the time, the ACC still held out hopes that it could gain approval for a football championship with an 11-team league.

"Everybody discussed the fact that we needed to proceed as quickly as we could to address the immediate concerns," he said. "I think in the back of everybody's mind was the very real possibility that something would change. Either the legislation would change or we would get back to the table concerning a 12th member."
 

Boston College agrees to join ACC
Rejected in June, BC gets unanimous vote Sunday
RON GREEN JR.
Charlotte Observer

GREENSBORO - The Atlantic Coast Conference completed the final step in its aggressive expansion plan Sunday when Boston College accepted an invitation to become the league's 12th member.

The Golden Eagles, who were passed over when the league added Miami and Virginia Tech this summer, received a unanimous vote of approval from the ACC Council of Presidents at the end of a 90-minute conference call Sunday. Boston College had been kept out by a 6-3 vote in late June.

What changed?

"It became more and more clear with 11 it was a strong league, but when we compared it with a 12-team league, it became even stronger," said Clemson President James Barker, chairman of the Council of Presidents.

It remains unclear exactly when Boston College will leave the Big East Conference and become an official ACC member. The most likely scenario is 2006 because of recently changed Big East bylaws that require schools leaving without 27 months notice to a pay a reported $5 million exit fee. Boston College President William Leahy, though, said the school hoped to join by 2005.

Miami and Virginia Tech, which also are leaving the Big East, become ACC members on July 1, 2004.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Boston College could join earlier than 2006, but that must be determined by the school's administration and the Big East. The ACC, Swofford said, will operate under the assumption Boston College will join after the 27-month waiting period.

League presidents also voted to pursue the creation of a conference championship football game. NCAA guidelines require a league to have 12 members to hold a championship game, though the ACC has introduced legislation to change the rule to fewer than 12.

Swofford said the league will continue to pursue legislation to hold a championship game with 11 members for two years until Boston College joins. A championship could be worth up to $10 million for the league. Charlotte is expected to pursue the ACC title game along with Orlando and Jacksonville, Fla.

The addition of Boston College ends a turbulent period for the ACC, in which the league took a public relations hit for its pursuit of the Big East members. It became clear the league would not stay with 11 members, especially after getting indications a championship game would not be approved.

"It's like a suit you put on and wear a while and only then realize it needs some alterations," Barker said of the decision to move from 11 to 12.

Despite the earlier rejection of Boston College, the league and school officials maintained contact during the summer and early fall as the ACC considered its options.

"All along when there were discussions, Boston College was at the top of the list," Swofford said.

The commissioner also again defended the league's decision to grow from nine members to 12. With 11 members and no championship game, Swofford said the league projected its revenue to remain essentially unchanged.

"If we had stayed at nine, we may well have been going backward," he said.
 

Boston College accepts invitation to join ACC
With 12 teams, title game in football will be allowed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Don Markus
Sun Staff
Originally published October 13, 2003

More than three months after expanding to 11 schools with the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech, the Atlantic Coast Conference widened its boundaries with yesterday's announcement that Boston College has been invited to join the league.

Boston College, a charter member of the Big East, immediately accepted the invitation.

The move, which came less than a week after the ACC announced it would proceed with a scheduling model for an 11-school league, was precipitated by an NCAA committee rejecting the ACC's attempt to get a waiver in order to hold a football championship game. A conference must have 12 members to hold a title game in that sport.

It also came a few months after Boston College, as well as Syracuse, failed to gather enough votes for membership by ACC presidents in early summer. Requiring at least seven of the nine schools to approve, Boston College was voted in unanimously during a conference call yesterday.

The league's presidents and chancellors also gave their approval to a football championship game.

"It's almost like a suit: you put it on and wear it for a while and then you decide it needs some alterations," said Clemson president James Barker, chairman of the ACC's Council of Presidents. "In this case, this was true. We began to envision ourselves in the summer as one sized league and we felt an adjustment would be wise to position us for the future."

During a news conference at the league's headquarters in Greensboro, N.C., ACC commissioner John Swofford said: "This just adds one more excellent school to what now will be a 12-member mix. If you look at their graduation rates, BC will jump right into the higher echelon of our conference. They bring a lot on both fronts.'

Boston College president Rev. William Leahy said that the move made sense because of its academic, athletic and financial ramifications.

ACC schools earned nearly $8 million from football and men's basketball through revenue generated by its most recent television contracts, as well as from bowl games and NCAA basketball tournament appearances.

With a football championship game, the ACC will likely earn $6 million-$10 million in revenue for its members to share. Under Big East bylaws that were changed after Miami and Virginia Tech left, BC will have to pay the league a $5 million exit fee if it leaves within the next 27 months.

Miami and Virginia Tech, which were required to pay only $1 million and give a year's notice, are set to play full ACC schedules beginning in 2004. BC officials have said they are considering whether the Big East's decision to drastically raise the exit fee was within the league's bylaws.

The Big East reportedly has considered adding schools from Conference USA for basketball and football, most notably Louisville. Big East presidents will meet in Philadelphia on Nov. 4 to discuss potential moves.

In a statement, Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said: "We are extremely disappointed with Boston College's decision to leave. Our membership is very surprised that the ACC presidents continue to come back into our league for membership."

Once BC joins, the ACC will have two six-team divisions in football. The Eagles likely will be in Maryland's division, though not necessarily a regular twice-a-season opponent for men's and women's basketball.

"I'm very happy that we've got 12 teams," Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen said in his weekly teleconference yesterday. "I think Boston College is a very good fit for academics, football and basketball. ... I think it's the best football conference in the country bar none."

Though the league is still going to try to hold a championship football game if BC's departure from the Big East is slowed, Swofford said: "Obviously an 11-team league can't work in the best way that you would like."

Friedgen said that BC's addition should help Maryland football games get televised into the Northeast.

"One of the things that has frustrated me is that if a game is a regional TV game, it doesn't go past Delaware," Friedgen said. "Now we're the northern-most team in the ACC, we'll get better exposure there and that's going to open it up even more for us."

Said Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow, who has supported BC's candidacy from the beginning: "We need to stretch our footprint. We need to truly become the Atlantic Coast Conference. We believe that means having a formal official presence in the Northeast, which we now will have."

Yow, the chairman of the league's television committee, said that she and Swofford can meet with ABC representatives about a new television contract.

Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams coached at BC in the early 1980s.

"Boston College has historically been good in basketball; Al Skinner does a good job," said Williams. " ... BC has shown at times that they were capable of being able to play with anybody in the country. It adds a strong basketball team to our league."
 

Money, football drives adding BC
By BRYAN STRICKLAND : The Herald-Sun
bstrickland@heraldsun.com
Oct 12, 2003 : 11:02 pm ET

As a part of an ad campaign by the U.S. Treasury, recent ESPN college football broadcasts have superimposed images of a $20 bill on the turf -- a greenback on green grass.

College football and money have always gone hand-in-hand, and that certainly was the case Sunday, when Boston College accepted the ACC's offer to become the league's 12th member.

This latest chapter in conference expansion -- like the contentious chapter written last summer and all the previous expansion efforts for that matter -- was all about football.

And where there's a pigskin, there's a piggybank.

"You know the real reason that's driving it," N.C. State football coach Chuck Amato said. "It sounds like we want to do something to get to 12 to get to a championship [game] to get to more money."

The ACC has made no secret about wanting to follow in the footsteps of the Big 12 and SEC and add a football championship game, a game that would bring some $6-8 million annually into the conference's coffers.

That was a driving force behind the additions of Miami and Virginia Tech last summer, but 11 teams wasn't going to be enough. NCAA rules require conferences to have 12 teams to hold a title game, and while the ACC's bid to have the rule changed hadn't been officially defeated, the league saw that the chances of getting the rule changed weren't promising.

So Sunday, the conference's presidents -- even those originally opposed to expansion -- welcomed Boston College.

"The biggest motivator behind expanding is having a playoff which makes millions and millions of dollars," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said.

While the color of money colored the conference's approach to expansion, the league's football coaches will have a different focus. Their task will be trying to get their teams into that championship game -- a terrifically tall task given the league's new look.

Future members Miami and Virginia Tech represent two of the remaining five unbeaten teams in Division I-A. Florida State, whose first loss came Saturday against Miami, gives the new-look ACC three of the top seven teams in the most recent rankings.

Boston College isn't ranked, but the Eagles aren't bad. Since a 32-28 loss to Wake Forest in their season opener, the Eagles have reeled off victories in four of their last five games.

"The teams that have already come into the league -- Miami and Virginia Tech -- have already raised that bar quite high," Amato said. "Adding Boston College, which has played them all real good and beaten people like Notre Dame, I think as far as football is concerned, it's going to be something.

"We're going to have to sprint," he said.

The new ACC will be more like a marathon than a sprint when it comes to travel, with the league's "geographic footprint" now growing to Bigfoot proportions. But adding a northeast neighbor to the mix could do more good than harm, according to UNC coach John Bunting.

"It's exciting for our recruiting," Bunting said. "It will help us in recruiting that area some more, and I think it's a great road trip. "It's exciting that we have this conference now set up. BC is a good addition."

Bunting and Amato also have other reasons for welcoming Boston College, reasons that have nothing to do with football or money.

Bunting joked that the trip to Boston might allow him to visit his summer home in Maine, while Amato is already licking his chops for a different reason.

"A lot of good Italian food up there," Amato said.

 

FSU line sapped by injuries
By Steve Ellis
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Florida State offensive linemen entered the season as the team's weak link. But it was the missing links - a growing number of injured players - that has made the group even more of a concern for the second half of the season.

FSU was without starting tight guard Bobby Meeks, whose breathing problems and inconsistent effort put him on the sideline Saturday, and injured starting center David Castillo for a good chunk of Saturday's 22-14 loss to Miami.

FSU is also without backups Matt Heinz, likely out for the season following preseason back surgery, and Brian Ross, who hasn't fully recovered from his broken leg in the spring. And Eric Broe, who before Saturday was Meeks' backup, missed the Miami game after he re-aggravated his knee.

True freshman center John Frady and Ron Lunford, inexperienced at guard, was on the line when FSU tried to run it three times near the goal line late in the game. While FSU failed to score in four tries, including a pass attempt, Lunford said the line's confidence is not shaken.

"We need to work on our run blocking a little more but other than that I thought we did pretty good," Lunford said. "Sometimes we can't get Chris (Rix) an hour or two, but if we can get him some time, I feel like our offensive line can do a pretty good job with that.

"I think we should use (the Miami game) to make us better. I don't think it's the weakest link. I just don't believe that. ... It's not like Miami got eight sacks on us, something like that. Pretty much, we held them pretty good for them to be ranked as high as they are."

FSU coach Bobby Bowden said Sunday that Lunford, who began the preseason at tackle, is the likely starter against Virginia at guard. Meeks was pulled by offensive-line coach Jimmy Heggins late in the second quarter after Sean Taylor returned an interception for a touchdown.

"I think they're getting more confidence in me because I'm showing I can play two positions," Lunford said.

While an improving Lunford helps, depth remains an issue.

"We really can't afford another injury," Lunford said.

Starting split tackle Alex Barron is backed up by true freshman Mario Henderson. Another freshman, Cory Niblock, plays behind Matt Meinrod at split guard. And Meinrod may be asked to work at center if Castillo, who re-injured his foot, is unavailable for Virginia. Before Saturday, Lunford was tight tackle Alex Barron's top reserve.

"We're very thin so we're going to have to do some shuffling to just get people in there," Meinrod said.
 

Down and out? Seminoles say neither applies
By Steve Ellis
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

The pregame buzzword - borrowed from Florida State's impressive new statue of a Seminole thrusting his spear skyward while sitting defiantly on his rearing horse - could easily have been "Unconquered."

FSU would defeat, no, deliver immeasurable suffering upon Miami.

By late Saturday afternoon, the Seminoles had fallen off their high horse - their spear dulled by ill-advised tosses and a resilient Miami defense. The word of the day had become "Unlikely."

But, while that fits FSU's recent attempts to conquer Miami, it has nothing to do with FSU's national championship aspirations. With five of the nation's top10-ranked teams falling Saturday, and the Seminoles sliding only a couple of places to seventh in both polls, FSU remains in the title hunt.

Seminoles fans, as gloomy as Tallahassee's weekend weather, could take a tip or two from FSU's football players. To a man, the Seminoles were resolved Sunday in their pursuit of a trip to New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl. They have also accepted, if not embraced, a fact that many FSU fans had trouble gripping in the wake of another turnover-laden defeat which had Chris Rix's fingerprints all over it.

Rix is FSU's starting quarterback.

He may be 3-5 against ranked opponents. And he's committed 10 turnovers in three starts against Miami.

Even offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden, as recently as two weeks ago, wasn't sure what he had in his junior quarterback - despite Rix having 25 starts under his belt at the time. Big brother Terry Bowden, an ABC Sports analyst, was certain. Rix's decision making is suspect - and costly.

Terry Bowden is right, but he's not the Bowden who matters in this debate. Rix is No.1.

"There's no question on it," Bobby Bowden said Sunday.

And, as far as most players are concerned, that's the end of it. A year ago, the rumbling from those in Adrian McPherson's camp rose to a roar and produced a great divide on the team. Not this time, players vow.

Defensive lineman Darnell Dockett used the postgame press conference to implore teammates on offense to rise as leaders. But he mentioned no individuals, and that appeal could apply just as easily to a senior, such as Greg Jones, as to Rix.

"Two years ago, and last year, (the defense) got into a situation where we worried about offense and we weren't handling our own business," cornerback Stanford Samuels said. "I have confidence in whoever coach Bowden decides to put on the field. ... Everybody has bad games. Whoever he puts out there, we'll support him.

"This is not a team from last year, or the year before last. This is not going to cause us to break apart. Even if there are people who feel something should be done, if I hear them voicing it, I'm going to be one to step down on them because that's not necessary."

And unlike a year ago, this defense is good enough to keep FSU in the national championship hunt. And, with just three undefeated BCS teams remaining in the top25, and two of them yet to face each other, optimism is a legitimate expression for now. Virginia on Saturday could nix that.

"Our season is not over," offensive lineman Matt Meinrod said. "I don't care what anybody says. There's going to be a one-loss team, it looks like, going to the national championship game. We lost early enough in the season; I don't think it's going to hurt us."
 

Eagles will soon migrate to ACC
BC's leaders accept unanimous invitation
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 12, 2003

The Atlantic Coast Conference, a league rooted in the Southeast, will extend its presence into New England.

Boston College, a founding member of the Big East, yesterday received - and accepted - an invitation to join the ACC.

BC's president, the Rev. William Leahy, called the ACC "a strong, stable conference" and said the "move to the ACC will generate greater revenue in the future."

ACC commissioner John Swofford praised Boston College's balance of athletics and academics. Moreover, Swofford told reporters in Greensboro, N.C., the addition of Boston College will take the ACC "into a market and a part of the country where obviously we have not been on a regular basis."

When the Eagles will join the ACC isn't clear. Swofford said BC could come aboard as early as the 2004-05 school year or as late as 2006-07. Recently revised Big East by-laws require that a school give 27 months' notice before leaving that conference, at which time it must pay a $5 million exit fee, a Big East source confirmed last night.

Whether BC could join the ACC before 2006 is "really an issue for Boston College and the Big East Conference to determine," Swofford said. "I think we all know there are going to be other things happening in terms of conference affiliations in the very near future. We'll just have to see how that sorts itself out."

Boston College was one of the three schools targeted, along with fellow Big East members Syracuse and Miami, when the ACC began seriously considering expansion. In June, however, the ACC's Council of Presidents rejected BC and Syracuse and instead invited Miami and, in part because of political pressure applied from this state, Virginia Tech.

Miami and Virginia Tech are set to join the ACC in July, meaning the conference will have at least 11 members in 2004-05. NCAA rules require a con- ference to have at least 12 members in order to stage a championship game in football, though the ACC has asked that the minimum be lowered to 10. The ACC expects to make at least $7 million annually from a title game.

Seven affirmative votes are necessary for a school to be offered membership in the ACC. In June, Duke, UNC and N.C. State voted against inviting Boston College. The ACC's Council of Presidents officially voted 9-0 yesterday to invite Boston College.

Although UNC initially opposed expansion, Chancellor James Moeser said in a statement, once "we became a conference of 11, the arguments for adding a 12th member became persuasive. The ACC is now well-positioned for the future."

Officials from the ACC's current nine members, plus Virginia Tech and Miami, met Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at U.Va. At the meeting's conclusion, the ACC released the 11-member scheduling models it plans to use in 2004-05 and 2005-06 for football, men's basketball and women's basketball.

If the NCAA were to rule in April that an 11-member ACC could to hold a football title game, the conference announced, it would split its teams into two divisions. Maryland, Clemson, N.C. State, Wake Forest and Florida State would be in one, with U.Va., Georgia Tech, UNC, Duke, Miami and Virginia Tech in the other.

Swofford said the conference hasn't decided how it will divide 12 schools.

"Is it as simple as plugging Boston College into the side of those divisions that had only five teams?" Swofford said. "I don't know yet, but we will look at it, and the institutions ultimately will make that decision."

Syracuse's athletic director, Jake Crouthamel, criticized the ACC for again raiding the Big East and expressed disappointment in BC.

"Three months ago, the presidents, chancellors and athletic directors of the six remaining Big East football schools sat face to face and pledged their loyalty to one another and to the Big East," Crouthamel said in a statement. "I guess handshakes don't mean much any more."