Reports: ACC Cuts List to Two

The Atlantic Coast Conference has decided to pursue a two-team expansion, one that would add Miami and Virginia Tech, a high-ranking league source said Tuesday night.

After a 2 1/2-hour conference call, ACC Commissioner John Swofford refused to comment on whether Miami and Virginia Tech -- the Big East’s two dominant football schools -- had been offered invitations to join.

“We’re very close to bringing this to a conclusion. I would expect us to have an announcement in the next couple of days,” Swofford said.

The Washington Post and USA Today, quoting anonymous sources, reported on their Web sites that the ACC voted to extend invitations to Miami and Virginia Tech, and that Syracuse and Boston College were not included.

The league source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Associated Press that the league presidents decided that the only way expansion would work is if Miami and Virginia Tech joined what would become an 11-team conference. The source also said ACC presidents no longer expect Syracuse and Boston College to be part of the expansion process.

If the ACC expands to 11 members, it would be one short of the number necessary to hold a football conference championship game.

The ACC presidents voted to expand on May 13, and conference officials visited Miami, Boston College and Syracuse to assess their facilities.

Virginia Tech came into the picture last week, as part of a compromise suggested by Virginia President John T. Casteen III. Virginia Tech was one of five Big East football schools who filed a lawsuit June 6 to try to stop Boston College, Miami and Syracuse from leaving the conference.

A Connecticut judge is scheduled to hear preliminary arguments Thursday in the suit.