College basketball fans could now be treated to a Final Four of Duke, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Syracuse—in just the ACC tournament.
The ACC Council of Presidents has unanimously approved the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse as the 13th and 14th members of the ACC.
"At a time of instability in college athletics, the foresight of the ACC presidents has secured the conference's future," Duke vice president and director of athletics Kevin White said in a release. "To be sure, from the Duke perspective, we are ecstatic about the addition of these extraordinary institutions. Pittsburgh and Syracuse provide the best fit - at the right time - for the ACC."
It was first reported that both schools had submitted application letters earlier this weekend. The Big East requires its member schools to provide 27 months of notice before leaving the conference, on top of a $5 million buyout, so the timetable for the transition period of both universities is unclear.
The addition of two prestigious academic institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University," Duke head men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement, "coupled with their great tradition in athletics, is a real coup for the ACC."
Throughout an uncertain national conference landscape, the ACC had, before this weekend, taken a backseat to the public overtures of the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12. A week ago, though, ACC schools voted to increase the buyout from $12 to $14 million to $20 million in order to strengthen the position of current members. While nothing appears to be imminent, ACC commissioner John Swofford did not deny the possibility of expanding the conference to 16 teams.
"We're very comfortable with this 14," he said. "The only thing I would add to that is we are not philosophically opposed to 16. But for now we're very pleased with this 14. We think it's an excellent group."
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