Boston College Worked To Keep UConn Out Of ACC

When Syracuse and Pitt announced that they were leaving the Big East and for the Atlantic Coast Conference, an obvious question was raised: What about Connecticut? Why wasn’t UConn jumping ship, too?

The Boston Globe painted an interesting picture of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that allowed the ACC to expand, and the story also shed some light on the team that didn’t move, UConn.

The ACC first targeted Syracuse, then UConn. But Boston College had major objections to UConn, stemming from BC’s move from the Big East to the ACC in 2005, some nasty comments and a lawsuit.

BC athletics director Gene DeFilippo seemingly confirmed what many had been reporting/presuming over the past month — that BC blocked UConn from receiving an invite to the ACC.

“We didn’t want them in,’ DeFilippo told the Globe. “It was a matter of turf. We wanted to be the New England team.’

Another interesting part of the Globe story was the relationship between the ACC and ESPN, and just what role the cable network might have played in the league’s decision to expand.

The ACC recently signed a new deal with ESPN that will increase the revenue for each school to approximately $13 million, according to the Globe. With the addition of Pitt and Syracuse, said DeFilippo, another significant increase will follow.

“We always keep our television partners close to us,’ he said. “You don’t get extra money for basketball. It’s 85% football money. TV – ESPN – is the one who told us what to do. This was football; it had nothing to do with basketball.’

ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys released a statement in response to DeFilippo: “The driving force on realignment lies with the conferences and universities.”

An ACC official, who did not want to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the matter, said the idea started with the conference, which had an expansion committee set up for more than a year before acting.

“Decisions on matters of expansion are made by the ACC’s Council of Presidents,” the official said. “We have a great working relationship with ESPN, but they would not dictate to us.”

USA TODAY is seeking comment from DeFilippo. Since the league announced its expansion plans, Commissioner John Swofford has said that expanding the footprint into new states and long-term stability were among the reasons along with television exposure.