Jim Boeheim, Jamie Dixon Pitch NYC To ACC, According To Reports

Syracuse Orange basketball's new home, the Atlantic Coast Conference, held its spring meeting Tuesday in Amelia Island, FL, and for the first time SU, along with other former Big East Conference schools, were present.

According to Syracuse.com and other media outlets, the Orange were represented by various athletic leaders including head coach Jim Boeheim, who, along with Pittsburgh Panthers headman Jamie Dixon and Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey, pitched the idea of moving the conference men's basketball tournament to New York City.

"Obviously, Coach Boeheim and I are excited about New York, but I also know that Greensboro has a strong, strong presence here at these meetings," Dixon told the Post-Gazette. "I think [Madison Square Garden] would be the best thing for the conference. I hope that's the way they're headed, but I don't know that it is."

Though, it make take a few years to convince Tobacco Road programs to leave Greensboro, NC -- and its Denny's -- behind, there are some ACC coaches, including Florida State's Leonard Hamilton, who like the idea of a possible change.

"With the footprint changing, there's some opportunities that everyone needs to explore and there are some venues that need to be exploring the ACC," Hamilton said. "It's only right for us to explore other possibilities of the world."

Meanwhile, there was also discussion about the league forming a new television network -- you know the one ACC Commissioner John Swofford has been talking about for awhile now.

"The answer will be there when it's there," Swofford said. "We don't want to let any grass grow, and I don't think ESPN does either. But we also want to be very thorough with it and we also understand that our partner is initiating something similar with a colleague conference."

In keeping with the theme of this week's meetings, significant discussions about a potential network was made possible by the league's grant of rights deal.

"The stability and solidarity that goes with [the grant of rights] changes the ballgame significantly, I think, all the way around," Swofford said. "Both in tangible and intangible ways."