Move to Big Ten

Exactly one year before this university exits for the Big Ten Conference, the ACC formally welcomed its three newest members at a New York City press conference Monday.

Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse all begin player in all sports this fall with the exception of Notre Dame football.

“Today is an exciting and a historic day for the Atlantic Coast Conference,” commissioner John Swofford said. “We’re proud to officially welcome Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse as the newest members of our league.”

Swofford was joined on stage by Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim, Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, former Pittsburgh football wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher and Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey.

Conversation quickly turned to the conference’s basketball presence, as the ACC has long been seen as one of the nation’s best conferences for the sport.

“We’re excited to be part of this,” said Brey, who expects to see eight, nine or 10 ACC teams receiving NCAA tournament bids annually. “We’re going to quickly become the deepest and most powerful basketball conference.”

For Swofford, though, the view was much broader. He focused on the conference’s new “footprint” — a term Terps fans have heard frequently from Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney — and the reach that the new schools bring to the conference. Louisville will join July 1, 2014 as this university exits.

Swofford cited statistics such as the ACC having the most television households and population of any conference. Swofford also said that by 2030, 55 percent of the United States’ population will be within the ACC’s footprint.

“The composition of the long-term membership of the ACC has never been stronger,” said Swofford, who also began his 17th year as commissioner Monday.

The decision to have the press conference in New York was also a strategic part of raising the ACC’s profile. Long a North Carolina-centric conference — four schools are there and the conference is headquartered in Greensboro, N.C. — the ACC is attempting to push into the New York media market, much like Delaney and the Big Ten.

“We wanted to showcase the ACC in New York City and show this is a very important part of our new footprint for our conference,” Swofford said.

sportsdbk@gmail.com