Update 2: I know this won't be hard for you to believe, but, Big East commish John Marinatto had absolutely no idea this was coming.
Update 1: According to one Big East official, "There is no scenario where a president applies to a league and isn't admitted."
Brett McMurphy also mentions that Texas has reached out to the ACC, though it's a little too early to assume they're applying as well. Brett also mentions there is no timeline for ACC expansion.
Original: Almost a decade ago, Syracuse almost left the Big East for the ACC. Virginia Tech joined Miami and Boston College in our stead.
Perhaps we were just a little ahead of our time.
According to the AP, Syracuse has filled out an application, complete with job history and three references, and sent it to the ACC for possible membership. One has to assume that John Marinatto is not one of those references.
The NY Times takes it one step further, reaching out to The ACC, Syracuse and Pitt, who is also applying for membership, and received nary a denial. In fact, DOC Gross couldn't have made a shadier-sounding denial if he tried:
Syracuse Athletic Director Daryl Gross, when reached on his cellphone in Los Angeles, where the Orange will play Southern California on Saturday, said: "I can’t comment on that. Maybe that’s even too much to say."
So...this is happening, huh? Alright then.
My first thought when I heard this was, "West Virginia must be way farther along with the SEC than everyone thinks." While I think Pitt and Syracuse could have made this decision without knowing that, something tells me the impending departure of West Virginia (or at least the obvious truth that Oliver Luck and WVU want to leave) was impetus here.
The biggest winner of all if this happens? Boston College. They get two Northeastern runnin' buddies, both of whom are rivals, in an instant. They're no longer 'that one ACC team all the way up there."
At the end of the day, if this happens, the Big East has no one to blame but themselves. Too many years waiting on the sidelines and too many missed opportunities to solidify the league.
On the bright side...there would totally be room for Villanova football now!
Like you, I remain cautiously concerned on the matter. Let's see where this goes. Crazy.