After a Friday night filled with rumors and speculation, CBSSports.com is reporting that Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh have submitted letters of application to join the Atlantic Coast Conference. SU, a founding member, has been a part of the Big East Conference since 1979.
"There is no scenario where a president applies to a league and isn't admitted," a Big East official said.
Friday night, New York Times reporter Pete Thamel published an article reporting that SU and Pitt were engaged in talks with the ACC, but nothing was official. Saturday's CBSSports.com report makes Thamel's reporting less gossipy and more factual.
It's hard to believe that the Orange, who have a historic background with the Big East, would be a member of the ACC, a league that "stole" the University of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College in the early 2000s and has been ridiculed by Big East fans since. However, the changing landscape of college football -- last fall, the Big East announced plans for expansion and then added Texas Christian University in November -- has forced schools to look out for their own interests and not worry about allegiance to a conference.
"At the end of the day," writes Sean Keeley of SB Nation's Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, "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."
SB Nation New York will continue to update this StoryStream throughout the day.