The Atlantic Coast Conference reached deep into its expansion playbook late Tuesday and pulled a shocking end run.
School presidents and chancellors voted Tuesday night to invite Miami and Virginia Tech to join the conference — a scenario that excludes fellow would-be Big East defectors Boston College and Syracuse.
Sources also told ESPN that the vote was 7-2 in favor of inviting the two football powerhouses.
I hate Donna Shalala. Lying troll.
Thlayli
Err, how exactly is this Shalala’s fault? She doesn’t have any say in the ACC’s decisions, and it seems to me Miami is doing the same thing either way.
Or was that just a general comment?
John Cole
As President of Miami, she has a great deal of authority and involvement, and she has been lying for months about leaving the Big East.
Here is an example from the lawsuit:
“The minutes of the March 6, 2002, Big East CEO meeting reflect … Shalala’s reiteration of Miami’s commitment `in the strongest terms possible, emphatically stating that the University of Miami is in the Big East Conference and has no interest in leaving it for any other conference.’ ”
Based on promises like that, the lawsuit says, several Big East schools spent millions to finance major construction projects. Examples: Connecticut spent $90 million for a new football stadium that opens this fall; Pittsburgh built a $100 million basketball arena; Virginia Tech invested about $37 million in the second phase of expansion for its football stadium; and Rutgers spent about $24 million to improve its football complex and other sports facilities.
From the Miami Herald comes this:
We don’t think so — and UM President Donna Shalala may not either. The Miami Herald reported Friday that Shalala “has been working the phones lobbying for support” of expansion and that she and Miami Athletic Director Paul Dee were “nervous” about the outcome.
She is a duplicitous bitch.