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And, in irony, one might say that the plan was Tranghese's.
The ACC took some Big East programs for football....and Tranghese suggested much the same in 1997.
Big East Conference Commissioner Mike Tranghese, who publicly scolded Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford last month for talking to Big East schools about expansion, first explored the possibility with the ACC as early as 1997.
Sources said Tranghese had conversations with Gene Corrigan, then commissioner of the ACC, about several possibilities. Most prominent was the merging of the two conferences for football.
A year later, after Swofford had replaced Corrigan as the ACC's commissioner, Tranghese initiated a meeting at the Atlanta airport to explore the possibility again. At that time, he was concerned about the Big Ten raiding the Big East.
Swofford, Florida State Athletic Director Dave Hart and then-North Carolina State Athletic Director Les Robinson represented the ACC. Tranghese, Miami Athletic Director Paul Dee and Syracuse Athletic Director Jake Crouthamel represented the Big East.
"The idea of expansion or some type of merger was there before 1998," Dee said. "It was nothing new when it came up this time. In 1998, the conversation was about an attempt to get the leagues together for football."
The Atlanta meeting was a fact-finding session, according to Robinson. The ACC, which had admitted Florida State in 1991, couldn't get the seven votes required for more expansion when a straw vote was taken.
"When I see what is happening now," Robinson said, "I have to believe the 1998 meeting was one of the preliminary steps in leading the situation to where it is. Miami definitely had some interest, and Syracuse was listening intently."
Robinson said the ACC did case studies on Miami, Syracuse and Boston College, the three schools with a chance to move now, and Tranghese was aware they were done. He also said several ideas were discussed from a complete merger of schools that played football to the move of only a few schools with Miami, Syracuse and Boston College the most prominently discussed.
When the straw vote failed, primarily because of basketball, the issue appeared to die. In Robinson's mind, UM was open-minded then, so he isn't surprised the issue has new life and the 'Canes are involved.
The ACC took some Big East programs for football....and Tranghese suggested much the same in 1997.
Big East Conference Commissioner Mike Tranghese, who publicly scolded Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford last month for talking to Big East schools about expansion, first explored the possibility with the ACC as early as 1997.
Sources said Tranghese had conversations with Gene Corrigan, then commissioner of the ACC, about several possibilities. Most prominent was the merging of the two conferences for football.
A year later, after Swofford had replaced Corrigan as the ACC's commissioner, Tranghese initiated a meeting at the Atlanta airport to explore the possibility again. At that time, he was concerned about the Big Ten raiding the Big East.
Swofford, Florida State Athletic Director Dave Hart and then-North Carolina State Athletic Director Les Robinson represented the ACC. Tranghese, Miami Athletic Director Paul Dee and Syracuse Athletic Director Jake Crouthamel represented the Big East.
"The idea of expansion or some type of merger was there before 1998," Dee said. "It was nothing new when it came up this time. In 1998, the conversation was about an attempt to get the leagues together for football."
The Atlanta meeting was a fact-finding session, according to Robinson. The ACC, which had admitted Florida State in 1991, couldn't get the seven votes required for more expansion when a straw vote was taken.
"When I see what is happening now," Robinson said, "I have to believe the 1998 meeting was one of the preliminary steps in leading the situation to where it is. Miami definitely had some interest, and Syracuse was listening intently."
Robinson said the ACC did case studies on Miami, Syracuse and Boston College, the three schools with a chance to move now, and Tranghese was aware they were done. He also said several ideas were discussed from a complete merger of schools that played football to the move of only a few schools with Miami, Syracuse and Boston College the most prominently discussed.
When the straw vote failed, primarily because of basketball, the issue appeared to die. In Robinson's mind, UM was open-minded then, so he isn't surprised the issue has new life and the 'Canes are involved.
